ACC Notes: QB Golson's first days with FSU
Jalen Ramsey intercepted Everett Golson’s pass the first time Golson threw his way. (USATSI)PINEHURST, N.C. — Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey might be one of the most talented players in the ACC, and on Monday he stood out among his peers as one of the most media-ready of the student-athlete representatives in attendance at the 2015 ACC Football Kickoff.
Ramsey fielded questions on the off-field issues with patience, refusing to comment directly on either De’Andre Johnson’s dismissal or Dalvin Cook’s suspension — though his tone indicated a belief of innocence regarding the accusations against Cook — but offering thoughtful commentary in response to those inquiries.
“To think we haven’t been educated before [about off-field issues] isn’t true,” Ramsey said, adding that coach Jimbo Fisher has brought in speakers every year to speak to the team about behavior.
Ramsey also spoke of his desire to continue his track career — he wants to be an Olympian — and shared some insight into transfer quarterback Everett Golson’s first days with the Florida State program.
He said the former Notre Dame signal caller was welcomed into the program “with open arms,” as one would expect. Ramsey, specifically, welcomed Golson by using both of his open arms to pick off the quarterback’s pass in seven-on-seven drills.
“It wasn’t his first pass. He didn’t throw my way on the first pass,” Ramsey said with a smile. “The first pass he threw my way, I did pick it off. I didn’t say anything to him. I just gave him a little smile. Some of the other guys on the team said something to him, though.”
This is where you insert an Everett Golson-interception joke. In all seriousness though, Ramsey indicated he’s been impressed with Golson, calling him “a competitor” and “a natural leader.” Golson “fits right in to what we’re about at Florida State,” he said.
Here’s more from Monday’s player availability at 2015 ACC Media Days.
Virginia Tech ready for Ohio State rematch
Quarterback Michael Brewer and cornerback Kendall Fuller were peppered with questions about last season’s victory over Ohio State and the season-opening rematch against the Buckeyes set for a Monday night in Lane Stadium. Coach Frank Beamer has told the players he expects “the best environment” of his tenure and Fuller added, “If anyone is going to class the next day … well, kudos to them.”
But while Lane Stadium will be rocking to “Enter Sandman” before the game, any hope of beating the Buckeyes again will rely on stopping whichever OSU quarterback is under center. Fuller said the defense will be ready for all three, and he already pointed out some differences between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett.
“He’s bigger, he’s got a better arm,” Fuller said of Jones. “Might break more tackles. [We] still gotta stop the throws, still gotta be ready for all three of them.”
In fairness to Barrett, the Buckeyes quarterback was a much different player by the end of the year than he was in the early season loss to Virginia Tech. But that’s another topic for another time.
Education an issue in expanding College Football Playoff
Commissioner John Swofford had an interesting take on CFP expansion that often gets lost in the national discussion. The university presidents, who ultimately have the final say in most of these matters, have two concerns that needed to be addressed before the CFP era even began. First, the presidents did not want the playoff occurring during students’ final exams. Second, they did not want college football become a two semester sport.
Too often we scoff at the idea that the player’s educational experience is considered by the game’s decision makers, but since it’s academic-types, not athletic directors, that get the final say, any playoff expansion will similarly have to fall within these parameters. However, if you are looking at the footbal-only aspect of expanding the CFP, Swofford understands the desire to move to eight teams with five conference champions and three at-large bids.
“In a perfect world — if you only want to talk about football, and only about a playoff — yeah, eight ould probably be better,” Swofford said, quickly adding that we should include all of the reasons he believes the playoff won’t expand beyond four teams until the end of the current contract (11 more seasons).
UNC linebacker distracted by Jordan Spieth at the British Open
Jeff Schoettmer grew up with Jordan Spieth, playing football, basketball and baseball with him from kindergarten through high school. “We hung out, did things just like any other normal kids,” Schoettmer said.
So while the players were being shuffled from interview to interview, you cannot blame Schoettmer from taking every opportunity possible to keep up with Spieth’s progress at St. Andrews. “Any break I’ve gotten from the media, I’ve been watching it on my iPhone,” the North Carolina defender said. “He didn’t pull it off, but hey, winning two-out-of-three majors for the year is not bad.”
NFL draft declarations could be tweaked
Add Swofford to the growing list of college football power brokers who would like to see a revision to the process of college players declaring for the NFL Draft.
“I think we have got to try and find the right balance in terms of what’s best for those athletes and what really works for college athletics and what works for our coaches and our programs and try to find a balance the right sweet spot, if we can, with the goal being giving these young people enough freedom and opportunity to get accurate information and to get it from the right people,” Swofford said.
“And often times, that’s not happening. You know, there’s no easy fixes to it, and every change you make sways one way or the other. But I feel like just in a general sense, we may be being too rigid in regard with our rules.”
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