Seminoles Chant

Miami Norland's Xavier Rhodes Talks Leadership, Freshmen and the NFL

Arguably the team's top corner in 2011, Xavier Rhodes is set for big things in 2012. The 6-2, 215 lb corner is entering his redshirt junior season having seen considerable playing time over the past two campaigns and ready to step up and become a leader in the secondary.

Asked about replacing Greg Reid, Rhodes barely seemed concerned, instead opting to turn his focus to the incoming freshmen, guys like Colin Blake, PJ Williams and of course, Ronald Darby (who has been earning rave reviews all week). 

"We're just teaching the freshmen the technique and the schemes of the defense," said Rhodes as if the loss wasn't as big deal as the media is making it. "We like that they listen to us in order the get [better] and they really really have a passion for the game, we think we're going to be a very good secondary."

Rhodes' laid back demeanor is perfect for a big-time corner, he's never too high or too low. Even something like trying to step up to replace the boisterous Greg Reid as a team leader doesn't seem to cause him much consternation.

"It's not hard because I know what I have to do with this team, with this secondary to get us better, to get us motivated," said Rhodes. "Having Reid there, seeing what Reid [had] done really helped me out to be a more vocal leader."

As for the freshmen he's guiding, Rhodes thinks the glowing reviews they're receiving are merited.

"Yeah," said Rhodes shaking his head empathically," Yeah, like I said the passion they have for the game, not wanting to get beat, always wanting to get better, they want to be perfect at everything and impress always, I just love that that, the passion to be good and great is really impressive."

When Rhodes was entering his freshman season four years ago he was actually a wide receiver. A three-star prospect out of Miami Norland Senior, Rhodes took a redshirt year and added nearly 30 pounds, picking up technique and learning the ins and outs of the position along the way to becoming one of the team's best defensive backs.

Even despite the position change, Rhodes sees a few similarities between himself and this group of freshmen.

"At that age theyre' the same as me, always rushing things not always understanding the patience because you want to be good at that moment, you really want to play," said Rhodes. "That's how every freshman comes in, but you have to have patience to succeed."

As for Rhodes the patience it took to switch from receiver to corner has paid off. With his size and speed, Rhodes could have been drafted if he'd left as a redshirt sophomore last season. At 6-2 220, Rhodes has the kind of size NFL teams love and he's proven an instinctual player with the ball in the air. A big year in 2012 could boost his pro stock considerably. Still, the big-bodied corner insists he's not thinking about the NFL, not even in the back of his mind.

"I'm just living in the moment. Right now I'm just trying to make it through camp and after I make it through camp, playing on September 1st," said Rhodes. "I know if I play good, play great, I'll be there, I'll get drafted. So I'm just worried about playing good for the season, winning an ACC championship and a national championship."

James Wilder Ready To Play Bigger Role on Offense

James Wilder is ready to put his freshman year behind him and focus on football and the future.

After making some unwanted headlines this summer for a violation of probation that landed him in a Leon County jail for 11 days, Wilder is back on track and ready for a big 2012.

"Yeah, [I had] a couple of those downfalls and setbacks off the field [and] I got them cleared up," said Wilder. "I can just focus on football. Just 100 percent [focus]."

The first order of business for Wilder is going to be establishing himself as a reliable ball-carrier in what is becoming a three-headed rushing attack for Florida State. With senior Chris Thompson and sophomore Devonta Freeman both recovering from back injuries that held them out of Spring, Wilder enters 2012 the only Seminole back with experience and no medical issues. 

And Wilder feels like he's poised to break out.

"I got the playbook down pat, I didn't really know it last year and that's what killed my playing time," said Wilder. "Now that I know it I feel like I can play a bigger role on this team. I have big expectations and my team does too."

In addition to better acclimating himself with the Florida State offense, Wilder has also been working on improving his quickness.

"[I've been] working on my footwork, getting a little bit quicker, I was a little sluggish last season," said Wilder. "I was great at breaking tackles and power, but getting a little quicker knowing we've got a lot of stretch plays and and a lot of outside plays, should help me to be able to adapt to that to be an inside runner and outside runner."

Wilder credits the tight-knit group of running backs, Devonta Freeman in particular, for pushing him and making him better. 

"We're out there, we're competing and making each other better. [But] we're not competing as rivals, he's not mad if i'm getting more carries I'm not mad if he's getting more carries," said Wilder.

"We're definitely pushing each other, we know we're going to be here, we're in the same class, we've got a lot more years to be [at Florida State]. We're already different kinds of runners, thunder and lightning type, I mean we're definitely pushing each other making each other better."

The difference in statures is striking, Devonta Freeman is short and a bit squatty, coming in at 5-9 210, while Wilder is tall and lean at 6-2 225. Freeman's nose for the hole and quickness are what helped him become the most reliable back in a meager (104th nationally) FSU run game. Wilder is more of a bruiser, but also boasts deceptive speed and the ability to give defenses a totally different running style than his counterpart. 

For Florida State to accomplish its title goals in 2012, they'll need them both – maybe even in the same backfield.

"Yeah we got a couple shotguns where we're both back there together, sometimes I block for him, sometimes he blocks for me, but we're always pushing each other," said Wilder of his relationship with his fellow sophomore. "I mean me and Freeman, we're very close, probably the closest out of everybody, so we're definitely pushing each other and just keeping each other right."

Wilder, who was also recruited as a linebacker, is more than comfortable helping his team in the passing game too, he especially enjoys a good screen.

"Oh yeah, I like to get out into the flats because once I get past the D-Line I'm the same size as the linebackers anyway," joked Wilder. "If I get past the linebackers I'm way bigger than the safeties. On the screens if I have the linemen in front of me that's just a great thing, I see the endzone from there."

Regardless of how the carries are split up between Wilder, Freeman and Chris Thompson it's going to be vital that the former Plant standout and son of a Buccaneers great, play a bigger role on the offense. Wilder knows it too, and in 2012 he has his sights set high.

"I'm not an individual type person, but mine is just go out there and every play, my personal goal is to get five yards per carry. End the season with five yards per carry."

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A Few Thoughts From Media Day

I've got loads and loads of interviews to go back over, but while everything is still fresh in my head I did just want to get down a few points from media day. I'll have quotes and interviews and stories later on, for now here are a few thoughts...

-Jimbo Fisher spoke for about 25 minutes and the coversation ultimately turned into a referendum on off-the-field problems and marijuana use. I'm going to do a long piece on this sometime in the next couple of weeks so I won't go too overboard now, but Fisher asked that a lot of the media empathize with Greg Reid and kids who make the kinds of mistakes that Reid and also recently Tyrann Mathieu at LSU have made. Much like Leonard Hamilton often tells reporters when a kid is in trouble, "I know you were all perfect at that age, but..." Fisher acknowledges that the socioeconomic backgrounds and the substance abuse histories of kids' families plays a huge role, much larger than we in the media often give credence to. Fisher believes marijuana use is rampant on campuses around the country, but also that the issue is no more grave than alcohol abuse and that the aim should be helping not punishing when it comes to enforcement.

-Fisher also made an interesting point about the state of recruiting, and by extension the game of college football. According to Fisher recruiting defensive linemen, the blue-chip, big-bodied, athletic sort (of which the Seminoles scored four this offseason), are as hotly contested as elite QB's nowadays. Jimbo attributes that to the devaluation of the skill positions, where there is an abundance of great talent to be had. There are a lot fewer elite linemen. And the competition for them is heated.

-Vic Viloria is far more insightful than you would think at first blush. You may have noticed him as the bald coach waving the towel and jumping around the whole game on the sideline. Viloria is a ball of energy in games and at practice, but the strength and conditioning coach is probably also a little ahead of his time in his approach to training. You can tell Viloria loves the intellectual aspects of training and building the human figure. Listening to him discuss how the strength and conditioning program evolved (he corrected me quickly when I asked how he changed it), you just get the sense that Viloria may be more important than any coach outside of Stoops and Fisher (recruiting not considered). 

-Mark Stoops is a great interview. I hate to break it to you Seminoles fans (if it wasn't already obvious) but if this season goes off the way Florida State hopes, Stoops will have his own head coaching gig next year. Hurricane fans need no introduction to the Seminole defensive coordinator, he coached some the best Hurricanes of the last decade,  and now Stoops has a defense at Florida State that finished in the top five last season and could be even nastier this year. Stoops built that defense, and somebody is going to want to give him the keys to their program if it's as good as advertised this year.

-Bryan Stork thinks it takes the kind of bad year Florida State had up front last season to really help an offensive line gel. If that's true, this group should be pretty tight. Stork says he prefers right tackle but is happy to play wherever he is needed and singles out Josue Matias as the most improved player on the line.

-Dustin Hopkins is always a great interview, he's classy and well-spoken and he has a pretty sharp wit to him also. Of all the players I spoke to about their individual goals for the year, Hopkins was the only one who really told the truth. After a couple years of finishing as a runner-up for the Groza award, the senior kicker admits he really wants that trophy. Hopkins has been one of the nation's top kickers for going on three years now, but consistency over a stretch doesn't win a Groza award, one fantastic year does. Hopkins will need to have that year in 2012 if he wants a Groza.

-Speaking of Hopkins, touching moment out at team pictures as Hopkins stopped to kneel and talk with a tiny little boy holding a football. The boy bore a serious looking scar on the left side of his head, and to be honest he looked a little bit timid as the massive bodies of the Florida State football team thundered out on to the field around him for positonal photographs. But Hopkins knelt beside him and said warmly, "I hear you're here to take my position." And the little boy's face just lit up. Afterwards EJ Manuel, Brandon Jenkins and a host of other players made their way over to meet the little boy and offer him words of encouragement, but nobody seemed to have the same effect as Hopkins. Not every player you meet is as nice or as genuine as we want to believe they all are, Hopkins exceeds your expectations. Great person.

-This defensive line is a fun group. You can tell they genuinely enjoy one another, they're big, they're strong, they're mean and they know they might just be the best group Florida State has seen in decades. People around this program think this line will be good but they're hesitant to expound on just how good. Call that humility or fear of hubris, but nobody at FSU has come right out and said they think they have the best defensive line in the country. Odell Haggins may have tipped his hand a little bit with regards to his true feeling about the Seminole line when he made it a point to ask for a copy of him and his unit during position group shots Sunday afternoon though. A physical photo, a big one, glossy, he said... The type you frame.

Time to start transcribing, I'll have a few more things for you later this afternoon and into the evening. So keep checking back...

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The Early Read: Heading to Media Day

Today is a big day for Florida State football, this morning me and a group of other reporters will get a couple of hours with the Seminole coaches and players for media day. After the team finishes dealing with us they'll get ready for Fan Day at the Leon County Civic Center. Doors open at noon, and the event is open to the public. The team will finish its day with an open practice at Doak Campbell Stadium at 4. 

Fans, if you're in the Tallahassee area and you're looking for a chance to see the Noles, this is your only shot until the season opener on September 1st, and then it gets a bit pricier.

"Sometimes there's a lot of people that don't even get to go to games," said head coach Jimbo Fisher yesterday. "You know what I mean, may not be able to make it back and forth or afford it, whatever the reason, but they're still huge Florida State fans. And you let those kids get down there and watch the guys practice. I remember when I was that age, I'd have loved to go to see a practice I think that's good and it shows [the players] the level of appreciation people have for them and what it's like to give back some."

As for media day, I'll be there interviewing coaches and players all morning. Most of you likely won't be in the area and won't have a chance to see the Seminoles today, but if you have a question for a player or coach, or something you're wondering about the Seminoles, leave it in the comments or tweet it at me and I'll see what I can do.

At any rate, keep checking back throughout the course of the day because I'll have four or five updates headed your direction.

Have a great Sunday!

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