Tag Archives: Lamarcus Joyner

ACC Football Standout Senior 2013: Florida State

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FSU Senior LaMarcus Joyner Not Only Handles the Pressure of Leadership; He Embraces Them

FSU Senior Lamarcus Joyner Not Only Handles the Pressure of Leadership; He Embraces Them

As schools’ academic years are wrapping up, last season’s juniors are about to become this season’s seniors, and with that comes extra responsibility and expectations. In the ACC, while there were plenty of players selected in the NFL Draft, the conference still returns a strong group of seniors — many of whom are set to make a strong impact in their final seasons of eligibility.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be going team-by-team in the ACC to identify the “standout senior” that’s key to his respective squad, and why he’s so important. Think we should’ve featured another player, though? Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments.

Florida State Seminoles: Lamarcus Joyner, CB

In total, 11 ‘Noles were drafted last month — a staggering number and a program record. Lamarcus Joyner would have been one of them, but he had other goals in mind. As he told the Orlando Sentinel back in January:

“Coach Fisher and I aren’t finished with what we started here. He said from Day 1 I was going to be one of those guys that was going to help turn the program around. We’ve started down the right path so far, but we’re still not finished.”

… And it’s going to be that type of fire this very young team needs if they hope to come close to last year’s 12-2 finish. With so much turnover with the roster and coaching staff, Joyner’s presence will be one of the few familiar faces on the Seminoles this year and one of the only remaining veteran leaders. But it’s a role he’s completely comfortable in, and in fact, thrives upon. Joyner considers himself not just the “quarterback of the secondary” anymore, but the “quarterback” for the entire defense; something that carries equal amounts of pressure and reward with it.

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ACC 2013 Spring Football Preview: Florida State Seminoles

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Former Alabama Secondary Coach Jeremy Pruitt Inherits Just Four Returning Starters for FSU's Defense

Former Alabama Secondary Coach Jeremy Pruitt Inherits Just Four Returning Starters for FSU’s Defense

As the ACC‘s spring practices get under way, we’ll be previewing the big storylines for each of the league’s 14 (15, in this case) teams. Check back on weekdays for what to look out for during your school’s spring practices and spring game.

Team: Florida State Seminoles

Spring Practice Start Date: March 20

Spring Game Date: April 13

Florida State was effectively “back” in 2012, but with the spoils of success comes a lot of change heading into 2013. Seven assistants left for greener pastures during the offseason, and the team only returns 10 starters. So this spring is just as much about getting to know all the new faces around the program, as it is establishing an early depth chart for next season.

Offensively, the top priority is replacing departed senior QB EJ Manuel, who’s held down the position for three-plus seasons. While there’s certainly some expected drop-off without Manuel, the team has a big decision to make: established backup who will likely jump right in to run the offense, or promote a less established player who may need more time to take the reins. In one corner, you have the former, Clint Trickett, who will be a junior next season. In the other, the ‘Noles can choose from rising sophomore Jacob Coker and star 2012 QB recruit Jameis Winston. All have their respective merits, but without a settled option at offensive coordinator right now, it’ll be hard to truly get a read on what the assistants are looking for. One would assume head coach Jimbo Fisher will be aiming not to rock the boat, adapting his coaching hire and system to the best quarterback available on the roster. But an all-out quarterback competition looks to be in the offing, and it may not even be settled until well into August.

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2012 All-ACC Football Team: Defense

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Florida State's Tank Carradine Leads a Parade of Seminoles on the All-ACC Defensive Side

Florida State’s Tank Carradine Leads a Parade of Seminoles on the All-ACC Defensive Side

As most other publications have also done, we’ve put together an All-ACC team here at Atlantic Coast Convos, honoring the best players from the 2012 football season. We’ve also included players from Syracuse and Pittsburgh, as that has always been our policy, and once bowl season is over, all ACC football news will have to involve them anyway. In this post, you’ll find both the first- and second-team defense. Picks for the first- and second-team offense were posted earlier today.

See any selections you agree with? Disagree with? Feel free to voice your concerns in the comments below.

2012 Atlantic Coast Convos All-ACC Team: Defense

First Team

DE Cornellius “Tank” Carradine, Florida State

DE Bjoern Werner, Florida State

DT Joe Vellano, Maryland

DT Sylvester Williams, North Carolina

LB Jack Tyler, Virginia Tech

LB Nick Clancy, Boston College

LB Kevin Reddick, North Carolina

CB Ross Cockrell, Duke

CB Xavier Rhodes, Florida State

S Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State

S Earl Wolff, Florida State

PK Dustin Hopkins, Florida State

P Will Monday, Duke

SP Giovani Bernard, North Carolina

Second Team

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ACC Football Goat of the Week, Week 6: Phillip Sims, Virginia

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Virginia QB Phillip Sims is the ACC Goat of the Week for Week 6

No one enjoys piling on when things go wrong. But nonetheless, we’ve got to call out the ACC players who were counter-productive in helping their teams grab a victory this weekend. On the bright side for them, they can always get off this list next week. And for their sake, let’s hope they do.

ACC Goat of the Week, Week 6: Phillip Sims, QB/Virginia

In his first collegiate start, Sims had his worst game Saturday, completing just 50-percent of his passes, for 268 yards and two interceptions. After being inserted into the starting role, the hope was that Sims could re-energize what’s become a stagnant Cavaliers offense. Instead, things looked to get even worse than they were under Michael Rocco, as UVa looked overmatched and inconsistent all day in their loss against Duke. Of course, Sims shouldn’t take all the blame. For this entire season thus far, Virginia’s play-calling has appeared uninspired, and the running game has lacked for any sort of rhythm. And of course, there’s the defense, which appears to be staunchly against covering receivers. Sims can potentially succeed as the Hoos’ starter, but given the myriad issues currently plaguing the squad, it may be a more difficult task than once thought.

Honorable Mention:

Virginia Tech defense (allowed 48 points, 533 yards of offense — including 339 rushing yards)

Jimbo Fisher, Florida State Head Coach (overly conservative play-calling in second-half of Saturday’s 17-16 loss to NC State)

Terrence Brooks/LaMarcus Joyner, Florida State (beat on Mike Glennon‘s game-winning touchdown pass)

Mike James, RB/Miami (6 carries, 28 rushing yards)

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ACC 2012 Season Preview: Florida State Seminoles

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If Florida State Wants to Win the ACC in 2012, They’ll Need the Offense, Led by E.J. Manuel, to Produce

Team: Florida State Seminoles

2011 W-L: 9-4 (5-3)

Head Coach: Jimbo Fisher (19-8; two seasons)

Returning Starters: 17 (9 Offense, 8 Defense)

After what had appeared like ages to ‘Noles fans, 2011 was supposed to be the “return to glory” for a team that at one point finished in the top five for 14 straight seasons. But a 2-3 start derailed it all in a hurry, and once again, we entered wait-and-see mode, a common occurrence over the past decade in Tallahassee. By most standards, the Seminoles were successful in how they rebounded to win seven of their final eight games, en route to a 9-4 overall record last year. However, Florida State doesn’t operate by “most standards.”

Florida State’s overall offensive production (30.9 points per game) may look impressive, but then you see that they only put up 22.7 per game in seven contests against bowl-bound teams. Peering even further into the schedule, you’ll also find that FSU beat just five FBS teams with winning records — the first such win not appearing until October 29 against NC State. But of course, that was last year’s team.

This year’s team faces an even more manageable schedule, and thus, promises to put up even more impressive point totals. The group is also more talented, however, though they’ll be counting on senior QB E.J. Manuel in order to harness all that talent. While he struggled for efficiency at times last year, he still managed to progress into a competent, confident passer; one that threw for 2,666 yards and 18 scores with a 65-percent completion rate. With another year under his belt, and an experienced offensive line in front of him, you’d only figure he’d improve in 2012. But he’ll also need to see more from his receivers. Despite the nice stat sheet for Manuel, he still doesn’t have a true number-one target and instead deals with an inconsistent group of experienced receivers. Sophomore Rashad Greene will likely enter the season as the top receiver, though nothing’s carved in stone. His fellow wide receivers Rodney Smith and Cristian Green are equally likely to push for minutes and catches, making it anything but a clear-cut decision.

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