Morale surrounding Florida State’s nationally renowned football program isn’t the highest at the moment, but a couple of young offensive skill players are starting to come along for the 13th-ranked Seminoles.
Running back Jacques Patrick and wide receiver Auden Tate, both sophomores, were among the few bright spots for FSU in Saturday’s 63-20 loss at Louisville. Both seem to be making clear progress from their freshman years and both are filling voids that desperately needed to be filled for Florida State.
To start, Patrick seems to have finally emerged as the legitimate No. 2 tailback behind starter Dalvin Cook. Cook seemed to be overworked as a sophomore in 2015, finishing with the second-most carries in FSU history despite missing a game with an ankle injury and battling a hamstring issue for most of the season.
Cook’s slow start this season has led some to question how healthy the talented junior really is, but if Cook needs to have his role reduced, Patrick is starting to look like the guy to fill in. Patrick finished with a team-high 79 yards rushing in Saturday’s loss on just seven carries, which included a career-long rush of 41 yards.
At about 230 pounds, Patrick is a big back who moves well, but with the exception of his lone career start last season against Syracuse, Patrick had not been running with the leverage and power that the FSU coaching staff had hoped for. That seems to be changing for the better.
Over the last two weeks, Patrick has more than 100 yards rushing on 12 carries, which equates to an 8.8 yards per carry average to go along with a touchdown. Patrick’s emergence should not only take some of the burden off Cook, but if he can continue to run with his pads low, he could help wear down a defense late in games.
At receiver, Tate is quietly becoming a solution to Florida State’s red zone woes. Last season, the Seminoles ranked outside of the top 100 when it came to offensive efficiency in the red zone and the lack of a big target near the goal line was a big reason why.
Through three games, Tate has just four catches for 45 yards, but three of those have gone for scores. The three touchdown grabs is also tied for the ACC lead with teammate and fellow receiver Travis Rudolph.
At 6-5 and about 225 pounds, Tate was expected to see his production increase after being held without a catch last season. Though two of Tate’s three scores came in garbage time, he’s been in the lineup near the goal line regardless of the situation. His first of two touchdowns Saturday came in the first half and cut the FSU deficit at the time, to 14-10.
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said earlier this week that Tate would become more of a rotational receiver in the lineup. That would be a welcomed sign for a deep corps of receivers yet to reach its potential as a whole.
Whether or not FSU can right the ship after its worst loss under Fisher remains to be seen the rest of the way. If there was a silver lining to take away from last week however, it’s that the Seminoles are developing depth at the skill positions. That’s an encouraging sign for FSU moving forward both this season and next.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
Phil Kelly/FSU athletics
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