FSU Football: Five Ways to Ease Dalvin Cook’s Burden

As most know by now, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook enjoyed the greatest season ever for an FSU rusher, tallying 1,691 yards on the ground in 2015. What’s remarkable is Cook did so on a bad hamstring and on the second most carries in Seminole history with 229.

For Florida State to make a run at the College Football Playoff and perhaps, a national championship, the Seminoles will need to keep Cook healthy. Here are five ways FSU can ease the burden on its stud running back:

1. Contributions from Other Backs
Despite missing a game against Syracuse and being limited to two carries against Wake Forest, Dalvin Cook still carried the ball 33 times more than the rest of his teammates combined. Mario Pender is no longer with the team, but Jacques Patrick is a big back who was able to shed weight this offseason. After spending last spring in the secondary, Ryan Green shined this spring with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and his surprising power. Johnathan Vickers has also taken meaningful snaps and isn’t a bad No. 4. Whether one can emerge as a legitimate No. 2 or whether it’s a group effort, FSU’s backs need to find a way to spell Cook without a huge drop-off in production.

2. Involve Receivers
Jimbo Fisher has never shied away from using the jet sweep or getting wide receivers involved in the ground game and FSU’s duo of Jesus Wilson and Kermit Whitfield might be the perfect combination for it. The two combined for just eight carries for 40 yards last season, but Whitfield has shown ability in the past as a ball-carrier. In 2013, Whitfield rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries. Receiver screens on early downs could also be used as an extension of the run game to get FSU into more manageable second and third down situations.

3. Use the Quarterback
Fisher hasn’t been afraid to use the quarterback as part of the running game, but this would probably only work with Deondre Francois. Last season, Fisher didn’t use Everett Golson as much as he probably could have on the ground, but Christian Ponder, E.J. Manuel and even Jameis Winston were all used on either designed runs, options or zone-reads. Even if Francois isn’t the starter, Fisher has used quarterbacks for specific packages like D’Vontrey Richardson in 2007 and 2008 when Fisher was the offensive coordinator under Bobby Bowden. In 2011, Fisher experimented with putting Chris Thompson in the shotgun as part of a “wildcat” package. No one wants his quarterback taking more hits than necessary, but in 2012, Manuel had 103 carries and Winston had 88 in 2013. Neither of those two quarterbacks missed a start in 14 games.

4. Take Shots Downfield
One of Cook’s best friends this season could be a vertical passing game for the Seminoles. FSU ranked 34th nationally in yards per attempt last season and 58th in yards per completion, but could stand to take more deep throws down the field. FSU has a talented corps of receivers and big arms at the quarterback position. Being able to stretch the field vertically would allow Cook to do less in between the 20s and keep safeties from creeping up to help aid in run defense.

5. Put Teams Away
Though Florida State won 10 games a season ago, the Seminoles didn’t always put teams away when they had the chance. Good examples of this were games against Wake Forest and Miami. The Seminoles led the Demon Deacons 21-10 in the first half, but were forced to hold on late with an interception in the end zone. FSU led Miami 20-10 with the ball in the red zone, but was stuffed and eventually forced to rally. Against Clemson, FSU led 7-0 early with the ball in the red zone where Maguire was intercepted in an eventual 23-13 loss. Not being able to take bigger leads forced Cook to stay in the game longer and fewer substitutions. With a beefed up schedule for 2016, this is obviously easier said than done, but when FSU is presented with the chance to knock out an opponent, it needs to make the most of it.