TALLAHASSEE — Jimbo Fisher still is tweaking Florida State’s depth chart as the team’s season opener against Oklahoma State approaches on Saturday.
The game kicks off at 7 p.m. at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The showdown will air on ABC.
Sophomore Kermit Whitfield has been penciled in ahead of senior Jarred Haggins as the starting slot receiver on the Seminoles’ two-deep depth chart released Monday.
“He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands,” Fisher said of Whitfield, who returned a kickoff 100 yards for a go-ahead touchdown against Auburn in the BCS Championship. “He’s physical, he’s strong. I’m very happy with how he plays without the ball.”
Whitfield caught just five passes for 89 yards in 2013, but he also scored two touchdowns out of the backfield and averaged 36.7 yards the three times he carried the football. Haggins, a fifth-year senior, is the more experienced player with 20 career receptions, but he sat out all of last year with a knee injury.
Jesus “Bobo” Wilson, who has been suspended since July after he was charged with the theft of a motor scooter, currently is listed as a backup — along with freshman Ja’Vonn Harrison — behind starter Rashad Greene at X-receiver. Fisher would not say whether Wilson, who has participated in camp throughout the fall, will play on Saturday.
Elsewhere offensively, freshman Dalvin Cook and third-year sophomore Mario Pender continue to vie for the No. 2 role at running back behind Karlos Williams. Two freshmen — Ermon Lane and Travis Rudolph — are competing for second-string duties behind Christian Green.
On defense, junior Reggie Northrup has appeared to eke ahead of sophomore E.J. Levenberry at middle linebacker, but Fisher said the two talented players will rotate at the position. Northrup (46) and Levenberry (39) ranked eighth and ninth on the team last year in total tackles, respectfully.
Derrick Mitchell, a redshirt junior, will start at defensive end after beating out Desmond Hollin. Mitchell and Mario Edwards Jr. will give the Seminoles a pair of 300-pounders on the edges of the defensive line.
FSU returns seven starters on both sides of the ball, but the Seminoles enjoy more experience on offense. All five starters on the offensive line are seniors. Quarterback Jameis Winston, while only a redshirt sophomore, is the returning Heisman Trophy winner. Greene will anchor a receiving corps that is expecting production from several young, unproven players.
The Seminoles don’t have a single senior starter on defense, but they don’t have any freshmen forced into starting roles, either. Ten starters are true or fourth-year juniors, and strongside linebacker Chris Casher, a redshirt sophomore, is the only non-junior to crack the starting lineup.
