Spotlight #1: Florida State OT Zerbie Saunders
Spotlight #2: Florida State OLB Nigel Bradham
1st quarter
13:23: Saunders, good mobility to get into the 2nd level and a solid 2nd level block.
2:53: Saunders allows a strip sack, recovered by Florida State, but also poor instincts by Saunders to not notice at first the ball was by his foot.
2nd quarter
14:35: Brandon Jenkins forces a guy to flush the pocket for no gain.
12:15: Bradham with a tackle up the middle after 3 yards.
10:24: Bradham good speed to the outside to chase down Lamar Miller running down the opposite side of the tackle box, but whiffs on the tackle.
9:34: Bradham with an ankle tackle on Miami quarterback Jacory Harris after he decides to run, sizeable gain, but a good job by Bradham to come back after dropping in coverage to make a tackle.
7:42: Saunders starts losing his battle, but good recovery to keep the quarterback protected and give him the time he needs to get a big completion.
0:39: Brandon Jenkins with a sack.
0:08: Bradham with a fumble recovery.
3rd quarter
2:56: Bradham with a pass deflection, nearly a pick. He’s looked good in coverage tonight.
2:27: Bradham jumps in on a tackle after a completion for 13 yards.
4th quarter
11:56: False start by Saunders.
8:40: Bradham can’t disengage from a block.
1:49: Nigel Bradham ejected for a helmet to helmet hit. Not a dirty play, but ejected. I don’t understand this.
0:00: Zerbie Saunders started the season at right tackle for Florida State, but when Andrew Datko went down with an injury, Saunders moved over to the left side and has been playing well. Some people have him as high as the 2nd round so I wouldn’t to see what the big deal was. I didn’t see the big deal. Saunders wasn’t bad, but he did have a penalty and a sack allowed. He looked athletic, but he also looks pretty raw. I didn’t see anything to suggest he deserves such a quick stock up. Hopefully those places with him in the 2nd round drop him after this game. He looks worth a mid round pick as a flier, but I wouldn’t bank on him being by left tackle if I were an NFL decision maker.
Nigel Bradham finished the game with 10 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and a tackle for loss, as well as a stupid, undeserved ejection late. However, I didn’t feel he really stood out on tape. He was just alright. He made tackles when plays were at him, but he didn’t make a lot of wow plays. His stat sheet over the past 3 years as a starter doesn’t suggest a lot of wow plays either. He’s a fundamentally sound 3 year starter with good size and speed, but he overall looks like a mid rounder.
Brandon Jenkins was the star of this game. He had a sack and a tackle for loss, as well as several quarterback pressures. It doesn’t all show up on the stat sheet, but he was disruptive all night. He really looked like the type of pass rusher he was last year when he had 13.5 sacks and I didn’t see that when he played Clemson, the last Florida State game I saw. He only has 4.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss on the season, but he’s been double teamed a lot, allowing other guys to make plays and he’s still been disruptive. He looks like a top 25 pick as either a 4-3 end or a 3-4 rush linebacker.
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