Florida State Football: 5 incoming freshmen who could start in 2018

Florida State football closed its 2018 recruiting class on a high note. Which incoming freshmen could become starters for the Seminoles?

When Willie Taggart took the job with Florida State, the loss of Jimbo Fisher suddenly didn’t hurt as much. The former South Florida-turned-Oregon coach spent just one season with the Ducks before joining the Seminoles.

That lack of loyalty to Oregon would raise some eyebrows from Seminole fans if Florida State wasn’t openly dubbed as Taggart’s “dream job”.

Now that he has that dream job, he has to figure out which incoming freshmen from his solid 11th-ranked 2018 class could see the field early on and which will redshirt.

Which five incoming freshmen could start for Florida State in 2018?

Florida State might need some help at the outside linebacker spots as both Jacob Pugh and Matthew Thomas are graduating. That leaves two potentially wide open spots for some incoming guys to contend for and four-star Amari Gainer is one of them.

Gainer is an early enrollee, which gives him a leg up on the competition. The Tallahassee, Fla., native is ranked the No. 239 overall prospect and 18th-best outside linebacker in the class, per 247Sports. He lives up to that ranking and more if you watch his highlight reel.

Heck, even the first play of his highlights signifies that he’s going to be one heck of a player. He blitzed off the edge and took the opposing quarterback down hard on his blindside, knocking the helmet right off his head and forcing a fumble. It’s that type of aggressiveness and speed off the edge that makes the coaching staff drool.

Keep an eye on this kid in the spring game and throughout summer ball.