Listen Now! Breaking down the Seminoles ahead of April 15 Garnet and Gold spring game

For the first time in years, the Florida State Seminoles head into the upcoming football season with high expectations.

They return their quarterback in Jordan Travis, their top receiver in Johnny Wilson, their top running back in Trey Benson and their top defensive player in Jared Verse.

Coming off a 10-3 season where they beat LSU in the season opener and won a thriller against Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl, head coach Mike Norvell has this program back in the national spotlight.

In 2023, they open the season again against LSU in Orlando, and have tough road contests at Clemson, at Pittsburgh and at Florida.

But before all of that, they have the annual Garnet and gold Spring Game coming up Saturday, April 15, at 4 p.m.

Previous podcasts:

Orange and Blue Game: Gators evaluate quarterbacks, defense ahead of 2023 Orange and Blue Game

Fighting Fins: Dolphins make waves in free agency, have eye toward NFL Draft

Surging Jaguars: Listen Now! Jaguars try to keep team together through free agency. Have they done enough?

To break down how the Seminoles have looked this spring and what to expect during the upcoming spring game, I welcome in Ehsan Kassim, Seminoles reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat as the latest guest on “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast.”

Ehsan is a good luck charm of sorts for the Seminoles — he took over covering the team in August just before they had their best season since 2016.

The Seminoles have a potential Heisman hopeful in Travis, who threw for 3,214 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2022 while rushing for 417 yards and seven touchdowns. He even had one reception for two yards and a touchdown.

He’ll be entering his sixth college football season — his fifth in Tallahassee after one in Louisville in 2018.

At age 22, he has a career record of 15-5 as a starter.

"He seems more confident than he even seemed last year," Ehsan says during the podcast. "He's gained some muscle. He looked a little bigger, he looks stronger. He just looks improved."

He’ll be joined by Wilson, who was the team leader with 897 receiving yards and five touchdowns. And leading rusher Trey Benson is back. He had 990 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.

That type of potent offense will pose a challenge unlike anything seen in Tallahassee in nearly a decade.

They also have a defense to match, led by defensive end Verse, who had 47 tackles, 16.5 for loss, and 9 sacks.

"I was thinking he was gone (to the NFL) and was not coming back," Ehsan says. "It was a major, major boost to get Jared verse back."

If you love the Seminoles — or root for one of their rivals — you need to listen to this podcast.

Join the tens of thousands who have downloaded us and find out why we give you the best sports breakdowns in the state.

We can be downloaded wherever you listen to podcasts, or simply type in “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast” into your favorite search engine. We also can be found on any of the 17 USA TODAY-Network Florida websites.

If you like it, you can check out previous shows, which feature current and former professional athletes and coaches, as well as our stable of journalists who cover beats and write columns, all of whom have a tie to the Sunshine State.

Contact Walters at twalters@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Garnet and Gold Game, set for April 15, discussed on state podcast