Florida State football: Three players to know ahead of Friday's game against Louisville
Florida State football returns to action this week following an open week.
The last time the Seminoles took the field, they pulled off arguably the biggest win in head coach Mike Norvell's tenure. ACC Network analyst EJ Manuel joined a podcast with the Democrat and said the victory got the monkey off the back for the third-year coach.
Now FSU (2-0) turns its attention to ACC play, as it travels to play at Louisville (1-1, 0-1 ACC) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Cardinal Stadium.
The Seminoles got the program-changing win, now they have to build on it.
Here are the three FSU players to watch this weekend.
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Defensive end Dennis Briggs Jr.
Defensive end Dennis Briggs Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury as a result of a chop block during the Seminoles’ 31-23 loss to Louisville last season on Sept. 25 in Tallahassee.
The chop block, which was considered a dirty play by some fans, ended the redshirt junior's season before the fifth game.
Briggs recorded 0.5 sacks in the LSU win, but he hasn't made the big impact he is capable of yet. He figures to be an important piece to containing Louisville QB Malik Cunningham.
Briggs switched from defensive tackle to defensive end during the offseason.
Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald was perfect on his kickoffs and his field goal attempts in "Week Zero" against Duquesne. But he kicked two balls out of bounds, including the opening kick off against LSU, and missed an early field goal.
He did bounce back in the second half with a 25-yard field goal, and he kept the ball in the field of play on every other kickoff.
Fitzgerald had not handled kickoff duties prior to this season, so the nerves of playing a big game at a neutral site could have impacted him.
Since this will be the first true road game for the Seminoles this season, it will be a test for Fitzgerald to ensure his team doesn't give up valuable field position in the conference opener.
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Wide receiver Johnny Wilson
Through two games, the 6-foot-7, 235 pound receiver has four receptions for 111 yards.
Wilson recorded one catch for 51 yards against Duquesne and had three catches for 60 yards against LSU.
Still, Wilson has not found the end zone yet and is the biggest threat on that part of the field with his size.
With Jordan Travis off to a hot start, this could be Wilson's breakout game for the Seminoles.
GAME INFORMATION
Who: FSU (2-0) at Louisville (1-1, 0-1 ACC)
When/where: Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Cardinal Stadium
TV/Radio: ESPN/94.9 FM
Contact Ehsan Kassim at 256-300-5313 or ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football: Three Seminoles' players to know against LSU
