It was a quiet day in Tallahassee last March when Jimbo Fisher sat in his office, offering perspective on what happened to his team the previous season.
There are no play sheets to consult when a team loses its best player to a devastating injury, and the effect on Florida State when safety Derwin James went down in Week 2 – well, it was staggering. The following week, the Seminoles looked listless and out of sorts in an embarrassing loss to Louisville. Two weeks later, they lost to North Carolina.
Players struggled with new roles, but they also struggled without their leader.