On The Bench: An FSU football podcast network

On The Bench starts with a summary of Willie Taggart’s spring booster tour, and the balancing act he faces between building confidence among the fan base without overselling a team still in the process of a rebuild.

On the recruiting front, we drop some intel on FSU targets Sage Ennis and Thomas Shrader, go over the top seven list for Richie Leonard (plus Sonnone’s prophetic dream?), and recent visits. Plus a quick look ahead to FSU’s big-man camp this weekend.

Of course, Newberg’s hair, Nee’s travels and Sonnone’s anxiety are all up for discussion as well.

Three defensive backs make this portion of Noles247's 40 Most Important Players, as does a specialist and a late addition to the list.

Chris Nee and Brendan Sonnone breakdown No. 35-31 in this episode of On The Bench.

Is Florida State's offensive line in better shape now than it was a year ago? 

That remains to be seen. But losing Landon Dickerson, at least for the 2019 season, seems like it represents a substantial setback. The guys at On The Bench weigh what Dickerson's loss truly means and what FSU's line looks like without him. Plus Nee was on the bench this past week (sort of) and gets you caught up on the latest happenings with FSU recruiting.

On The Bench goes over a cornucopia of football and recruiting topics: Defensive end depth following Xavier Peters' departure, the most important players in 2019, new crystal balls for the 'Noles, and Twitter narratives/rumors.

247Sports national recruiting analyst Charles Power has been fascinated by the Briles' offense since he was a student at South Carolina, watching Houston spread it out vs. USC. Power joins On The Bench's Josh Newberg to go over why he loves what Kendal Briles does on offense, how it can work at FSU, his thoughts on quarterback recruiting, and more.

Florida State has a new(ish) athletic director and an academic mess to fix from the previous regime...and things are devolving quickly in Gainesville.

Noles247’s On The Bench goes over the latest happenings in the world of FSU athletics in the latest podcast.

Marvin Jones. Derrick Brooks. Paul McGowan. 

These legendary Florida State linebackers -- at the heart of some of college football’s most dominant defenses in the 1980s and 1990s -- were molded by Wally Burnham. Burnham, joining Noles247’s On The Bench podcast, chats with Josh Newberg as he recalls the joys of coaching guys like Jones and Brooks, working with Bobby Bowden, defending Kendal Briles’ offense when he was at Baylor and more.

FSU secured its fifth commitment in about two weeks, adding a pledge from WR Malachi Wideman. The four-star receiver represents value at a position of need, which is encouraging news for a class that needs to keep adding talented skill players.

Quarterback Wyatt Rector suffered a major injury and rejection on the recruiting trail in the past two years. But through disappointment, Rector has remained resilient and is now ready to walk-on at FSU. Rector sits down with On The Bench to share his journey. 

Florida State's hot streak on the recruiting trail continued with a commitment from four-star linebacker Jayion McCluster. Noles247's On The Bench podcast takes a look at why McCluster was a good take for what could be a crowded linebacker room for the Seminoles. Where does McCluster project to play at the next level and why did he pick FSU? 

Plus we go over FSU's need for skill players in this class, positions of needs and more.