Derrick Kelly to start at left guard in place of Kareem Are vs. Ole Miss
Florida State will start redshirt sophomore Derrick Kelly at left guard against Ole Miss on Monday as redshirt senior Kareem Are will miss the game with a concussion.
Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher said Saturday that Are, who was set to start against the Rebels on Labor Day in Orlando, has missed the last week with a concussion. Are is the latest player to be diagnosed with a concussion or concussion symptoms, joining Wilson Bell, Cole Minshew, Nyqwan Murray and Josh Sweat.
Fisher said Are and Kelly were rotating with the first team all through preseason camp, and he liked what he saw. Kelly, who is 6-foot-5 and 323 pounds, started four games at right tackle In 2015 before being ruled out with a torn meniscus.
"Remember, he started half the year last year before he got hurt," Fisher said. "Having him back at tackle and guard and we finally settled him in at guard. Him and Kareem, we'd be flipping them every series."
Fisher said redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Alec Eberle has been cleared to play, and he will start at center. Eberle was also believed to have concussion symptoms but his ailment was migrane related, Fisher told reporters earlier in the week.
He said Eberle was pracicting the last three days and he expects him to "play a bunch."
Eberle and his backup, Corey Martinez, both missed practice earlier this week. That led to FSU having freshman offenisve lineman Andrew Boselli taking first-team snaps. Fisher said he still felt comfortable with Boselli.
"Again, I feel very good about Boselli too," Fisher said. "He's had a great week and makes calls. Having those two guys, it was huge for him to come on in camp. We knew in spring he did it but, boy, he really came on through summer camp.
"But Eberle is fine. He's practiced great. He's played great."
FSU will start the season with junior Roderick Johnson, Kelly, Eberle, redshirt junior Wilson Bell and junior Rick Leonard at offenisve line.
Redshirt senior quarterback Sean Maguire has been listed as questionable, but Fisher later said he should be "available." Maguire returned ahead of schedule after having surgery on a small bone he broke in his right foot on the second day of preseason camp.
Fisher initially said Maguire was going to return after the Ole Miss game, but the New Jersey native was actually able to get in a little bit more than a week's worth of practices.
"He practiced all day today, all day yesterday and the day before," Fisher said. "So him and [redshirt sophomore quarterback J.J. Cosentino] has had a good camp. So we feel comfortable there."
Fisher said Martinez along with Keith Bryant, Cole Minshew, Darvin Taylor and Adam Torres are all out with injuries. Fisher said during his Wednesday call-in show that Bryant would miss the season after having foot surgery.
He also said senior defensive back Nate Andrews and sophomore receiver George Campbell are questionable.
As expected, the team did have to rearrange their plans around Hurricane Hermine. The Category 1 storm left close to 70 percent of Tallahassee without power as it made landfall Thursday evening into early Friday morning.
Fisher said he and the coaching staff actually had to meet Friday at the Four Points Sheraton hotel because there was no electricity on campus.
"You know what's ironic - which is weird - me being through [hurricanes] two or three times. I was through it two times in three weeks when I was at LSU," Fisher said referencing Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which swept through the Gulf Coast. "Went through Katrina, went through Rita. They were some devasting storms.
"Then again, it's another life lesson for these guys. You have to learn to prioritize."
Fisher said he wanted to make sure all of the players were safe and taken care of when it came to having food and shelter.
"We did that but at the same time I told them, 'Hey, we still have a ball game,'" Fisher said. "We're going to play on Monday night and we have to prepare. That's the way life is sometimes."
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