The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AFTER his first reception of the season in his last outing, Florida State Seminoles tight end Mavin Saunders continues to garner increased expectations from staff and teammates.

Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher said he expects the redshirt sophomore and Bimini native to become an even greater part of the game plan as FSU implements more double tight end sets.

“Mavin is getting better and better. He’s really grinding, he’s getting better and better and doing better. He has a chance to be a really good player, he just needs to keep working. I hope the light came on for him and a lot of them.

“When you start to have success and realise what you can do then you have a lot of plays in the game,” Fisher said following Tuesday’s practice.

“You don’t see a lot of that, you don’t see a lot of two tight end sets that we run and that’s good for us because we become the different ones. Mavin [because of his] athleticism, as he learns to be a really good football player, Mavin can do anything that he wants to.”

Saunders caught a 12-yard reception, his first of the season, in the No.13 ranked Seminoles’ 55-35 win over the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.

The win improved the Seminoles to 3-1 and got them back in the win column after a 63-23 upset on the road against the Louisville Cardinals.

After seeing action sparingly in the first three games of the season, Saunders saw increased minutes against USF, but remains second on the depth chart behind Ryan Izzo.

Izzo noted the marked improvement in Saunders, particularly as a blocker.

“He’s done nothing but improve, his technique, his mentality as a player has just gotten better every week,” Izzo said.

“Through fall camp and so far this year he really has showed how much he has learned since he got here. Playing more two tight end sets will definitely show a different part of our game.”

The Seminoles return home, for the first time in three weeks, to face the North Carolina Tar Heels on October 1 at 3:30pm, in a game broadcast live on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

Saunders, the 6’5” 258-pound tight end and Bimini native, has appeared in six games last season before being relegated to the sidelines due to a nagging back injury.

In the season opener, he caught a single pass for five yards. His best game of the season was the first start of his collegiate career, when he finished with three receptions for 26 yards – both career highs – in the Seminoles’ 29-24 win over in-state rival, the University of Miami Hurricanes.