FSU’s defensive line has enough talent, depth to be its biggest strength in 2023

No sooner had Florida State wrapped up a 10-win season featuring wins over LSU, Miami and Florida than people began touting the Seminoles had finally broken through. Years of mediocrity quickly faded, replaced by growing expectations for a return to national prominence.

FSU saw a tangible payoff to all the relentless recruiting and player development under coach Mike Norvell and his staff. Nowhere has that shown up more than on the defensive line, which has gone from an area of constant concern to the point of pride.

“It has a chance to be the strength of this entire team,” Norvell remarked before the start of spring camp. “When you look at the guys that we have up front, the size, power, speed, athleticism — it’s the best we’ve had since we’ve been here.”

Florida State went from a defensive unit that registered 10 sacks in 2020 to 33 in 2021 and 40 in 2022.

The success can be credited to FSU’s ability to attract transfer players to supplement the roster’s depth and talent. In the four recruiting classes under Norvell, the Seminoles have signed nine defensive linemen transfers starting with Fabien Lovett (2020), followed by Keir Thomas and Jermaine Johnson II in 2021, Jared Verse in 2022 and Gilber Edmond, Braden Fiske and Darrell Jackson Jr. in 2023.

Florida State coach Mike Norvell believes his team's defensive line is the strongest part of the team heading into the 2023 season. The Seminoles have spent the past four seasons rebuilding the unit through recruiting and the transfer portal and now the group has enough talent and depth to create a solid rotation. (Phil Sears/AP)

Johnson was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in sacks (12) and tackle for loss (18) before being selected as the 26th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Verse was named Defensive Rookie of the Year after finishing with a team-high 9 sacks and 16.5 TFLs last season and was projected as a possible first-round pick before announcing he was returning to the Seminoles in 2023.

“When you look at Florida State and all the great defensive lines that we’ve had, but we go out and identify and bring in the right guys, whether it’s high school level, guys that have grown and developed coupled with some of the veteran players that are returning,” said Norvell. “It is exciting to have those guys here, and then bringing in newcomers that are going to challenge them.”

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“Jermaine and Keir started it all,” said defensive ends coach John Papuchis. “I always look back at those guys, at least from my standpoint and think that they were the catalyst to getting things going from a transfer standpoint. That was a big part of Jared coming in and he had great success, which ultimately became a big part of why Gilber wanted to come.

“Each year, as we move forward, it’s building on the previous year. Hopefully, we can continue to do that as we move forward.”

The addition of Edmond, a redshirt junior who’s appeared in 21 games at South Carolina, provides Florida State with another veteran pass rusher.

“We’ve been fortunate to have some successful transfers come in at the defensive end spot and I don’t see any reason why he can’t be kind of the next guy in that role that comes in and has an impact,” added Papuchis.

Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse was one of nine defensive linemen to join the Seminoles over the past four seasons. He followed in the footsteps of Jermaine Johnson II, who turned his one season in Tallahassee into a first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. (Joshua Bessex/AP)

Along with the transfers, FSU has added depth through the high school ranks, signing 14 defensive linemen over the past four recruiting classes. That group includes more than half a dozen players who’ve seen significant snaps for the Seminoles, including Patrick Payton (2021), Byron Turner (2021), Joshua Farmer (2021), Daniel Lyons (2022), Aaron Hester (2022), Bishop Thomas (2022), and Ayobami Tifase (2022).

That, coupled with a handful of veterans in Dennis Briggs Jr., Derrick McLendon II, Leonard Warner III, and Malcolm Ray, has given FSU the type of roster depth to create a rotation of players up front that hasn’t been seen in the program in close to a decade.

“Go watch the championship game from last year,” Norvell said of Georgia’s second national championship. “The team that won it go watch the rotation they had on defense. There’s not a play that’s happening where guys are just going through the motions. Guys are staying fresh, and guys are making impacts. They’re finding their role and opportunity together with a group that that’s what we want and that’s what we need to get to.”

Georgia coach Kirby Smart built a brand of defensive football that relies on having interchangeable parts up front. The Bulldogs rotated a dozen players on the defensive line last season, each participating in at least 100 snaps led by a group of seven starters featuring Nazir Stackhouse, Jalen Carter, Zion Logue, respectively Nolan Smith and Tramel Walthour.

UGA finished ninth in total defense (296.8 yards per game) and were graded the country’s 20th-best defense (90.0) by Pro Football Focus.

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Florida State’s defense relies on multiple schemes going from a 4-3 to a 4-2-5 defense with hybrid players.

Eight players started games last season on the front, with Lovett, Cooper and Ray receiving most of the snaps at tackle, with McLendon, Verse, Briggs and Warner III splitting time on the defensive ends. Even so, the Seminoles had nine players participate in at least 200 snaps.

The mix led to FSU finishing with a top-15 defense (322 yards per game) and one of its best defensive seasons since 2015.

“We’ve got pass rushers, we’ve got guys that are stout in the run game and guys that can play all three downs,” said defensive coordinator Adam Fuller. “We’ve got a good mix that comes through evaluation, development and just building the group. It’s starting to get to a point where we feel comfortable with how we made it.

“It’s still about the development, getting them to play together, and getting into certain roles. I don’t want us to become very cookie-cutter with the roles because there will not always be two defensive ends and two defensive tackles on the field together. We’ve shown the ability to play with multiple defensive ends and are open to playing with multiple defensive tackles based on roles and how they could play. I’m open to all of it.”

Creating a rotation is critical for the defense, particularly up front.

Papuchis said, “You want to play a bunch of guys and be fresh throughout the game. We’ve gotten our program to what I believe is the point where we’ve started to have that depth. We didn’t have [that depth] those the first couple of years, and now I feel like that depth is starting to be there. This spring will be a big test to see where we are.”

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.