Fabien Lovett has been through quite a bit since the last time the Florida State football team faced LSU.
Last September, Lovett helped anchor a defensive tackle unit that limited LSU to 139 rushing yards -- 114 of which came from quarterback Jayden Daniels -- as the Seminoles came away with a significant 24-23 win over the Tigers in New Orleans.
However, he had to watch the iconic end of the game, Shyheim Brown's blocked extra point, from the sideline after suffering a foot injury in the final minutes of the game.
"What I remember from that game mostly was at the end of the game after my injury, I had got up and hopped over to the guys right before the blocked field goal and was like, 'I need y'all to do this. We've got to win. I ain't out there, I need y'all to do something,' " Lovett recalled Tuesday. "I just gave them some words of encouragement, they went out there and I feel like I lifted them up, they went out there and blocked the kick, did what needed to be done."
Statistically, Lovett's impact in that game didn't jump off the page. He had just two tackles and no tackles for loss or sacks. However, FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller saw quite a different story from digging into the film in the aftermath of the victory.
"That game he played last year against them, that was one of the better defensive tackle performances that I saw," Fuller recalled Monday.
The very unfortunate news for Lovett was that he never again reached that form for the Seminoles in 2022. He missed the next five games due to his injury and even when he returned for FSU's final five games of the regular season, he was kept on a limited snap count.
Maybe it was the fact that his first four games back were all lopsided FSU victories, but Lovett didn't play more than 26 reps in any of his first four games back. He recorded six total tackles and two tackles for loss in that span.
Lovett did play a remarkable 63 snaps against Florida in the regular-season finale, but then found himself sidelined once again with an injury in FSU's Cheez-It Bowl win over Oklahoma.
Even through that adversity, FSU head coach Mike Norvell saw the off-field impact Lovett made on FSU's breakthrough 10-win season last fall.
"Fabien has got a great voice on this team. He cares about his teammates, he cares about this program, what we're doing," Norvell said. "I think he's really pushed himself even in moments where it's hard or challenging. Going through that experience a year ago where he couldn't play in some games but was still trying to make an impact on others. I think he's even taken another step in his maturity for what he wants to be.
The statistical difference of FSU's defense with and without Lovett last season was staggering. Per a stat assembled by ESPN's David Hale, FSU allowed 3.37 yards per play and 3.18 yards per run in 2022 when Lovett was on the field compared to 5.27 yards per play and 4.82 yards per run when Lovett was not on the field.
"Knock people backwards and make a bunch of tackles in the backfield. That would be fantastic and Fabo can do it," Fuller said when asked what he's looking for from Lovett in his return to action.
After a 2021 season that seemed to set Lovett up for a 2022 breakout, his injury woes denied that possibility. They also contributed to his decision to run it back for FSU as a sixth-year senior using his COVID-eligibility year granted to all student-athletes by the NCAA.
However, it wasn't by any means a smooth offseason coming back from the injury. Lovett's recovery continued into the start of preseason camp.
"Honestly, it's just a day-to-day thing. Every day is just trying to get better than the day before," Lovett said. "That's honestly it, giving that 1% and trying to max out every day as much as I can regardless of the circumstances."
Added Norvell, "We knew with Fabien it was going to be a process throughout camp...I'm just excited about what I have seen. Last week was really the first big push for him. He's been working really hard, obviously, conditioning and some of the fundamental work. But I thought last week was the first physical, good-on-good work that we put him in and he showed improvement. That's what you want to see from what I know is a great player and he definitely carried that over into (Tuesday). I saw some really good work. I'm excited to have him rolling here this week."
As Lovett has ramped things up with the LSU rematch looming this weekend, he's also noticed a difference in himself entering his final season of college football.
"I am a lot (stronger). I'm stronger, more technically strong. More violent, more run-through-your-face strong," Lovett said. "Last year I was strong, but working with these guys, you get stronger every year. There's no doubt this is a program, a strength staff, I love those guys. This strength staff, I've gotten stronger every year. It's just improvement."
It remains unclear how many snaps Lovett will be able to give FSU this time around against the Tigers. It may not be as many as the 43 he played in last year's game.
But Fuller is confident that Lovett will make the most of those opportunities.
"Obviously he's coming off of that injury that he had at the end of last year, but he wants it, he wants is as bad as anybody," Fuller said. "So I'm looking forward to making sure that we put him in the right spots and get the right amount of work out of him. I'm excited to see what he does."
And Lovett is confident in both the rest of his position group and the FSU defense as a whole when he's not on the field.
"Relentless," Lovett said when asked for one word to describe this FSU defense. "We're going to attack. If you've got the ball, get ready to hit."
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