Spring is often a time for football teams to work players in at new positions, and at least two veterans on the Florida State defense will be in new spots when practice begins on March 5.

Dennis Briggs, who started his career at defensive end before moving to defensive tackle two years ago, will be at his original position on the outside. FSU's defensive coaches hinted at the move after the 2021 season, and head coach Mike Norvell confirmed it this week during a podcast interview.

"He's going to make the transition back out to defensive end," Norvell said on the I Formation podcast. "You've got a guy that's 6-4, 270 pounds, that can absolutely run. I'm excited to see what he's going to be able to do."

*** Don't miss our exclusive FSU football and recruiting coverage. 30-day Free Trial***

Briggs, a redshirt junior, started two of FSU's first four games last season at defensive tackle before being sidelined with a season-ending injury. He played primarily defensive end in 2019 before moving inside late that year when Marvin Wilson and others were hampered by injuries.

Briggs likely will join Albany transfer Jared Verse and fourth-year sophomores Derrick McLendon and Quashon Fuller as the Seminoles' top four defensive ends entering spring drills. (Also see: Complete spring defensive end preview)

Sixth-year senior Leonard Warner will be in the mix as well. The former linebacker moved to defensive end at the end of the 2020 season but missed 2021 due to injury.

Another position switch this spring will feature redshirt junior Brendan Gant, who is moving from safety to linebacker.

Gant has started six games over the past three seasons, but he was much more productive in run support last season than in pass coverage.

According to Pro Football Focus, his highest-graded performance in 2021 came against Wake Forest, which also happened to be the game in which he lined up most often in the box. Gant received a 61.7 grade that day, which is only slightly above average, but it was much better than his other performances. He finished the year with an overall defensive grade of 51.1, which is below average.

Gant's pass coverage grade in 2021 was the lowest of any defensive back who saw significant playing time, but he was solid in tackling and in run support. His run defense grade of 73.7 was eighth on the team and second-best among safeties.

As a true freshman in 2019, Gant also saw a decent amount of action in the box because the Seminoles were struggling mightily at linebacker. And two of his best games -- Wake Forest and Alabama State -- were games when he was positioned closer to the line of scrimmage. His season grade was 55.3, but he posted a 65.6 vs. Wake Forest and 65.8 vs. Alabama State.

Gant likely will be competing for a backup role at the start of spring drills. The Seminoles return their top three linebackers from a year ago -- Kalen DeLoach, Amari Gainer and D.J. Lundy -- and they have brought in UCF's leading tackler, Tatum Bethune, as a transfer.

----------------------------------------------------

Talk about this story with other Florida State fans in the Tribal Council