It has been well-documented how much better the Florida State defense played in the final eight games of last season, and much of the credit for that success has gone to some of the new faces on that side of the ball.

In particular, there was the move of South Carolina transfer Jammie Robinson from nickelback to safety, which was made possible by freshman Kevin Knowles' emergence at nickelback. There also was the rapid rise of freshman cornerback Omarion Cooper, who earned extensive playing time and eventually a starting role over the final month.

But equally important was the steady development of some veteran players -- guys who experienced growing pains when they were thrust into action earlier in their careers -- but who started to come into their own in 2021.

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"Look at somebody like Akeem Dent," FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said. "That's the one that he came in here (holding hand up high), has been down, and now he's playing his best football."

Indeed, Dent signed with Florida State as a five-star prospect in the Class of 2019 and played a lot -- at safety and cornerback -- in each of his first two seasons with the Seminoles. But he experienced mixed results, with impressive plays often followed by inexperienced mistakes.

Midway through his second full season under Fuller, however, Dent helped solidify the back end of the Seminoles' defense.

According to Pro Football Focus, his grades in the final three games of 2021 were by far the best stretch of his career. And he carried that over to spring drills, where he was a standout in several practices and scrimmages.

Linebacker Kalen DeLoach would be a similar example. Another member of FSU's 2019 class, DeLoach was in and out of the lineup during his first two years on campus, but he settled in well during the 2021 season and finished with 69 tackles. His previous season high was seven in 2020.

If Florida State's defense is going to take another step forward this fall, the Seminoles likely will need a few more of those stories to develop. And some key candidates are Derrick McLendon at defensive end, Renardo Green at cornerback, and Jarrett Jackson and Malcolm Ray at defensive tackle.

McLendon is technically a redshirt sophomore because the 2020 COVID-impacted season does not count against eligibility, but this will be his fourth season on campus. And this spring, he began to look like a player who could consistently make an impact on Saturdays.

"From a defensive line perspective, development takes time," FSU defensive ends coach John Papuchis said. "Typically, guys aren't ready until their second, third or even in some cases, their fourth year in a program. To really be significant contributors.

"And if you have the depth in your program the way that you would ideally like it to be, you would like to be able to have guys in the pipeline."

Ray and Jackson played a good bit last season and had quality moments, but they appeared to make stronger strides this spring. And they will look to team with starting defensive tackles Fabien Lovett and Robert Cooper, along with fellow backup Joshua Farmer, to give the Seminoles a fierce five-player rotation.

Linebacker Stephen Dix could be another example, as he saw his playing time diminish greatly last season after starting several games as a freshman in 2020. Fuller said the redshirt sophomore really began to shine again toward the end of this spring.

Renardo Green's journey has been unique in that many of his setbacks have been caused by injury, but he was fully healthy this spring, has moved full-time to cornerback and is in the thick of the competition for a starting job this fall.

"He had 15 really good practices in the spring, and that's something we're going to build on in the summer," Fuller said. "We're going into the summer saying he's competing for playing time at corner. And he showed us enough that he's going to deserve to do that.

In an age when many young players get frustrated about a lack of playing time or struggle with confidence after early mistakes on Saturdays, Fuller credited several players with listening to the coaches and being patient with the process.

"This is what the process of improvement looks like," Fuller said, adding that some players who redshirted last season -- in particular Farmer and safety Shyheim Brown -- are expected to be major contributors in 2022.

While patience can be difficult to come by in the age of the transfer portal -- with the added pressures that come with social media -- Papuchis said the key to long-term development is coaches being honest with their players about their performance and their potential.

Not setting unrealistic expectations, and not panicking when success doesn't come right away.

"There's just so many more things now that players have going on in their lives that didn't necessarily exist when I first started coaching," Papuchis said. "I think the best thing we can do from a coaching perspective is just be honest with guys. We do our evaluations at the end of every season, and we do an evaluation at the end of every spring, of exactly where you are on the depth [chart], and what needs to happen and how you can grow and improve as a player.

"And I think as long as those open lines of communication are there, you can offset a lot of the issues that can show up with that expectation of early playing time and all the other noise that sometimes gets in the players' ears."

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