Confidence high for Adam Fuller, FSU defense after strong finish last fall
As he wrapped up the first practice of the preseason, Florida State football coach Mike Norvell said he was pleased with the Seminoles' overall speed and tempo. And he really liked what he saw from a communication standpoint.
Especially on defense.
There were very few missed assignments. Nobody was running wide open. There weren't any obvious busts in the secondary.
In both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, Norvell thought his defense communicated very well.
And that's exactly what defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said he expects from a unit that returns so much experience from a season ago.
"We have listeners and we have people that are commanding of what needs to be said," Fuller said. "We put communication on a lot of different people. But it really falls to the middle of the defense -- the two safeties and the two (line)backers on the field. They always have to be in that role.
"And that's a critical piece to us playing well."
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It's one of the reasons Florida State's defense improved so much from September to the end of the season a year ago. Akeem Dent and Jammie Robinson became the primary safeties and rarely came off the field. That continuity created confidence and improved communication.
Fuller expects that to get even better this fall as Dent and Robinson enter their second season of playing together, while UCF transfer Tatum Bethune joins returning starter Kalen DeLoach as one of the primary linebackers.
Bethune not only is a productive player, but teammates and coaches say he is an excellent communication on and off the field.
"Just to see him get along with Kalen and Amari (Gainer) and D.J. Lundy and Stephen Dix and Brendan Gant and see that room really start to really come together," Fuller said. "He's a really calculated leader. And I mean that in a good way.
"He's mature, he loves football, he loves competition, and he's got the skillset to be really good."
Another transfer that Fuller thinks can be really good is Jared Verse. He said the redshirt sophomore defensive end has all the physical tools and a great work ethic. He expects him to make an immediate impact in 2022.
"He's a pusher," Fuller said. "He's somebody that outworks himself constantly. I just think his role with the team, and what that fits in with success and failure and how that looks, I think that's the biggest thing we've got to continue to work on with him. Because it's different. And it's new for him."
Defensive end, of course, is the position that is the biggest question mark for the Seminoles on that side of the ball.
Jermaine Johnson was a first-round pick. Keir Thomas was an All-ACC caliber player on the other side. They're both gone.
Verse has been brought in to help fill the void, but he can't do it alone. Fuller thinks two key returners -- Dennis Briggs Jr. and Derrick McLendon -- have a chance to enjoy breakout seasons as well in 2022, to help make up for the loss of the two ultra-productive seniors.
"We moved to Dennis to Fox; we're all systems go on that," Fuller said. "He's 100 percent healthy at this point. The training has come. He's an incredibly gifted player. And he was really productive for us last year (at defensive tackle, before his season-ending injury).
"He's excited about it. We're excited about it. And you'll see a lot of him this year."
McLendon will be seen a lot, too.
The redshirt sophomore was one of the breakout players from the early portions of spring camp. He looked better than he ever had in an FSU uniform.
On the eve of preseason camp, Fuller was asked what had changed with the Decatur, Ga., native from previous seasons to now.
"Size, strength, growth, maturity," Fuller said. "He had to play when he was super young and he wasn't ready. Now he's ready."
Is the Florida State defense ready?
Not just to be better than it was a year ago, but to perhaps be one of the best units in the ACC?
The ingredients are there, it would seem, for Fuller's unit to make a sizeable leap: Experience, talent, depth, young players (like defensive backs Azareye'h Thomas and Sam McCall) who could make an instant impact. And they will be led by two returning starters in the secondary, Kevin Knowles and Omarion Cooper, who burst onto the scene in 2021 as true freshmen.
Fuller seems confident in the group. And he's quite certain he knows what he wants the identity to be.
"Just playing unbelievably fast and playing together," Fuller said. "I think a disciplined, confident, tough unit. We're there from a group (standpoint) now. Now we've just got to go prove it day in and day out."
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