FSU CB duo Azareye'h Thomas, Fentrell Cypress locking it down in fall camp
Entering preseason camp, there was a lot to like about Azareye'h Thomas and Fentrell Cypress, Florida State's projected starters at cornerback.
But very few people probably expected what they have delivered through the first week of the Seminoles' fall camp.
The two defensive backs took very different paths to college football prominence. But now, they seem to be converging as a potentially special pair of starting outside cornerbacks on the FSU defense.
"I think we've got a couple dynamic guys at corner. Both have played a lot of football. Both are great leaders in what we do and they bring a great mindset to the work..." FSU head coach Mike Norvell said of Thomas and Cypress after FSU's Tuesday morning practice. "They've been great in their press coverage, the things that we've challenged them on, some of the different looks. I think they've continued to push to get better."
Thomas took the homegrown path when he became a late addition to FSU's 2022 class in December 2021 after the Seminoles came out of nowhere late in his recruitment.
He was impactful right away on the practice field, but had to wait his turn to break into the starting lineup. After appearing in 24 games in a reserve role, he made his first career collegiate start in last year's Orange Bowl vs. Georgia.
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But even in a rotational role, Thomas has been effective in his first two seasons. He recorded his first career interception as a true freshman in 2022 and had 10 pass breakups as a sophomore in 2023, tied for second-most on the team behind Renardo Green.
With Green now off to the NFL, it's Thomas' turn to step into his role in the starting lineup. With a 6-foot-2 frame, great mobility and supreme confidence built from a gradually increasing role on FSU's defense, Thomas now enters his junior season as an impact player for the Seminoles.
"A long way," Thomas said when asked how far his confidence has come. "It's all a part of the process. You come in here as a freshman straight out of high school, you don't really know what to expect. With me having older brothers (who played college football), of course they told me, but it's different when you're actually in it. The growth and the progress, mentally and physically, that I have made, it's amazing."
Thomas talked to the media after Sunday's practice, the same day where he recorded his first interception of fall camp on a deep ball down the sideline that he tracked like a wide receiver and effortlessly caught. Reflecting on the pick after practice, he said he's reached a point now where he's surprised when offenses try to beat him deep.
"I'm surprised when I see (deep balls) in the air, to be honest," Thomas said. "I feel like that confidence is always there. Playing DB, you've got to have that confidence. So when I see the ball in the air, my mindset is, 'It's my ball.' "
Cypress, on the other hand, was a transfer addition to FSU's roster ahead of the 2023 season. He arrived with quite a bit of hype surrounding him coming off a season at Virginia where he was a second-team All-ACC cornerback (first-team All-ACC according to PFF) with 39 tackles, 14 pass breakups and no touchdowns allowed in coverage.
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However, the learning curve was a bit steeper than expected for Cypress and he wasn't immediately an All-ACC caliber player upon his arrival at FSU. He started all 14 games for FSU and improved as the season progressed after some struggles early in the season. Over FSU's final four games, PFF credited him with just three catches allowed for 40 yards. PFF also says he was only responsible for one touchdown in coverage during his debut season at FSU.
"There were a couple times I could tell I was questioning if I should do this or do that," Cypress said of watching film from his first season at FSU. "Now it's having a better understanding of the defense and the guys around me that I have the confidence that I can just play fast, not overthink about things."
That has certainly looked to be the case so far this preseason, where Cypress has been perhaps FSU's best defensive player with a pair of early interceptions, a bunch more pass breakups and consistently great coverage that has made him a real challenge for FSU's wide receivers to go against on the practice field.
"Each and every day you've got to build trust on the field, off the field. Overall, each rep helps each other and helps you understand what our best is and our potential of being great..." Cypress said. "I'm just confident in everybody around me. As we go during fall camp, the confidence is just going to keep building. Having them around me, having that support, we know we're going to push each other hard. When it comes to that, we've got a great group. Even the young guys, we depend on them, we know that they can do big things for us."
Even as they enter what could be both of their final seasons at FSU if they live up to their very high potential, Thomas and Cypress keep working hard, pushing each other and showing a lot of appreciation for how much easier the other makes their own job.
"AZ, he always wants to learn. He's always looking to learn something, trying to be better, taking the extra time to work on things that he feels he needs to be better at," Cypress said of Thomas. "Just taking the extra time and working on being the best version of himself. He's always had that mindset."
"Fentrell, I call him a technician. He's quiet but he's dangerous. Seeing him going out there, I learn from him, me and him learn together," Thomas said of Cypress. "After practice, we get releases in and we just try to tell each other different pointers and little tools that we can add in our toolbox to help each other. His growth from last year is crazy...
"The growth that I've seen from him, I know he's going to have a big, huge year. I know both of us are going to have a huge year and I know we're going to continue to learn from each other."
Much like at defensive end, when you have players at cornerback that can take over games and largely stifle their opponents, it makes the job of the entire defense much easier.
That's perhaps the biggest thing for Norvell with the 2024 season just over three weeks away.
"When you have that position (cornerback) as an overall strength, it definitely allows everything else defensively to build upon it," Norvell said.
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