FSU coaches praise LB growth as second half of season begins

It was the biggest question mark on the Florida State football team's defense heading into the 2021 season.

It was probably the biggest one on the team, actually.

And while the FSU linebacker unit has had some struggles through the first half of the 2021 season, the Seminoles' coaching staff likes the direction the group is going in as they head into the second half of the year.

Kalen DeLoach and Amari Gainer are both tied for third on the team in tackles with 35 each. Fellow starter D.J. Lundy has 30.

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All three have become valuable parts of a Florida State defense that has improved in each of the last three games.

"D.J. is young, but we've put a lot on his plate," FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said Monday. "You can tell in his play speed early in the game kind of how he's seeing things, how quickly he's seeing plays. D.J. is what we're looking for.

"He's got good quickness, he's an extremely physical player, he doesn't stay blocked and he's a good solid tackler. I do think we've seen a lot of growth by D.J. over the season."

Last year, Lundy played 103 snaps as a true freshman.

This year, as a redshirt freshman, he's already played 282. And there are six games remaining.

Gainer has played 252 snaps, and Fuller said he thought the redshirt sophomore played one of his best games last Saturday at North Carolina. While the Tallahassee native played mostly outside linebacker earlier in his college career, he now lines up inside the box but maintains the ability to move to the edge.

According to Pro Football Focus, Gainer posted a season-high grade of 82.3 in the win over the Tar Heels. That also was the highest grade on the defense.

"Obviously he's playing inside 'backer, but we use him at the line of scrimmage, too, as a pass-rusher," Fuller said. "There's some plays (against UNC) that he wanted to have back. He missed too many sacks two weeks ago. And he'd be the first one to tell you that.

"But he plays with really good effort and he's a sure tackler. And those things showed up with some effort plays last week. And listen, Amari is a big part of our defense, and it's important he plays well."

The linebacker who has made perhaps the biggest splash for the FSU defense so far in 2021 has been DeLoach.

The redshirt sophomore has played 334 snaps this season, which ranks fourth on the defense (behind Jermaine Johnson, Jammie Robinson and Keir Thomas).

DeLoach, who had played just 94 snaps total over his first two years in the program, is enjoying a breakthrough year.

He has proven he can play at this level, which is something that wasn't known outside of the coaching staff before September. And now it appears he has a chance to be one of the anchors of the defense for the next two-plus seasons.

The first-time starter certainly seems to have impressed his head coach.

"I think Kalen has played at a really high level," Mike Norvell said. "This last week, he was kind of nursing a little bit of an injury, and really didn't get as much (work) in practice, but just to see the way he was able to go out there and compete. I thought he played at a high level. And those three guys at that linebacker position have really been manning that spot. And I thought Amari played his best game there against North Carolina. ...

"I like the steps I'm seeing from that group."

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