Advertisement
Published Feb 28, 2022
FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller shares thoughts on 2022 defense
Austin Cox  •  TheOsceola
Staff Writer
Twitter
@AustinRCox12

Florida State kicks off spring football with the team’s first practice this weekend.

In anticipation of that, FSU co-defensive coordinator Adam Fuller discussed his thoughts on last season and the upcoming campaign during a live appearance on Monday's edition of The Jeff Cameron Show.

Before Fuller dived into the returning starters and contributors, plus new faces, FSU will field defensively this fall, he recapped the progress the ’Noles made on that side of the ball as the 2021 season wore on.

***Don't miss out on our great FSU Sports and Recruiting coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial!***

info icon
Embed content not available

After an 0-4 start to the season, FSU’s pass defense and overall defensive numbers improved even as the schedule turned to a tougher stretch.

“When we finished the season, we weren’t where we wanted to be as a team, but I was definitely excited the steps that we took on defense,” Fuller said. “Just the way that we were playing. Were we perfect? No. But I did like the buy-in, I did like the execution collectively."

Heading into October and the Syracuse win, FSU’s pass defense ranked last in the ACC and well outside the top 100 nationally.

By the time the Florida game rolled around at the end of the year, the Seminoles had risen nearly 50 spots nationally.

“I think what happened last year, from Louisville on, we really locked into a rotation. Especially at safety,” Fuller said. “Where the communication, and the playing with each other and off each other, really becomes a premium.”

The third-year coordinator said the secondary showed the most growth from a position group last year, noting that true freshmen Kevin Knowles and Omarion Cooper played a big role in that progress. Fuller also said he “loves” the way redshirt freshman safety Shyheim Brown has taken the steps needed to improve since the regular season ended a few months ago.

By the end of last season, Cooper and Jarvis Brownlee were starting at cornerback, Jammie Robinson and Akeem Dent were starting at safety, and Knowles was starting at nickekback. FSU brings back all of them, plus former starters and key reserves Sidney Williams, Jarrian Jones, Jarques McClellion, Travis Jay, Renardo Green, plus Louisville transfer Greedy Vance.

“We’ve got 10 defensive backs that have played a considerable amount of football, and you need it in this league,” Fuller said. “You've gotta make sure that you have depth but quality depth. … We’ll need them all.”

The Seminoles return upperclassmen at many other positions as well.

On the defensive line, Fuller named Robert Cooper, Fabien Lovett and Derrick McLendon as veterans who could pick up the leadership lost from departing seniors and All-ACC performers Jermaine Johnson and Keir Thomas.

“What they brought to this program, I think was really important on the field and off the field,” Fuller said of Johnson and Thomas. “Their leadership, how they went through their business, and how they treated each other and their teammates. They brought a lot.”

Specifically off the edge, Fuller highlighted McLendon, saying he’s had a great offseason. He also mentioned transfer end Jared Verse as someone who plays “extremely hard.” And Fuller also brought up FSU’s young crop of pass-rushers who redshirted last year.

Fuller described it as “great news,” when he heard Cooper and Lovett had intentions to return in 2022. He said Cooper has a chance to have “a really special year,” adding Lovett was perhaps the most improved player on the team last year.

“To have both of their leadership, but also their work ethic. Anybody can watch film from two years ago to last year and see the improvement they made,” Fuller said. “To put them in the middle of our defense, it’s a big deal. It’s going to solidify our run defense. I think they both are undervalued as pass-rushers.”

In the middle, FSU also returns essentially the entire two-deep behind Lovett and Cooper. Fuller praised redshirt junior Jarrett Jackson for his extremely high celling. And he said things “just clicked” for redshirt sophomore Malcolm Ray in 2021, as the Miami native became a main contributor. Redshirt freshman DT Joshua Farmer, who played defensive end in high school, has now bulked up to 300 pounds, Fuller said.

Finally at linebacker, another experienced group will be aided by incoming transfer Tatum Bethune, who was a standout last season at UCF. The Seminoles return starters Kalen DeLoach, D.J. Lundy and Amari Gainer, and they have other backups fighting for opportunities.

“That’s a group that is super consistent. They had good production. I don’t think we played super clean, but I think we definitely got better at that spot,” Fuller said. “It’s a group I am excited to see where that group goes, the leadership, the comfortability.”

When it comes to mentality of Fuller’s defensive unit as a whole, he said the 'Noles started to play faster and develop confidence as the season went on. Now he's excited to see them take the next step.

“There were a lot of things that improved. The mindset day-to-day,” Fuller said. “The standard got raised. Our best players were definitely our hardest workers.

“The mindset definitely improved. We kind of identified what we were as the season went on, got guys in positions where they played consistently together.”

The Jeff Cameron Show runs weekdays from 1-3 p.m. on Warchant TV and 93.3-FM in Tallahassee.

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

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

Advertisement