FSU front gearing up for huge test from Notre Dame ground game

If the Florida State football team is going to have any chance of pulling off an upset in its Sept. 5 season opener against Notre Dame, the defensive line -- particularly the interior of that line -- will have to be vastly improved from what it was when the Seminoles played the Fighting Irish last season.

In that game, Notre Dame's offense rushed for an astonishing 353 yards on 42 attempts, which is an average of 8.4 yards per carry.

The Irish had two running backs go over 100 yards in the game, including Kyren Williams putting up 185 and two touchdowns on 19 attempts.

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The interior of Florida State's defense was mashed all night in South Bend, Ind., as the Notre Dame offensive line opened up massive holes for Williams and Company to run through.

If the Seminoles are going to win an opener for the first time since 2016, they'll have to be much more stout up front against the Irish than they were a year ago.

The good news for FSU is that four starting offensive linemen -- Liam Eichenberg, Aaron Banks, Robert Hainsey and Tommy Kraemer -- are no longer with the Irish. Three of them were selected in the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft, and the other signed as a free agent.

But FSU defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins said that doesn't give him much comfort.

"Notre Dame is a very good football team," Haggins said after Thursday's practice. "People talk about [how] they lost three to four offensive linemen. Man, shoot ... they just replace them. They're known to have great offensive linemen.

"So, they're going to be good. Let's not fool ourselves. Notre Dame's going to be good."

The question is: Will FSU be better? On the interior, specifically.

The Seminoles return two players from last year's main defensive tackle rotation in Robert Cooper and Fabien Lovett, but they've also added converted defensive end Dennis Briggs to the mix. Briggs originally opted out of the 2020 season but returned one week after the Notre Dame game.

The 280-pounder has been one of the most impressive defensive linemen in preseason camp so far, and he has impressed Haggins with his play since moving to defensive tackle full-time.

"He's getting better and better," Haggins said. "He's a strong kid. He's quick. He's powerful. He's 280 pounds. He's doing a great job. He's developing into a very good run-stopper and a pass-rusher."

Lovett did play in last season's game against the Irish, but he didn't do a whole lot. In fact, the Mississippi State transfer didn't do very much all season long for the Seminoles -- at least not statistically. He recorded 14 total tackles in eight games, with just 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

But Lovett's coaches expect that to change in 2021. He was someone head coach Mike Norvell singled out repeatedly for the work he put in during the offseason, and Haggins said that improved conditioning has made him a much more dependable player.

"It has helped him a lot," Haggins said. "I was telling him ... he needed to get down to between 300 and 305. The biggest thing for a defensive lineman is conditioning. How many times can you strike a blocker and run to the football? It's not just one time. It's reps, reps, reps, reps.

"It has helped him out a lot."

The depth on the defensive line is still being developed.

There are several question marks on the depth chart after you get past the first four or five names. But with Briggs and Lovett making substantial jumps in their coaches' eyes, along with the additions of Jermaine Johnson and Keir Thomas on the outside, there is a good chance the Seminoles will be much stronger up front than they were in 2020.

They'll have to be to have any shot of stopping the Notre Dame offense on Sept. 5.

"We've just got to go out and play football, man," Haggins said. "No matter who commands attention (at defensive end). Jermaine is going to do his job, Keir is going to do his job, Cooper, all them guys. Each guy's got to do their job, then let the chips fall in place."

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