Florida State’s coaches moved quickly in the transfer portal, sifting through names and skill sets to determine who would fit in well within the program as well as the shift to the 3-3-5 defense. The Seminoles did just that in landing Stefon Thompson and Elijah Herring, who have each spent time at prior schools playing in the 3-3-5.

And it only made sense to pursue a familiar face in Thompson, who played for current FSU defensive coordinator Tony White at Syracuse and Nebraska.

“You just have to play fast, physical and play smart,” Thompson said on Thursday. “Know what to do, know how to do it. And you should make plays out there.”

FSU has been able to retain its top linebackers for 2025, with Blake Nichelson and Justin Cryer moving into their third years on campus. Omar Graham Jr. entered the transfer portal before choosing to return to Tallahassee.

With the switch from FSU's 4-2-5 base alignment, it was necessary for the coaches to bring in quality and quantity at linebacker. FSU landed Thompson, a veteran from Tennessee and Memphis in Elijah Herring as well as a developmental linebacker in Caleb LaVallee.

The positive is that gives FSU six linebackers with college experience, most of them logging significant reps and in LaVallee's case being the leading tackler in UNC's bowl game. The big question remains how the linebackers take their first steps in learning the 3-3-5, which begins in the film room during the offseason before shifting to the practice field in March.

This is where Thompson’s experience is valuable. He lost a year to ACL surgery in 2022, although he said Thursday he feels healthy and is confident in what he can offer to FSU on the field. But what he can also offer is being a player-coach on and off the field when it comes to pre-snap alignment as well as teaching linebackers what their responsibilities are on a given play.

“The message he's trying to get across is that everyone, no matter if you mess up on a play, just do it at 100% and just be fast, physical and violent,” Thompson said. “And if you're able to do that, then you're able to make an impact on the game.”

Fast and physical are attributes connected to Herring, who had 80 tackles as a sophomore at Tennessee in 2023 before adding 60 tackles at Memphis last fall (in 11 games). Herring is viewed as a good run-stopper and he delivered 10 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in the bowl win over West Virginia.

Now Herring is seeking a significant role in the middle of FSU’s new-look defense.

“I want to show that I could be a guy, I could be productive as I was last year, not just be a tackle dude, but also make plays on the ball and off the ball,” Herring said. “So just coming into a year to just be a difference maker on the team.”

Herring’s learning curve should be expedited by his time at Memphis last year, although he said there weren’t as many similarities between what the Tigers were running and FSU’s new scheme. So he’s also leaned on Thompson’s experience in White’s defense.

“A cool dude, great guy,” Herring said. “I've been picking his brain since I got here, just trying to figure out the defense, how to make it simpler, just how to have everything click faster. He’s most definitely been a great asset.”

Thompson begins year 6 of college football, taking advantage of the pandemic eligibility exemption from 2020 when he played as a freshman at Syracuse. He was a productive part of a top-30 Syracuse rush defense in 2021, racking up 79 tackles and six sacks, before missing all but one game of 2022 due to his knee injury.

While Thompson was a contributor at Nebraska with 27 tackles last fall, it’s tough to evaluate just yet if he’s all the way back from injury and ready to take on a starting role at FSU. Aside from September games against Northern Iowa (six tackles) and Illinois (five tackles), Thompson had three or fewer tackles in his eight other games and no sacks, interceptions or forced fumbles.

But his role as a mentor and teacher will be valuable, and Thompson understands he will be looked to as a leader.

“I have to step up, I have to be (taking) more of a leadership role,” Thompson said. “Everyone gets along here. Everyone is friendly, outgoing and, since the first day I've been here, it's been like, ‘I've known these people for a week now or two weeks or three weeks. And it feels like I've been with them for a year.’

“So just growing up and building chemistry and just leading them and showing them the right things to do rather than the wrong things.”

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