Even before a reporter had finished asking his question, Florida State offensive tackle Devontay Love-Taylor was ready to spit out the answer.
"Kaindoh," the graduate transfer said, when asked if any FSU defenders had been particularly difficult to block during the first few days of preseason camp. "He's a long, athletic, strong dude. And he challenges me every day. ... It's always a war with him."
The Kaindoh that Love-Taylor referenced, of course, is redshirt junior defensive end Joshua Kaindoh. And through just over one week of preseason camp, the former five-star recruit has emerged as one of the Seminoles' potential stars of 2020.
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Based on how highly he was rated coming out of high school, it should surprise no one that Kaindoh is making life miserable for Florida State's offensive linemen in practice. He was ranked the No. 5 player in the country in the class of 2017, and he was the No. 1 weakside defensive end.
The No. 3 weakside defensive end that year was a prospect by the name of Chase Young, who would go on to sign with Ohio State, become arguably the nation's most dominant defensive player, and then eventually get selected with the No. 2 pick in this year's NFL Draft.
And Kaindoh was rated ahead of him.
But for a variety of reasons, the former IMG Academy standout's college career hasn't experienced that same linear path to success.
After a solid freshman campaign, during which he played in all 13 games and finished with 17 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss, Kaindoh struggled with injuries for most of the next two seasons.
He missed the following spring with what appeared to be a shoulder injury and never could get on track that fall. He finished his sophomore campaign with just 19 tackles and 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Kaindoh then got off to a strong start in 2019, recording nine tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in the Seminoles' first three games. But he was sidelined by a lower leg injury that would wipe out the rest of his season.
"Definitely health," Kaindoh said last week, when asked why he has been able to impress so many coaches and teammates already in camp. "I feel pretty good out there. Pretty loose and pretty fluid."
It's been a long time coming. And after so many setbacks these past two seasons, the 6-foot-7, 265-pounder is determined to make the most of his redshirt junior campaign.
