Florida State coordinators Adam Fuller, Alex Atkins and John Papuchis discuss the win over Miami and preview the game ahead with Syracuse.

On the offensive line growth, run game

“We have a little bit of rotation. Darius played, Jaz got in there for a play and was ready to go if we needed but I trust Darius. But it’s always going to be room for growth. A couple of times we missed linebackers coming back underneath on combos, the backs had a couple of runs they’d want to have back, a couple of blocks. So you’re always going to have room for improvement. But I think the continuity is starting to show, same guys on the field starting to build that confidence as we go. Hopefully we just keep improving.”

Atkins on Darius Washington

“I mean Darius still, he still missed quite a bit of the offseason this team, he had the knee deal he had to deal with so he was out most of the summer. He came back toward, I think, the end of camp. …Darius has been around for a long time, he’s played all five positions so he still needs to continue to work on his strength, his focus, things like that but his is a littler different because he needs to knows all five positions, he don’t get the luxury of just saying ‘I play this position.’ So his detail and things like that have to be a little more, but he’s doing a good job. He should do a good job.”

Atkins on Jordan Travis’ play, game management

“The quarterback position, it’s more than throwing. He has to operate the offense. If you watch the game closely, he’s operating even the run game and making sure that we’re in the right looks, not wasting plays. And he’s also, you know, efficient in the pass game when he was called on. And that was a big thing we talked about, going into the game, was that teams had missed a couple shots against them and we have to hit them. He was able to hit one. So, Jordan, he is the manager the offense. So whether it be running, passing, he has to be completely locked in no matter the play call because he has to make sure we’re in the right play call.”

Atkins on impact of winning on recruiting, specifically after Miami game

“It’s all been positive kind of going out and watching the improvement because, what they want to see if what we’ve been saying is actually true. Everybody sells a story, everybody pitches the dream, everything is all rainbows and awesome and sunny days and there are no sad days and everything is going to be great for you. But the reality of it is they’re getting to see the proof of what you say is becoming a reality. From where we started to where we’re going is showing the things we were talking about when we were talking to these prospects two years ago. It’s showing, they’re starting to realize that ‘these coaches are telling the truth, it wasn’t just something to make me emotionally invested or feel good. Nah, they were actually doing what they said’, and that’s what I think where it’s just truth. And that’s all they wanted, the truth.”

Atkins on Jordan Travis interception

“Nah, no miscommunication. It was good because, you know, he was going to the post with Pokey which he hit before and the safety did a good job kind of getting there and the corner overlapped so, you know, it kind of turned into a deep punt. They got it at the one, which kind of flipped the field position. We’re OK, when you’re taking shots you’re going to have those times where you want it all and you come up a little short. But nah, it wasn’t a miscommunication, he went for it all and they did a good job defending it.”

Atkins on Trey Benson vs. Miami, his growth this season

“The thing that we forget about Trey is that he’s still a young boy, he’s still trying to figure out what he can do and what he’s great at. And as he’s starting to feel more comfortable, he’s starting to get his confidence up because he came from a major deal and he’s getting back to feeling like himself as the season progresses and getting acclimated to the offense and learning the details of it, where things hit. And having a consistent line in front of him. And the thing that gets unsung is the receiver and tight ends are the ones who are breaking those long runs, that creates the explosives when the tight ends are leveraging blocks. The receivers, you see getting in a lot of close alignment splits or even outside in, guys like Mycah Pittman, he was the Punisher of the Week because he was laying dudes out. And Johnny who loves contact, Malik had a good one, so those have done a good job.

Atkins on Syracuse’ defense

“Very similar to some teams we played earlier this year where they like to dictate, they don’t want their defense, they want to establish what they want to be and they want you to adjust to them. They’re going to present some challenging looks that are multiple up front, multiple in movement, so they just want to make sure, they want to make you play their game. The thing I like about the defense is the hustle and the effort. The first thing I turned on was those guys that run to the football, that finish with effort. They play with a lot of passion, they play together, so we have a unique challenge ahead of us to make sure we can match that energy.”

Atkins on DJ Lundy at fullback

“Well that is coach Norvell, that, that’s his baby, that fullback position. He takes proud ownership in that position because that’s his position, how he sees that. He’s done a good job developing DJ in that fullback position, he tells us nobody can talk to the fullback but him. So he’s the designated fullback coach, and DJ is a talented, talented player. So, it helps when you get to pick the one you want at fullback. I think coach has done a good job identifying the talent and coaching him up.”

Atkins on helping give the program a physical mentality

“It’s just the mentality that the players are taking ownership in. I’d like to stand up here say it’s some magical words or speech or something coaches did, but I think our players are taking a lot of ownership in what they want to look like when they go out there. And going outside of just playing alignment/assignment football, but actually playing by the player beside you and seeing other people have success. And once they’ve made that decision, we’re starting to see in early in the season ‘which receiver is going to be showcased’ and then it was ‘which running back is going to be showcased’ and I think you’re seeing that it doesn’t matter to us because of the ownership they take, we don’t care who shows up, we’re just here to do whatever we need to do to see our brothers have success. And once that started happening and those guys took that ownership, I told them ‘thank you’ because that’s what we needed. That’s why we’re having this success and those guys are celebrating with each other. Even in the past, when you had a game where you’d just run and not throw, you might have someone get disgruntled that they didn’t get the [ball]. So I’m excited because those guys are playing for each other and that’s what makes it fun to coach.”

Atkins on the line getting better at moving defenders

“We’ve had to do a lot better at that part [moving defenders after locating them]. I always say when you’ve ingratiated that position, you can say ‘hey I was on the right guy, hey I took the right steps, I had my hand in the right place but that guy is still in the same spot.’ So there’s no free pluses just because you did what you’re supposed to do. The bottom line of this position is being able to move someone out of the way and create space. Whether it be horizontal separation or vertical separation of the defense. That’s just the standard and I make that point because I don’t want guys to get, a lot of players think ‘I’m doing exactly what you tell me to do and it’s not happening’ well you still gotta be you, you still have to showcase why you can play at this level and why you can move people out the way and what you take pride in, it’s just the challenge of taking the step a little further than just alignment and assignment.”

Atkins on what makes this program unique and enjoyable to work at

“Just because you see the growth from the beginning as we started till now, and we have a lot of the same players who were here when I got here. Talking about Maurice Smith, Darius Washington, Tre Ward, it’s funny, you get to see those guys who started that process with you at the beginning and committed to playing for each other. Watching that grow and to see the belief of that is what works, I do see why you were saying the things you were saying.’ And once it goes from a coach-led team to a player-led team, then it’s like OK, they know the standard, they know what to expect. So you’re starting to see guys hold other guys in-check. You don’t have to be the coach that gives nine speeches every day or nine lectures every day, because the players are already pulling that guy aside other there and going ‘we’ve got to get this fixed before we get back to the building.’ And when you have that, that makes it a little more enjoyable to coach.”

Atkins on Dillan Gibbons

“He was real consistent. And that’s what I wanted him to be, because I challenged him a lot because he was going to have to do a lot of duty. That was a good defensive line and we’re going to have to run a little counter, and they were physical so he had to be more physical. We had to be consistent with the combos because I thought those two D-tackles were really good players. So I thought he came with his mind right and knew what he was calling on, and that’s what I’m trying to get those young guys to see, they’re in DisneyLand right now because they can make mistakes and the game doesn’t hinge on their mistakes. But when you’re an older guy on the field and your mistakes determine the outcome, the preparation is different. So teaching them how to be that kind of mindset without being out there is now the unique challenge.”

Atkins on running counter

“That’s a play that’s a staple of our offense. We’ve run that since we’ve been here along with the inside zone, the tight zone, the outside zone. We’ve been fortunate to be able to have enough run scheme with whatever scheme that needs to be called on that game with what they’re presenting for it to be successful that we can go to. So that’s been beneficial for us. But it wasn’t play calling. It was the guys on the field blocking them, making it get done. We’re just like ‘don’t mess it up, let them keep doing it because they’re doing a good job of it’ and I think those guys showed up and I think those guys did a job of being consistent.”

Atkins on young linemen being able to learn

“It creates cultural moments. Because when those guys ran out there before, probably the most upset I got a little bit because of things that were happening, the ran out there just to play. We’re not playing games, they’re still playing football, they still have their 1s out there so I want to you to go out there and showcase that you’re listening to me on the sideline when I was coaching up the younger guys the information getting the checks and understanding that’s what I want to see when you go out there because that shows me you’re really paying attention. And then things we’re emphasizing in the game plan during the week because they rep just like the other guys, so I want to see if you’re actually paying attention, if you’re actually focused in and getting the information, and if you go out there and your number is called can you go out there and perform? And you don’t get to call just because we’re up, like nah, I want to see more of those guys being locked in because if your number is called you’ve got to be ready to go. So it creates teachable moments.”

Atkins on OL appreciating Trey Benson

“Yeah, you’re personally responsible for his well-being. So, yes, if that guy is out there doing those things and you don’t want to be the guy causing something to happen to where he can’t do that no more. It’s a challenge of ownership like we talked about at the beginning. And it goes both ways. Like Trey Benson brought up how many times Dillan Gibbons had to kick on counters and was like ‘I see you doing that and I appreciate you doing that for me.’ So it works both ways, hand-in-hand. But to answer your question, they absolutely need to recognize the sacrifice they’re doing for each other so they can have success.”

On Azareye’h Thomas getting an interception

“Yeah, it was good for him. It was good for us. To show you the confidence of the guys in him, when the ball was in the air, Shyheim was the field safety, the ball left and his arms went up. My eyes went to Shy, and then Azareye’h caught it. I watched the film on the plane that night. So the guys give confidence to Azareye’h. The one thing I think he has always done naturally is, what he did there on the deep ball. He runs the route, and he plays it like a wideout. Where he has really made his strides is on his run fits, his tackling, some of the intermediate routes. His communication has got to continue to improve. Just being quick with it. But that is just with reps. But I expect him to make that play. And he did, too, And so did his teammates. It was good to see for him.”

On Greedy Vance Jr.’s interception and if he knew where the throw was going or if that was his assignment

“Yes and yes. That was part of the coverage. You have coverages where you have man coverage, and you line up over people. You have coverages where you have man coverage on the guy inside you or outside you based off releases. So whatever it is, it’s all forms of match. We did a great job with our punt team. We had the ball down there a bunch. There were certain things that they were going to do when that ball was down there. We just happened to have them down there a bunch. So it got to be emphasized a lot. That is a coverage we play. Greedy was there, and he made it. That was his second pick of the year, and he is really coming on.”

On why he brought out the second defensive line unit after Jordan’s interception in the first half

“You don’t always control when you can sub up front. We had seven three-and-outs, so we would have had the ability to do it. But going into the game, we just don’t know. So you have start some other guys on certain series. Number one, to keep guys fresh. And two, because we have confidence. So if they are in the game that early, it’s not really backups. If you are out there, you are a starter. That is how we do it. We’ve got confidence, especially with that group up front. We are deep. And we are deeper than we have ever been at this point, because we’ve had to fight through injuries. And guys have stepped up, and they have played well. So that is why we sub.”

On Jammie Robinson making more plays and his sack

“I’ve had a pretty good feel of what Jammie is really good at here. Probably about game four last year. It’s allowed us to play with him. But you’ve got to play defense. It is not just about individual skill sets. So we have used Jammie in multiple ways, because he is smart. He understands it. He’s a good tackler. He’s a great blitzer. He’s really good in short-area spaces and man coverage. He is really good in zone coverage. He is good coming out of the post. He can do a lot of things really, really well. And as the season has gone on and our guys have become a little bit more identifiable around him – just the ability to identify him as a blitzer, too, really helps us. So he’s come on in the numbers. But like I told him at the beginning of the year when the ball wasn’t finding him very much, ‘Just play within the system. Play as hard as you can. Make the right decisions.’ And the plays will show up, because he’s going to be on the field a lot. And that is happening here. That play down in the red zone, in a game like that where you dominate from start to finish, one of the best moments of the game was actually probably our worst moment on defense. When we misfit a ball, and we got blocked up, and they hit a ball out on that one long run that they had. But to see seven of those guys turn, sprint and chase him down, was really impressive. Shyheim got him on the ground. But Azareye’h caught him quick. To watch Jammie as the backside blitzer and chase the ball with his burst. DJ Lundy was in that grouping. Greedy was in that grouping. It was an impressive play. And then to put our heels on the goal line and fight our way back and force them to make errors, that is what defense is about sometimes. Sometimes, it’s about three-and-outs. It’s about takeaways. Yes. But sometimes, you’ve got to give yourself a place to stand on a big play, stand up and send him backward. Jammie had a critical play on that second down on that blitz. He did exactly what we coached him to do, and he did it his way and made sure that quarterback stayed down.”

On how Patrick Payton has grown

“I think it’s the confidence. And the confidence has been created through multiple layers of things. The confidence came in – last year when he redshirted and showed up to practice, put the film work in, then the offseason, showed up, doesn’t miss reps, pushes through things, put on the right amount of body weight, got stronger, watched more tape, practiced, learned, took the coaching. And he just kept doing it, and doing it, and doing it. And you put that together with the ingredients of skill and a smarter player who has a toughness to him, and then you put him in games and he has some success, that builds some swagger with the confidence of the work that he has done. And he feels like he has earned the right to make his plays. And he’s got enough talent on top of the hard work to make the plays. That is what you are seeing. It’s coming together for him. Like we said when we got here, once we started to get these guys developed and allowed them to play, and he’s had guys in front of him who have played that position who have been the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, NFL players, guys who have been all-conference players, he can picture it. And then he puts in the work, and when his opportunity comes, he shines. He’s scratching the surface of where he’s going to be, but he’s got a really big-time future ahead of him. We will keep pushing him, and he will keep pushing himself.”

On how gratifying the Miami win was for the players who were on the defense two years ago

“It’s easy to sit up here and say, ‘Each year is each year. Each game is each game.’ And that is true with your mindset of how you’ve got to prepare each week. But you don’t forget some of those times, as much as you want to. It’s all part of taking the experiences and creating new experiences. And the new experiences need to be better than the old ones, whether they were successful or not. I think we are doing that. We’ve got a lot of guys on this defense who are playing for a number of years. Some were playing before they were ready. And they didn’t have the Pat Payton experience. They had to play right away. They had to go in there and learn through failures and learn through unsuccessful experiences. But we’ve just got to keep on it. And it was good to go down there and get a win.”

On development of younger guys impact on rotation

“It’s impactful in practice, too. Because the level of intensity of practice continues too. If I am the backup and I’m the backup, name the position, but they don’t play much. Yes, we want them to be robots, go out there and practice hard, listen to the coaching, grow, improve. We had that conversation with the scout team players. But if you’re not playing much and you keep getting the reps in practice, it’s a constant motivation to make sure they are valuing those experiences in practice. Now when they are playing in game reps, I don’t want to say it’s easier, but they can see the future, they can see the progression. They can see the playing time earned. Every role isn’t always going to be the same. Every backup isn’t going to play the same amount. The third corner does not play as much as the third d-tackle. Every room is a little different, but if the message is consistent from the staff, from the head coach to the coordinators and the position coaches. I think that’s where we do a good job of trying to make sure we make it about today, we make it about their growth and their improvement and being their absolute best in the moment. Usually, that leads to hunger.”

On Greedy Vance’s improvement

“I think just his comfortability, not just in our football program, with his teammates, the scheme, how we practice. There’s a lot of changes that go on with these guys. Sometimes it becomes very seamless. The one constant with Greedy is his attitude has always been very positive and upbeat. He has a good bounce to him. Sometimes you recruit guys who come in and they are instant impacts. Sometimes they fight for reps. Sometimes they don’t get the role they are looking for. But if you stay at it and Greedy is one of those guys. He’s stayed with it. He came in here, he was starting for an ACC school. He’s come in here and played good football. But I think any of these kids want to play more. I mean, they wouldn’t be the right type of kids if they didn’t want to. It’s just understanding you want to do what’s best for the team and you want to push yourself to be the best. Once the roles are dictated, go be the best in your role and usually understand when you do that, your role will increase. He came in and to have him and Kevin playing at that one spot is huge for us. It’s a spot that’s going to be on the field 95% of the time. So, to have two guys that we trust, that are great teammates and work hard, is really valuable to our defense.”

On not knowing Syracuse QB

“There’s a lot more tape with (Shrader). We have last year’s film, even though they have a new play caller. We have this year’s film. They got off to a 6-0 start, they were as hot as any team in the country. I think he’s really improved as a passer. I think the system has helped him out. In his second year as a player, I think you’ve seen his growth. He’s done a really good job. The backup that came in for the Notre Dame game and then got the start against Pitt, there’s less film. But if you even look at the Pitt game, they didn’t have much success on offense, but you see the tools. He actually throws a good deep ball. He is a good mover. There’s probably more similarities to those two than differences. I think the biggest difference is just experience and confidence right now with Shrader. He’s done it for a good amount of time, for Mississippi State or Syracuse. He’s got a lot more information out there that we are able to study on. The other guy who played, there’s a little bit less. But you definitely see the skillset and why he’s been highly recruited.

On Sam McCall

“I agree there are some challenges in college coaching with this. But there’s probably more challenges in being a freshman college player. I mean, there’s so much information. When you’re a high school player of the magnitude of the players we recruit, you send one post, you’ll get more attention than some of us have received in a lifetime. That becomes contagious. It doesn’t mean it's all bad. These guys when they come here they want to become superstars, and we want them to be. Sometimes it’s hard to do that right away. You never want to lower their expectations. You just want to help paint the picture of how we’re going to get there. Some roads aren’t all the same. Just look at us last year from DB. Kevin Knowles comes in and he basically plays from that Notre Dame game on and averages 60 snaps. Duke Cooper doesn’t play at all, battles injuries and comes back, then becomes a really, really good player. Shyheim Brown, who could become one of the better ones, barely played last year and now he has a significant role and is blocking kicks to win games. Those are three guys recruited at the same time that have all found very different roles in a short way. All I’ll say is these guys have a great situation, they are at a great university. We take great care of them, but it’s not easy. We’ve got to be there to support these guys through the successes and the hard times. Even when it’s going really well, I know there are difficult situations these guys have to deal with. Sometimes personally, sometimes from the outside. We just have to be there. As a coach, you always want to help them get to the places they want to. They can’t get there by themselves. That’s our job. We’ll be there for all of our guys through successes and through the hard ones. There’s a lot to unpack with these kids going through the recruiting process, playing at major universities and there’s a lot of good ending to these stories. But the stories have a lot of pages and we have to help paint the picture of what these things need to look like.”

How important were punts inside five by Alex, coverage team?

"It was critical. Special teams can be looked at, in my opinion, in two different ways. In the return game, you want to be explosive. But then in your cover units, you want to make sure that you control field position. I thought we did a really good job of that the other night, especially in the two plays you're referring to with Alex. He's super gifted in terms of his ability in those sky-kick situations, but the guys covering, Jammie Robinson, Pokey (Wilson, Ja'Khi (Douglas), they did a great job of getting to their landmarks. Alex put the ball where it needs to be. Those are critical plays in the game because it does tip the field position in significant favor of us. It forced them to have long drives and one of them, obviously, we got the interception right off of it. Those are the things I try to show them on Sunday is yes, the play in and of itself was tremendous, but this is how you impacted the game. Three plays later, Greedy (Vance) gets a pick and then we go ahead and score All three units working together, it's a big deal in terms of how we can control field position."

Patrick Payton's length, awareness

"One of the things with Patrick that obviously is one of his gifts is he is tremendously long. That's one of the things that you look at in terms of recruiting when you're looking for edge rushers is that length. But the thing that makes Patrick special, in my opinion, is to be able to have the wherewithal in a game situation like that to allow the game to slow down enough for him to have the awareness to get the ball out, get his hands up and deflect passes. Pat does a lot of things that we teach and drill but his ability to then execute it in the moment is awesome. He's got some natural instinct to him. He's a football player. I think that's sometimes the best compliment you can give a guy is when you say he's a football player. He's got great football aptitude, he's smart. He understands the game. I think he visualizes things like that happening before they happen so when it does show up, it seems like it slows down for him. He definitely plays like a guy with more experience than what he has and he keeps getting better. I can't say enough good things about the way he's approached his work over the last eight or nine weeks."

Did Miami intentionally deliver punts that were hard to catch or do anything with in terms of returns?

"They do a great job of trying to keep the ball out of your hands. Especially in a game situation where you're really in control of the game like we were, I trust Mycah to make good decisions back there. You could tell that they were directionally putning the ball away from him, that Aussie style of kicking with some of the low trajectory with it. I think he made good judgments. Yes, there was a little bit of hidden yardage that we gave up when the ball hit and rolled, but in the game where you have control and there's a significant lead, the last thing you want to do is put yourself in a position to create a turnover. I think he did a good job in terms of feeling the ones he could and the ones that he didn't, I thought those were good decisions."

Any trepidation about putting younger defensive linemen into game early on?

"Really no concerns. I do think that is the silver lining or the blessing in disguise that showed up early in the year when those guys were forced into those situations because of some of the injuries that we had. At this point, I'll use d-ends as an example but you certainly could use tackles as well, Leonard (Warner) and Pat (Payton) just roll in with Derrick (McLendon) and (Jared) Verse. They were basically on alternating series the other night. I told him, 'Don't even ask me who's up next.' It's just every other series change it. I'll make the substitutions within the series, but you guys roll through. The reason I feel confident and comfortable with that is because the work that they were able to get over the last six or seven weeks when we did have some nicks and some injuries up front and the experience. Inside, talking about like a Josh Farmer or Malcolm Ray or the whole group that's rolling through with Coop and Fabo. ameux. I think that they're becoming more of an interchangeable group and we feel comfortable with it."

"What does Jared Verse saying he's had the most fun of his football career this season mean?

"Honestly, that did mean a lot when I saw the quote. I wasn't in the press conference. I saw it on Twitter after the game. That does speak to the fact that we try to do things the right way in every facet of the program. The fact that he's having that experience says that we are probably doing some things right in how we coach, in how we treat people, in how we mentor, how we appreciate the guys' work. I've always said that, I feel like the players are an extension of your family. Even with my own kids, I want to tell them the truth. It might not always be what they want to hear, but it's gonna be the truth. I think when you're like that as a position coach or father or just as a person, people respect that because people want honesty. I think Jared's experience here has been has been good and I hope that it continues for a little while. We'll see."

Fabien Lovett breaking the rock, his impact upon return

"He played well. Fabien did make an impact in the game with just his physical presence, obviously, but also just his leadership and what he brings to the defensive line makes a big deal. I don't want to speak for Coach in any way, but coach Norvell did say that Fabien was there representing the defense because he felt the defense deserved to break the rock. I think that was more of him representing the whole group as opposed to just an individual effort, but he is that leader of the defense so if there was going to be a defensive representative, it would be him."

Do you have to talk to Mycah about what punts to get/not get? Or is he mature enough he polices himself?

"He's mature. I think he understands/ I think he more, the only time I've ever seen him press at all, is when he felt like from a team perspective, we needed to spark something to get something going. I don't think it's ever had to do with him individually in terms of wanting to make plays himself. I think he makes good decisions. I trust him and he's had some pretty good return opportunities and I think will continue to create those for him. He's got a great competitive spirit to him, but he's also a good decision maker."

"How many special teams units is Jammie on?

"Jammie starts on two special teams units. He starts on kickoff cover and punt."

"What does that say about him for him to be on special teams even though he plays the most defensive snaps?

"I think all that starts with the culture that coach Norvell has brought here in terms of how we approach our special teams. We play our best players on our units and that's really across the board, regardless of position that you're talking about. On kickoff cover, those are going to be the real guys that run down on kickoff and same for punt. When we start kind of deciding depth charts, the punt unit is the first one that we start deciding who's going to be on that. When your best players are also valuable special teams guys, obviously it's important for the program, but it goes both ways. Because we also understand that our guys aspire to have careers in the NFL and for the most part, unless you're a handful of select guys, you are on those special teams units. I think they are guys understand that they need to put that on tape as well. That if they're going to be a draftable player, that they're going to have to show that they also create some special teams value. I think they embrace that and take advantage of the opportunities that they have."

Jammie as a blitzer

"Jammie's a really good blitzer, I think for a couple reasons. One, he has a knack in terms of timing. I think he does a really good job timing his blitzes. He's got great short-area quickness, meaning he can get to top speed in a short amount of time, very quickly. I think those two things combined have given him a success. Obviously that was kind of an iconic play that he made around the goal line. Every time they do either advertisements or little video clips of big Miami-Florida State games and you see that like Marvin Jones hit and that was kind of like a defining moment in that game. To me, in this modern time, that play is going to be one of those clips because it spoke more than just what the play was."