With the Florida State football team now beginning summer workouts, it's time to take stock of each position on the Seminoles' offense and defense.

What are the position strengths and weaknesses? How is the depth? Is additional help needed through the transfer portal?

We'll answer each of those questions and more, continuing today with the safeties. And don't miss the earlier previews: Running Back | Quarterback | Tight ends | Offensive line | Wide Receiver | Defensive end | Defensive Tackle | Linebacker |

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Projected Depth Chart

After years of lackluster play at safety, Florida State finally found some continuity -- and high-level production -- midway through the 2021 season. And it was only made possible by the rapid development of a newcomer at another position.

When the Seminoles' coaches felt confident enough to move then-freshman Kevin Knowles II into the starting nickelback role in Week Five, that allowed South Carolina transfer Jammie Robinson to move back to safety. And almost instantaneously, the back end of the Seminoles' defense looked like a different unit.

After surrendering 437 yards per game in its first three games against FBS competition, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller's unit gave up just 359 per game in the final eight. And while Robinson would go on to lead the team in tackles and interceptions and earn first-team All-ACC honors, he wasn't the only reason for the improvement.

Veteran defensive back Akeem Dent, who bounced between cornerback and safety earlier in his career, settled in at the other safety spot midway through the year and played at a pretty high level during the final few weeks of the season. With Dent following that up with a very impressive spring, the Seminoles should have their best pair of starting safeties since Derwin James and Trey Marshall were patrolling the back end in 2017.

The Top Two: Jammie Robinson, Akeem Dent

While Jermaine Johnson was clearly the highest-profile defensive transfer Florida State brought in last season, it's probably more accurate to describe him and Robinson as 1A and 1B, as opposed to No. 1 and No. 2.

As important as Johnson was to the forcing unit up front, Robinson was equally important to the secondary. He not only led the entire defense in tackles with 85, but he recorded a team-high four interceptions, broke up three other passes and tied Johnson for the team-high with two forced fumbles. He also recorded more tackles for loss (7) than anyone on the team other than starting defensive ends Johnson and Keir Thomas. And Robinson ended the season with a huge performance against rival Florida, recording a career-high 18 tackles and one interception. According to FSU, he was the only player in the country last season to register more than 16 tackles and a pick in the same game.

Dent came to FSU with great fanfare as a five-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting class and he earned a great deal of playing time during his first two seasons -- primarily at safety as a freshman, then at cornerback as a sophomore. But it wasn't until he moved back to safety in 2021 and got healthy midway through the season that Dent really began to live up to that promise. He tied a career high with nine tackles at Clemson, recorded eight stops at Florida, and his final three games produced among the highest Pro Football Focus grades of his career. Dent then followed that up with a slew of big plays, including numerous interceptions, during spring practice.

The Next Three: Shyheim Brown, Jarques McClellion, Sidney Williams

Although he saw limited playing time as a freshman and was redshirted, Brown was a head-turner in practices last fall and continued that trend in the spring. With very good instincts and exceptional athletic ability, the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder has some inside the program feeling like he could be one of the program's next great DBs. FSU's coaches took it slow with Brown last fall because there is a lot of information to digest in order to play safety at the Power 5 level, but he continued to shine in spring drills. It would be a major surprise if Brown isn't in the top safety rotation this fall.

McClellion transferred in from Arkansas in 2021 and later made the move from cornerback -- where he played and started for the Razorbacks -- to safety last fall. While he wasn't necessarily an impact player, McClellion was a solid contributor and earned substantial playing time. His performances seemed to improve as the season went on and he grew more comfortable at safety, and as a redshirt senior with several years of college experience, McClellion should provide a steadying force when called upon this fall.

Williams' biggest issue last season was getting and staying healthy, and it appeared to impact his play when he was on the field. His Pro Football Focus grades dropped substantially after the first two weeks of the season, and he ended up missing the second half of the year. Williams appeared to still be hampered at times this past spring, but if he can get back to full speed, there's no reason why he can't be a major factor in the secondary once again. He finished the 2021 season with 32 tackles -- 10th on the team -- despite playing just half the season.

Others in the mix: Travis Jay (and maybe Brendan Gant and Renardo Green)

To give you an idea of how far FSU's safety segment has come in the last year, consider that the Seminoles have several former starters at the position who might not be in the two-deep this fall.

Along with Sidney Williams, mentioned above, the Seminoles return another former starter in Travis Jay. After switching from safety to cornerback last season, Jay was back at safety this spring but appeared to be limited at times due to injury. After coming into FSU with high expectations based on his decorated high school career, Jay has struggled to make an impact during his first three years on campus. He likely will need a strong summer and preseason to work his way back into the main rotation.

Gant and Green are two more former starting safeties who are now at other positions. Green worked at cornerback in the spring and likely will compete for a starting job there this fall, and Gant is now at linebacker. But both could still help out at safety if needed.

Outlook for 2022

While there are still a couple of question marks for the FSU defense in 2022, safety should not be one of them. Robinson is about as sure a thing as you can have in a college safety, and Dent started showing star potential during spring drills.

With quality backups behind them, this could turn out to be the best position for FSU's defense or offense this fall.

Needs this offseason

None.

Grade entering the summer

A: As good as it gets in the ACC

While we can't claim definitively that FSU will have the best safeties in the ACC, they definitely deserve to be in that conversation. Robinson is coming off of a first-team All-ACC season, and Dent will contend for all-conference honors if he continues on the track he has been on since midway through the 2021 season.

The quality depth and experience behind those two should give coordinator Adam Fuller and FSU's entire defensive staff great confidence heading into the 2022 season.

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