Now that the dust has settled on the Florida State football team's 2021 spring semester, we're taking inventory of every position on the Seminoles' roster.

We'll break down how each position looks heading into the summer, what the expectations are for the fall, which players will be key contributors, and whether the group is trending in the right direction.

We continue the series today with the linebacker position.

Earlier installments: Running back | Wide receiver | Offensive line | Quarterback | Tight end | Defensive end | Defensive tackle

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Projected starters: Redshirt sophomore Amari Gainer and EITHER redshirt senior Emmett Rice or redshirt freshman Stephen Dix Jr.

Florida State appears committed to going with a 4-2-5 defensive scheme in 2021, which means the Seminoles typically will only have two traditional linebackers on the field. Amari Gainer will definitely be the starter at one of those spots -- the weakside linebacker position -- while the other one is questionable due to a knee injury sustained this spring by projected starter Emmett Rice.

If Rice is able to play at some point this fall, he likely will be entrenched at middle linebacker. He has started for each of the past two seasons and ranked second on the team in tackles in each of those years. Rice was one of FSU's better defensive players in the second half of last season, and his experience and knowledge as a sixth-year senior is invaluable.

If Rice is unavailable, Stephen Dix Jr. should be a capable replacement. Dix experienced plenty of growing pains while starting five of nine games as a true freshman, but being thrown into the fire early should pay off in 2021. The former four-star recruit is extremely physical and athletic; his biggest issue in 2020 was understanding his assignments and transferring what he learned in the meeting room to the field on Saturdays. A full spring practice, with most of that work coming on the first-team defense, should help immensely.

Regardless of who lines up in the middle, Gainer likely will be the standout in this group. After leading the team in tackles last fall despite starting just five games, the Tallahassee native has bulked up this offseason and should be an every-down player, which was not the case in 2020.

Additional Depth: If Rice is unavailable, the depth at this position becomes questionable in a hurry. Redshirt freshman D.J. Lundy likely will be the top backup at middle linebacker, and while he has shown promise, he averaged less than 15 snaps in the seven games he played in last season. At 6-foot-1 and 248 pounds, Lundy is a physical presence, but he made the move to linebacker late in his high school career, and he still has much to learn about the position.