For Florida State linebacker Tatum Bethune, now with an offseason of change behind him, spring football in Tallahassee has been focused on acclimating quickly so that he can be a big part of FSU’s potential turnaround in 2022.
Now that he’s fully immersed into the FSU program, Bethune is focused on his own personal improvement as well as that of the entire defensive unit.
Following Tuesday’s practice, Bethune spoke with the media about fitting into FSU’s roster, what he believes he brings to the Seminoles, also looking back at the effort from the defense during Saturday’s scrimmage.
“We showed lots of talent. We showed that we have the potential to be a real dominant defense, especially in the run game,” Bethune said. “It also showed that we have a lot more work to do. That really is it.”
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The former UCF star, who racked up 108 tackles and 60 solo stops for the Knights last year, has a central focus every time he takes the field against an opposing offense.
“That’s the main goal, really, stopping the run as a linebacker,” Bethune said. “That’s like icing on the cake, stopping the run and making sure nobody has big run plays on us.”
Although the humble Bethune said he doesn’t like to “brag” about himself, the talented linebacker was asked about his best attributes.
“I am very physical and I have real good instincts,” Bethune said. “I feel like my instincts and playing football in general, not just being a linebacker, I am very good at it.”
Even for accomplished players, spring is a time to improve, and Bethune said one thing he’s working on is making more tackles in the open field.
“I don’t want to call myself a good linebacker, I feel like I’ve got a lot more work to do until I actually call myself one of those top linebackers,” Bethune added. “But I do believe in myself, not to say that. I am very confident.”
FSU’s coaching staff has expressed confidence already in Bethune, too. Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller had very high praise for the veteran transfer after Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Tatum belongs at this level, point blank. He’s smart enough, he’s physical enough, he loves the process of getting better. He’s got high expectations,” Fuller said. “Any time you have a player and you go up to him and say, ‘Hey, I thought you did a really good job with this.’ And they say, ‘No, it wasn’t good enough,’ you’ve got the right guy.”
Fuller explained that it was an easy evaluation on Bethune, since co-defensive coordinator Randy Shannon had recruited and coached Bethune previously at UCF.
“He plays fast, that’s the best way I can say it,” Fuller said. “He sees things. He has good anticipation at linebacker. On defense, you are a reactionary player a lot. But when you can see things happening as they’re happening, it makes guys play faster. He’s going to be an impactful player.”
***More from Tuesday's spring practice: FSU's Norvell 'blunt' with team after practice falls short of standard
When he transferred to FSU this offseason, Bethune joined a linebacker group that already brought back three starters in Amari Gainer, Kalen DeLoach and D.J. Lundy. The former UCF standout talked about fitting in this spring.
“Being a new teammate, sometimes they already have leaders. I come here, I am being a teammate first,” Bethune said. “I am not coming here trying to run over anybody or tell anybody what to do.”
Following Saturday’s scrimmage, FSU head coach Mike Norvell said Bethune and the linebacker group overall are “really coming along,” also praising young players like Stephen Dix and true freshman Omar Graham.
As a redshirt junior who’s played in 28 collegiate games, Bethune knows how impactful a strong defensive front can be for the other two levels of the defense, including his linebacker corps.
“I feel like our defensive line overall as a group is very dominant. That group in general, even the freshmen,” Bethune said. “They cause havoc on every play, and it just opens up the holes for us to make tackles. I love it.”
Beyond just football, Bethune is bonding with his ’Noles teammates since enrolling and moving to Tallahassee. Which could lead to better cohesion all around this fall when Duquesne comes to Doak Campbell Stadium on Aug. 27.
“I came here, they treated me like family. And that’s how we act on the field, like family,” Bethune said. “We want to get each other better. We talk to each other.”
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