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Published Apr 12, 2020
With help of transfers, FSU football will boast seasoned defense in '20
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Ira Schoffel  •  TheOsceola
Managing Editor
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@iraschoffel

With the addition of two graduate transfers this week -- cornerback Meiko Dotson and defensive end Deonte Williams -- the Florida State football team's 2020 defense suddenly goes from a mature unit to a very mature unit.

Depending on how the position battles shake out in preseason practice, there's a chance the Seminoles will have juniors or seniors at 10 of 11 starting positions and sprinkled throughout the two-deep depth chart.

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Here's a look at what the Seminoles' defense could look like this fall, based on the addition of these transfers and where players lined up in the spring.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Florida State's defensive line already was expected to be a veteran group with the top three defensive tackles being senior Marvin Wilson, redshirt junior Cory Durden and junior Robert Cooper. Those three likely will take the lion's share of the DT reps in coordinator Adam Fuller's 4-3 defense, followed by redshirt sophomores Dennis Briggs and Jarrett Jackson (Louisville transfer), sophomore Tru Thompson, redshirt freshman Malcolm Ray and incoming freshman Manny Rogers.

Significant 2019 production: Wilson (44 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 5 sacks in only nine games); Durden (39 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 5 sacks); Cooper (40 tackles, 5.0 TFLs); Briggs (28 tackles, 6.5 TFLs); Thompson (15 tackles, 2.0 TFLs).

DEFENSIVE END

The starting defensive ends are expected to be senior Janarius Robinson and redshirt junior Joshua Kaindoh, and Williams gives the Seminoles a fifth-year senior to add into a rotation that has a lot of unproven young talent. FSU has a trio of redshirt freshman who have high potential -- Derrick McLendon, Quashon Fuller and Curtis Fann -- along with redshirt sophomore Jamarcus Chatman, early enrollee Josh Griffis and incoming freshman T.J. Davis.

Significant 2019 production: Robinson (48 tackles, 9.0 TFLs, 3 sacks); Kaindoh (9 tackles, 2.5 TFLs in just three games).

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