Defense
The Florida State Seminoles have a lot of talent on defense. Tarvarus McFadden, the FBS leader in interceptions (8) in 2016, is back this season in the secondary. Aside from Derwin James, McFadden is one of the best defenders in coverage on the team.
Although losing DeMarcus Walker will show, Brian Burns, Jacob Pugh, Josh Sweat and Derrick Nnadi combined for 26.0 sacks themselves last season. They’re loaded on the defensive line after losing just two starters on defense.
Walker’s departure opens up the door for an interior defensive lineman to take the reins in 2017. One player to keep an eye on is defensive tackle Marvin Wilson. Wilson was one of the top defensive tackles in this past year’s recruiting class with offers from the likes of Alabama and LSU. Instead of choosing to play in the SEC, Wilson took his talents to the ACC. He’ll be expected to produce at a high level.
Senior linebacker Matthew Thomas leads a strong linebacking corps into 2017. Thomas led the Seminoles defense in tackles (77) in his first season as a starter. He is currently on both the Bednarik and Butkus Award watch lists.
The return of Derwin James
The return of safety Derwin James comes at a good time for the Seminoles defense as well. The redshirt sophomore was prime for a breakout season in 2016 but went down with a knee injury.
James looked stellar against the Ole Miss Rebels in last season’s opener. He recorded 8 tackles (6 solo) and an interception. His hot start was quickly derailed by injury. However, if his spring game performance was any indicator, it shows that James has gained a step and is ready to get past the injury.
After all, he got the first interception of his career in the first game of the season. Hard to project his production would go down after that. Entering 2017, James is currently on the watch list for the Bednarik, Maxwell, Nagurski, Thorpe and Hornung Awards. Add Heisman hype to that list as James leads a strong Florida State defense into a new year.