Florida State football: No rebuild needed under Taggart
Defense
While their offense was wildly inconsistent last season, Florida State’s defense was generally pretty strong, though they did struggle against elite offenses. That’ll likely continue into this season, though it’ll happen with new faces. This group is extremely talented, but just four starters are back. Six projected starters are underclassmen. Risky.
Two starters are back up front, in what should be an awesome line. Brian Burns and Demarcus Christmas will lead the group, with a duo of former blue-chip recruits in Marvin Wilson and Joshua Kaindoh beside them. All four saw at least some playing time last year, and while neither of the two newer faces are very experienced, they’re more than talented enough to thrive.
The linebackers, on the other hand, are completely new. All three starters from last year are gone. The guys that are here, however, do have a little experience, either at FSU last year or in JUCO. Adonis Thomas and Dontavious Jackson have been around college football for a little while now, and while I don’t expect either to be excellent, they should be serviceable.
All things indicate that they’ll be bringing freshman Jaiden Woodbey along with them. He’s more of a hybrid than a true linebacker, but that’s exactly what Willie Taggart wants. If Woodbey is ready, he should start. If he’s not, it could go to Emmett Rice, Leonard Warner, or DeCalon Brooks. None of them have a ton of experience, but they’re older than Jaiden.
The defensive backfield should serve as a steadying force. Levonta Taylor looks like the next lockdown corner at FSU, and Stanford Samuels isn’t far behind him. The safety trio of Cyrus Fagan, Hamsah Nasirildeen and AJ Westbrook is just as young as the rest of the defense, but like the rest of the defense, has plenty of talent.
What can we expect?
This is a really weird year for Florida State, and that applies to the defense as well. It’s really hard to guess what this team looks like in 2018. This is uncharted territory in Tallahassee, and with such a young team, I could be talked into just about anything happening. I’m a little more sure about the defense than the offense, despite its youth.
What does a good defense look like for FSU this year though? Top 30? Top 10? What are fair expectations from a group that really didn’t get to prove themselves last year? My answer, right now, if they stay healthy, is probably top 25. I think with this talent, that’s fairly reasonable. They’ll need the young guys to step up, but that isn’t out of the question.