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FSU Football: Writer says ‘Noles have third best defense in nation

By Kelvin Hunt

Sep 5, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive back Derwin James (3) celebrates after a play in the fourth quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Camping World Stadium. Florida State Seminoles won 45-34. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive back Derwin James (3) celebrates after a play in the fourth quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Camping World Stadium. Florida State Seminoles won 45-34. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports /
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FSU football is expected to have one of the best defenses in all of college football. One writer has them at No. 3 in the nation.

The FSU football defense got off to a shaky start in 2016, and was on pace to be worst statistical year in history.

It was a combination of FSU facing some of the best offenses in the nation, injuries and inexperience in vulnerable positions.

The loss of Derwin James was huge, but the ‘Noles finished the year a strong note the last few games.

James is fully recovered and expected to be one of the top individual players in the nation. One writer at Bleacherreport believes FSU will have an elite defense.

Here’s what he had to say about the ‘Noles below:

What make them dangerous

"Florida State’s passing defense was decent without James, but it should be elite with him back in the mix. Also, the Seminoles led the nation in sacks per game last season, and might get even better in that department with James creating problems downfield."

The secondary did struggle with James out with injury, but FSU also faced one of the toughest slate of offenses in the country. No less than five of those quarterbacks are or will be in the NFL.

The injury to James did force a number of young players to gain a lot of experience, so now the depth in the secondary is a strength.

Improvement

"While the overall rush defense was solid, mobile quarterbacks gave Florida State fits last season. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson ran for 146 yards and four scores. South Florida’s Quinton Flowers rushed for 159 yards. Also, punt coverage was a disaster for the Seminoles. At 18.6 yards per return, they ranked second-to-last in the nation in that category."

Mobile quarterback give every defense problems, so it’s not limited to FSU. We’ve also hit on this but FSU special teams were awful, but that’s special teams not the defense.

Projection

"The Seminoles lost star running Dalvin Cook and star wide receiver Travis Rudolph, but they’re still one of the top picks to reach the 2018 College Football Playoff. This defense is a huge reason why. With the exception of Demarcus Walker and Marquez White, everyone who made a significant impact on defense is coming back while re-adding James and working in stud freshmen Marvin Wilson and Joshua Kaindoh."

The ‘Noles face Lamar Jackson again, but Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky, Chad Kelly and Brad Kaaya are gone. That means the FSU football defense will get to face new quarterbacks with little experience which should be advantage FSU football.

Overall the ‘Noles finished No. 10 in the S&P + advanced metrics in 2016. There’s no reason they shouldn’t finish top three in 2017 with the talent and experience they have.

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