Top FSU Football Players Under Jimbo Fisher: No. 3
By Jason Parker
FSU football has had some great talent over the time Jimbo Fisher has been head coach – here’s another one of the 10 best during his tenure.
It was nearly seven and a half yeas ago that everything changed for FSU football. After almost three and a half decades under the leadership of legendary head coach Bobby Bowden, it was time to hand the keys over to Jimbo Fisher – who had spent the previous three seasons as the offensive coordinator and “head coach in waiting”.
Since that time, the Seminoles have come back from the time known as the “lost decade” from many and turned the program back into a perennial winner over Fisher’s seven seasons in charge. It’s a tenure that has included ACC titles, a national championship and countless award winners and All-Americans who reminded the country that Florida State was indeed back.
Of the hundreds of players who have suited up in the garnet and gold under Fisher, which ones have been the best of the best? It’s not an easy question considering all the talent that has come through Tallahassee. In compiling our top 10 list of the best FSU football players under Fisher, countless players who brought home honors and ended up in the pros didn’t make the cut – showing you the amount of talent that is on the list.
Without further ado, here’s another of the top Seminoles during the Jimbo Fisher era.
Florida State Seminoles Football
No. 3 – Lamarcus Joyner, DB (2010-2013)
Standing at just 5’8” tall, there aren’t many people who would look at Joyner when he was playing high school football at Southwest Miami and later Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquanis and think that he was going to be one of the best secondary players in college football. Then again, this is a player who played well above his height – becoming the national defensive player of the year as a high school senior.
After spending his freshman season as a reserve player – getting one interception in his return to South Florida against the Miami Hurricanes, Joyner moved into the starting lineup as a free safety in 2011 before moving over the strong safety the following year. During his two years as the last resort on defense, Joyner combined for 105 tackles, one sack and five interceptions, including yet another one against the Miami Hurricanes in 2011 along with one in the Champs Sports Bowl win over Notre Dame that season.
In his senior season, Joyner was moved to cornerback for FSU football and flourished. The season started with a career high nine tackles and two sacks – as he was used on blitz plays more that season – against Pittsburgh. He finished his year with 69 tackles, five and a half sacks and two interceptions during the Seminoles’ national championship winning season.
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Joyner would end up being a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, first team All-ACC yet again and a unanimous All-American, just the 12th player (at that time) in program history to do that. Joyner would end up being picked in the 2014 NFL Draft by the then St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams.