FSU Football: Top 5 takeaways from spring camp 2019
By Kelvin Hunt
Linebackers Look Improved
I’ve lamented about linebacker play for years it seems. The past regime seemed to miss on the best recruits the past few years or failed to develop them.
The proof was in the pudding when Dontavious Jackson went into last season as the most experienced linebacker with 37 total tackles in his career.
The old regime only had one linebacker in the fold (FSU legacy Amari Gainer) when Willie Taggart took over and he was the only true linebacker signed in 2018.
The new staff has looked to eliminate that problem by signing three linebackers in the 2019 recruiting class. One of them (four-star Jaleel McRae) was able to early enroll and is already making an impact.
Dontavious Jackson returns for his senior season after being second on the team in tackles in 2018. Amari Gainer flashed in the spring game and Hamsah Nasirildeen has moved to linebacker after leading the team in tackles from the safety position last year.
It’s possible Jaiden Lars-Woodbey could return to linebacker if need be too although the plan is to move him back to safety.
The backers all seemed to play with physicality and shot the gaps downhill against the run. So there’s more talent, depth and experience with this group going into 2019.