FSU Football: How do defensive ends stack up without Josh Kaindoh?

After the loss of FSU football defensive end Josh Kaindoh, ChopChat’s Sam Tschida breaks down what ‘Nole fans should expect from the end position

The much-maligned FSU football defense once again put out a poor performance last week against UVA, letting up 21 fourth-quarter points to the Cavs in a demoralizing loss. While the ‘Noles did look better defensively for much of the game, their inability to sack Bryce Perkins and their very-bad zone defense allowed for Virginia to carve up the ‘Noles in the 4th quarter.

Another devasting blow came to the ‘Noles defense when it announced that junior Joshua Kaindoh would miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. Kaindoh, who was a five-star recruit in the 2017 class, had been splitting the ‘rush end’ snaps with fellow junior Janarius Robinson.

Kaindoh had quietly been putting together a nice start to his junior year, after battling injuries in years one and two. He had recorded nine total tackles so far, with 2.5 of them coming for loss, and added a sack. He also routinely graded out above average according to the PFF rating system, getting a 76.1 against UVA, which was third-highest on the defense.

So, how does the loss of Kaindoh affect the edge position for the Seminoles, and what should FSU fans expect for the next nine games? Let’s break it down.

First, let’s look at exactly what Kaindoh’s role was on this defense. The traditional defensive end is where Kaindoh lined up most of the time. With FSU running a 3-4 the majority of their first few games, there have technically been two ends, with one being an edge rusher and another being the ‘will’ (weakside) outside linebacker. A traditional 3-4, which can be seen below against UVA, has three down linemen with two backers’ on the edge.

Against Virginia, FSU ran a whole lot of 4-3 and 4-2-5 (meaning only two linebackers instead of 3), since the 3-4 hadn’t really been working all too well. Much of the game, the ‘rush edge’ was lined up on the offensive tackle’s shoulder, like right here.

Edge Rusher/Defensive End

So with Kaindoh out for the rest of the season, who will step up in the edge ‘backer/defensive end role? The obvious answer is Janarius Robinson, who has split snaps with Kaindoh for most of the year. Robinson has recorded eight total tackles but has not done well with his pass rush or when put in coverage. He graded out at a 63 against UVA according to PFF, which isn’t considered bad but is a full thirteen points below Kaindoh.

Seminole most know what they’ll be getting out of Robinson at this point: a good defender against the run but not great in pass rush or coverage. While he does do well when defending the outside run, put Robinson in space and sometimes things like this happen..

Obviously, Bryce Perkins is fantastic at weaving through defensive traffic, but this was still a major gaffe by Robinson.

So while Robinson is a decent player, who will we see also getting reps at the edge ‘backer? That will most likely be either Dennis Briggs Jr, who has seen a bit of action at the 3-tech behind Marvin Wilson; or Derrick McLendon, a true freshman who hasn’t played at all.  Whoever does play, expect a significant drop-off in the pass rush from the edge rusher.

Edge Linebacker

So with one defensive end spot taken care of, what does the other spot look like? Well, it’s complicated. With FSU wanting to run 3-4 but also running a lot of four-man defensive fronts, there are several options at the other defensive end/edge linebacker. When in a four-man front, Corey Durden is normally lined head up in a 4i-technique against the offensive tackle. Durden is not as good in space as an edge linebacker, but is a ferocious pass rusher, as he demonstrates here:

So in a four-man front (which the ‘Noles will run a lot of in the upcoming weeks), Durden is the guy at defensive end. But in a 3-4 look, the edge guy opposite of Robinson is now a new face. Earlier this week, it was reported that the coaching staff has switched Jaiden Lars-Woodbey and Leonard Warner’s positions, Warner moving to middle linebacker and Woodbey moving to the edge-backer.

The reason for this move was straightforward: Woodbey was struggling at linebacker since he was undersized, and Warner struggled at the edge because he was little too slow in coverage, like here:

To be completely fair to Warner here, he was supposed to have help over the top from the free safety, which never came. Still, that might’ve been one of the easiest throws Perkins will have to make all season, and there underlines the problem.

So far this season, Warner has been bad in space, and against UVA, he let up seven receptions for over 100 yards and a touchdown. Warner also hasn’t been great when asked to rush the passer or stop the run, unless it was near the line of scrimmage.

This makes Woodbey a good player to move outside. He is good in space and fast enough to be effective off the edge. While there will be growing pains, Woodbey should be an upgrade from Warner. Backing up Woodbey is redshirt freshman Amari Gainer, who has seen a good amount of playing time this season.

So far he has recorded four tackles in a backup role, but his snap count could increase as the season progresses. Both Woodbey and Gainer should be seeing snaps at the other edge, with Woodbey in when running the 4-3 and Gainer in as an edge rusher in the 3-4 role.

Bottom Line

The defense will suffer a bit without Kaindoh. Despite not putting up gaudy stats, Kaindoh had been a pleasant surprise this season, consistently getting pressure on the quarterback and playing well against the run.

At the defensive end spot, Robinson needs to step up, as do Woodbey and Gainer, as all will be asked to do more without Kaindoh on the field. It will be rough, but I do expect to see improvement from this group.