FSU Football: Projecting the 2020 safety depth chart
By Sam Tschida
Free Safety
Although he’ll be out for the spring with an injury, senior Hamsah Nasirildeen is the obvious starter at free safety. Nasirildeen has the Seminoles in tackles for the last two seasons. He finished 2019 with an astounding 101 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and three passes defended
Nasirildeen is exceptional in stopping the run. He does a great job of getting downhill and wrapping up opposing ballcarriers, as he does here against Boise State.
Nasirildeen should be an All-ACC player next season and will be a major force on defense. Behind him should be both Travis Jay and senior Carlos Becker.
Jay sat out all of last season due to unconfirmed academic issues, while Becker will spend his fifth season in Tallahassee competing for reps. Jay has a ton of talent and is great at reading the quarterback, while Becker showed potential as a great run stopper last season.
In 2019, Becker had 21 tackles and two sacks in just seven games, which means he will, at worst, provide reliable depth this upcoming season behind Jay.
Next. Why FSU Run Defense Can Be Elite in 2020. dark
I do expect Jay to get a significant amount of reps behind Nasirildeen, but would not be surprised to see Becker on the field as an extra defensive back or blitzer.