FSU football: 3 reasons Noles defense could be much improved in 2021

FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller at the FSU National Signing Day Party on Feb. 5, 2020.Img 4484
FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller at the FSU National Signing Day Party on Feb. 5, 2020.Img 4484 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
fsu football
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

The FSU football defense was supposed to be the strength of the team going into the 2020 season.

However, the team didn’t perform anywhere close to expectations. Maybe those expectations were too high, to begin with, considering the circumstances?

We’re talking about a team’s third defensive coordinator since 2017 and a team with no real off-season to get practice reps in Adam Fuller’s defense.

Fuller caught a lot of heat in his first year. Some of it deserved, but there was a lot of it that was outside of his control. I can’t tell you how many times he had guys in position to make plays, but the play wouldn’t be made.

The defensive line failed to stop the run and get pressure on the quarterback, which made the lives of the linebackers and secondary tougher than they should have been.

FSU enters the 2021 season with a lot of questions. The defensive roster will feature a lot of new faces, and the coaching staff tried to address the lack of a pass rush through players acquired in the transfer portal.

The question is, do they have all the ingredients needed to make a big improvement over the previous year? FSU football finished 2020 ranked in the 80’s in the SP+ advanced metrics.

That’s nowhere near where they should have been, but here are three reasons why I think that will be much improved in 2021. I mean, could they get any worse?