FSU football: 3 areas ‘Noles defense must improve in 2021
By Kelvin Hunt
Run Defense
One of the biggest issues with last year’s team was poor tackling and stopping the run. The Noles allowed opponents to average 5.12 yards per carry, and that was without facing teams like Clemson.
I would have included Florida in that, but they couldn’t run the ball at all. The defensive line most thought would be a strength going into the season turned out to be a group of guys that got pushed around most of the time.
Marvin Wilson and Corey Durden offered almost nothing production-wise while appearing in six and seven games, respectively.
To be fair, it was their third defensive coordinator since 2017, but the level of play shouldn’t have seen such a drastic drop-off.
The Noles have some talent returning with Fabien Lovett, Robert Cooper, Dennis Briggs Jr, and newcomer Joshua Farmer expected to join the rotation at some point.
They’ll be playing more of an attacking style instead of looking to take up space and clog running lanes. That should lead to linebackers, hopefully, shooting some gaps and making some tackles for a loss.