FSU football: 3 defensive questions going into 2022 spring camp
By Kelvin Hunt
Linebackers
The Noles lost Emmett Rice, although he wasn’t able to play last year after working to rehab an injury from 2020. However, Kalen DeLoach emerged out of nowhere as a bonified starter, and freshmen DJ Lundy played well, despite physical limitations.
Those two players tied for third with 69 total tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss in 2021. Amari Gainer tallied 59 tackles and 5.5 tackles for a loss. That’s substantial production from three players, but the linebacker position was still had issues, specifically in coverage.
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Omar Graham Jr. was the only prep linebacker signed in the 2022 recruiting cycle. There’s also little to no depth and why the FSU coaches went to the transfer portal for UCF linebacker Tatum Bethune. They’ve also looked to address depth by switching player positions with Brendan Gant and Jadaruis Green-McKnight.
Both players are former blue-chip safety recruits that were not going to crack the lineup at that position. The other X-factor is Stephen Dix Jr., who saw his total snaps decrease significantly with the emergence of DeLoach and Lundy.
Dix had to play early in 2020 and didn’t have time to learn the defense or develop. Can his second full spring get him up to speed to vie for more playing time?