FSU football: 3 reasons ‘Noles defense could be even better in 2022

Coaching

I’m not saying he is elite, but I believe in Adam Fuller as a defensive coordinator. I was the first person to look up the SP+ stats from Memphis and Marshall before FSU hire him.

I pointed out that in both places he had massive improvements in his first year. It would be fair to count last season as the true year one, and we saw the jump in the DFEI rankings.

Now it’s all about putting players in a position to make plays. It’s about getting more advanced in their blitz packages and pattern matching in the secondary.

I think we’ll see improvement in these areas in 2022 since the players have and will get more reps on those things.

The key to the defense will be the play of the defensive line, as it was last year. If they can come close to generating a pass rush similar to last season, I think the upgrades at linebacker and in the secondary can be enough to see the improvement needed to be a top 25 defense. There is no question the talent is there.