FSU football: How quickly can safety commit Ashlynd Barker contribute?

FSU football coaches added a versatile piece to its roster when JUCO safety Ashlynd Barker committed to the Noles Tuesday.

He’ll enroll this week after redshirting at junior college last season. FSU coaches knew they needed bodies at the safety position to build depth and brought Barker in to help solve that problem. What can we expect from Barker in year one at FSU?

The first thing I notice about Barker is he’s physically ready to play. He already lists at 6’3″ and 200 pounds. However, he missed spring camp, which likely means he’ll be behind the curve when it comes to understanding the defense at a high level.

However, he’s a bright young man with a 4.0 GPA transferring into FSU. He’ll have all summer and fall camp to get better acclimated. One area he can help FSU immediately is on special teams.

Barker displays a level of want to on his film that shows he isn’t afraid to bring physicality. I said on Twitter, he reminds me of a younger Hamsah Nasirildeen.

Will Barker play a ton of snaps at safety in 2023?

I doubt it and believe this is more of a long-term play since he has four years of eligibility remaining. Akeem Dent and Shyheim Brown will likely get most of the reps until games get into garbage time. That’s the good thing about this 2023 FSU football team.

They should legitimately blow several teams out, which will provide great game experience for players like Barker, who will need to develop and contribute much more in 2024. I expect FSU football coaches to continue to pursue a safety from the transfer portal with multiple years of experience.

So adding Barker doesn’t solve their problem totally, but his addition does improve the roster overall. If he comes anywhere close to what Hamsah Nasirildeen was before he got hurt? The Noles got themselves steal from the JUCO ranks.