FSU football defense: Improve these 3 areas and be elite in 2023

Parting Thoughts

I like the additions the staff added from the transfer portal. Many times last season, opposing offenses would find success when FSU had to substitute backups into the game along the line of scrimmage.

The added depth and talent should mitigate that issue as long as everyone stays healthy. I believe the improvement up front will allow the linebackers to create more havoc plays since they’ll be freer from offensive linemen getting to the second level to block.

There should be more gaps to shoot, and the coverage in the secondary should be better, which allows for more time to make plays by the front seven. All these things working together should result in more opportunities and better field positions for the FSU offense.

Bad field position was one of the many culprits in two of their three losses last year. Clemson’s average starting field position was their 36-yard line, with FSU at their 21-yard line. NC State’s average starting field position was their 29-yard line, with FSU at their 22-yard line.

A lot of that was the FSU offense failing to show up for large portions of those games, but the defense could have been better at getting off the field quicker. I think we’ll see an excellent defense at FSU in 2023.