FSU football: Top 15 important defensive players for 2023 season
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football had a good defense last season that got expose in the run game because of lack of depth at the defensive tackle position.
Not to mention arguably its top defensive player spent most of the season playing at far less than 100 percent.
FSU coaches took note of the weaknesses and added some much-needed talent from the transfer portal.
I expect this unit to improve considerably with developed talent and roster additions from the transfer portal.
FSU’s only defensive flaws last year were mainly in the trenches and winning one-on-one matchups in the secondary. I wrote about those flaws here and what the FSU coaching staff have done to minimize those flaws.
As media outlets have released their top 40 players lists over the last few weeks, I wanted to wait and take a more realistic approach by separating the offense and defense into separate groups.
The offensive list is here. I think separating provides a more accurate gauge of the importance of each guy.
After all, only 11 guys can play on one side at a time, and including guys that will likely only play when you’re winning big, losing big, or you have major injuries means one of three things.
If it’s either of the latter two, FSU isn’t going to meet expectations going into the 2023 season. Without further ado, here are my top 15 defensive players going into the season.