Florida State's defense under Tony White was a mixed bag of results last year. The fan base didn't necessarily love the idea of having a 3-3-5 defense because of the inability to stop teams from running the football.
However, the doubters were silenced when the Alabama Crimson Tide came to Tallahassee and saw the mighty defensive back Earl Little Jr. coming back for revenge against his former team. When the Seminoles got over their stretch of Alabama, East Texas A&M, and Kent State, the defense took a step back.
This offseason was all about getting better players who could be comfortable in the scheme. It all starts with grabbing defensive linemen. They did just that in the high school ranks with nine prospects. However, grabbing true freshmen is cool and all, but will it win you football games?
Rylan Kennedy has to be the answer on the Seminoles' defensive line in 2026
The talk of the offseason has been retaining Mandrell and Darryll Desir, as well as Kevin Wynn. The coaching staff did not play around with the idea of the youngsters going elsewhere in 2026.
With the retention of the Desir Twins and Wynn, this didn't leave much room for other defensive line transfers to add. The Seminoles did acquire Texas A&M defensive end Rylan Kennedy and Texas State defensive tackle Jordan Sanders.
Kennedy is already showing his progress as someone who works hard during the offseason, as he displayed evidence of that on his social media.
Defensive end transfer Rylan Kennedy is out there in the indoor practice facility working on his craft.
— Norvell Central (@CentralNorvell) February 18, 2026
There is an expectation for Kennedy to be successful in the Seminoles’ defense for 2026. 🔥 #GoNoles #fsufootball #rylankennedy #fsudefense #collegefootball pic.twitter.com/hU2I8ZXcq7
Kennedy did not put up flashy numbers with the Aggies, as he recorded 14 tackles and two sacks during the 2025 season (according to ESPN Stats and Information).
You might have seen the headline and thought, "Close to double-digit sacks? He has not even recorded more than four sacks in his career." I understand the argument, but Florida State has no choice but to play Kennedy in 2026 because they didn't attack the portal heavily. They cannot rely on the true freshmen to put up production like Mandrell Desir did last year.
The former Texas A&M defender is just scratching the surface of playing the position, where he did not start playing football until his senior year of high school. As a result, he is still growing in his development. Kennedy is listed as a senior on the Seminoles' roster, so he will only have one year to make Florida State a contender and make a name for himself in front of NFL scouts.