FSU football: 5 most valuable defensive players in 2023

Akeem Dent

If you don't understand how valuable Akeem Dent was to the FSU defense in 2023? All you have to do is look at how the defense looked from when he hurt his hamstring against Southern Mississippi and didn't return for a few weeks. I'm not going to talk bad about a player, but almost all of the big plays the defense allowed against teams like Boston College and Clemson was when Akeem Dent was hurt.

Not only was Akeem Dent solid in the passing game, but he may have been even better against the run. However, where he was most improved was his tackling. Akeem Dent made so many open field tackles to stop big plays. The Florida game may have been his best in the garnet and gold. Dent came downhill and made tackles against Florida's running backs several times when there was no other defender behind him. He also executed an excellent blitz at a critical moment only to have it robbed by the officials. Dent at safety was a huge key to the FSU dominance in 2023.