FSU football: Noles land former Colorado State defensive tackle transfer Grady Kelly

FSU football has been active in the transfer portal during the last couple of days where they landed the services of LSU wide receiver Jalen Brown and Alabama cornerback Earl Little Jr., which are both prospects that they were heavily recruiting back when they were high school recruits.

However, on Sunday afternoon, Florida State acquired another transfer in Colorado State redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Grady Kelly.

Kelly is listed at 6'2", 285 pounds. During the 2023 season, he had 35 tackles (6.5 for loss) and 1.5 sacks. The Seminoles have to replenish the depth at the defensive tackle position group with redshirt seniors Fabien Lovett Sr. and Braden Fiske heading to the NFL as well as redshirt junior Malcolm Ray and freshman Ayo Tifase transferring (Rutgers and Georgia Tech, respectfully).

Redshirt senior Dennis Briggs Jr. is applying for yet another year of eligibility so we will see if he will be in the rotation for 2024. While a lot of the focus is on the defensive end position for next season (since they are losing Jared Verse to the NFL and Gilber Edmond to the transfer portal), the defensive tackle position should also be a position to worry about.

Lovett Sr. and Fiske were tremendous players for the Seminoles during the 2023 season. While it does seem that Darrell Jackson Jr. and Joshua Farmer will be returning for 2024, the depth of the position needs to be replenished. I believe that Kelly brings a sense of veteran leadership that could help elevate players such as Daniel Lyons and KJ Sampson Jr. to blossom.

Overall, defensive tackle coach Odell Haggins is one of the best defensive line coaches in the entire country. However, he will have to find a way to get the most out of the guys that he has in the room. But acquiring the former Colorado State defensive tackle is a good pickup for the Seminoles.