FSU football: Top 15 most important defensive players for 2024 season
By Kelvin Hunt
No. 11 Cam Riley-LB
Cam Riley is a name I'm excited about for the linebacker position. The Noles brought him in from the transfer portal over the summer, which tells me they were not comfortable with the rest of the guys in the room behind DJ Lundy. Riley is a name that Mike Norvell has mentioned several times in fall camp. He's a physical specimen with multiple years of experience in the college setting. He's apparently ultra-smart and picked up the defense quicker than they thought.
The key will be putting him in situations to maximize what he does well. DJ Lundy isn't an all-world guy, but he's competent and can be one of the better linebackers. If Cam Riley can match, or surpass his production, it would be huge for a linebacker unit that lost both starters from last year's squad. Cam Riley didn't come from the transfer portal to FSU to sit on the bench, which is why I have him higher than Nichelson or any other linebacker except DJ Lundy.