Linebackers coach Randy Shannon speaks to the media after Friday's practice

Florida State linebackers coach Randy Shannon spoke with the media after Friday morning's practice. The Seminoles are now 22 days away from the season opener versus Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday, August 24th. Here is what Shannon had to say in his media session:

-Justin Cryer is playing two positions.

-DJ Lundy is a little nicked up, but he is back at practice and doing some things in walk-throughs.

-DeMarco Ward, Omar Graham Jr., Cam Riley, and Blake Nichelson are all playing two or three positions so they have a good rotation right now.

-FSU has a scrimmage tomorrow.

-Cam Riley brings experience. He is a veteran guy who came in June. He isn't just a pure run-stopper. We are excited to have him on the team. He had a big interception in practice yesterday.

-Second-year players (Justin Cryer, Blake Nichelson, and DeMarco Ward) don't make the same mistakes that they made last year. They are learning.

-The freshmen linebackers are growing and developing. They ran with the 2's today to see if they can handle the pressure.

THOUGHTS

Coach Shannon has made it seem like the linebacker position group is very talented. While DJ Lundy is the projected starter in the rotation, other contributors such as Cam Riley are starting to step up.

With Kalen DeLoach and Tatum Bethune off to the NFL, the younger pieces such as Justin Cryer and Blake Nichelson need to take the next step in their developments. It seems like Coach Shannon wants his linebackers to be very versatile instead of being one-dimensional.

In today's landscape of college football, linebackers are asked to do a multitude of things such as being an effective run-stopper as well as covering a large amount of space. While I know that the linebackers are unproven to a degree, I am excited about their potential in the defense for 2024.