Redshirt freshman DT KJ Sampson Jr. impressing during FSU football's spring practices

Florida State has capable pieces in its defensive tackle position room for the 2024 season. However, defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins has his work cut out for him as the Seminoles are looking to replace the likes of Braden Fiske, Fabien Lovett Sr., Ayobami Tifase, and Malcolm Ray.

Losing Braden Fiske and Fabien Lovett Sr. hurts tremendously given their impact in the interior of the defensive line where they are consistently generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks as well as effectively stopping the running game.

Florida State is returning starting-caliber players such as Joshua Farmer and Darrell Jackson Jr. for the 2024 campaign. They also added transfer portal prospects such as Grady Kelly (Colorado State) and Tomiwa Durojaiye (West Virginia- looking to play both defensive tackle and defensive end).

Haggins also has talented pieces such as Daniel Lyons and KJ Sampson Jr. that could be beneficial in their rotation. On Tuesday's media session, head football coach Mike Norvell mentioned that Sampson Jr. has impressed during spring practice thus far.

The redshirt freshman took a redshirt year during the 2023 season. The former four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle is still acclimating to the collegiate game. He appeared in five games last season including the blowout Orange Bowl loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.

It is expected that Joshua Farmer and Darrell Jackson Jr. will have a ton of opportunities in the defensive game plan. However, you cannot expect both of them to play a high amount of snaps at their size. There needs to be depth in the room to keep them fresh so that they can effectively control the line of scrimmage.

It is encouraging that Sampson Jr. is taking another step in his development as he enters his second season in Tallahassee. He could work himself into the rotation at the position.