Florida State's squad in 2024 had a ton of hype. They were projected to win the conference and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. However, that thought process was as far from reality as possible, as the Seminoles had a 2-10 record this past season.
ESPN's Pete Thamel and legendary head football coach Nick Saban stated that they thought the Seminoles had one of the best defensive lines in the country, which I thought was insane considering that Florida State had to replace the likes of Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, who went to the NFL. However, I did write an article about how I thought Payton and Jones Jr. could be a scary sight.
The projected starting lineup for the 2024 season was Patrick Payton, Joshua Farmer, Darrell Jackson Jr., and Marvin Jones Jr. They were wildly inconsistent throughout the year. Payton, Farmer, and Jones Jr. tied the team-high in sack totals with four.
Farmer was the most consistent of the bunch at the defensive tackle position. Changes have come at Florida State with the horrific season that transpired as defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins was moved to an off-field position, defensive ends coach John Papuchis was moved to linebackers, and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton and defensive coordinator Tony White was hired.
Plus, Farmer and Jackson Jr. declared for the 2025 NFL Draft, while Jones Jr. decided to enter the transfer portal. The only remaining starter remaining on the defensive line is Patrick Payton. The former four-star prospect had a promising 2023 season where he had 44 tackles (15 for loss), seven sacks, and ten pass deflections.
Then, he decided in the offseason to increase his weight to 250. I was originally worried about how Payton would handle the weight change. However, I feel that the pass rusher benefitted a ton from having the attention on Jared Verse and Braden Fiske in 2023, which made him successful.
Payton stated that he was uncertain if he would return to Florida State, declare for the NFL Draft, or enter the transfer portal. You would think that we would have heard something by now. I wouldn't mind having him back in the defensive line fold, but I wonder how he would perform in Tony White's 3-3-5 defensive scheme.
In my opinion, it would probably benefit Payton to go elsewhere and see if he can elevate his draft stock and allow the new coaching staff to get guys that would fit the scheme, even though I think the Miami native is a really good talent.