Here are some of my thoughts on the defensive depth chart entering the GT game:

DE- Payton and Jones Jr. are the starters and could be excellent as the bookends on the front four. Jones Jr. adjusted to the change in scheme pretty quickly and is big and powerful. Will be fun to see what these two do this season. Not sure if they will be as good as the Payton/Verse combo but closer than I thought coming into fall camp. I think Lolohea and Turner are solid as backups but there is a significant drop off in my opinion. I do think Turner has improved over last year. Lolohea has experience but is not nearly the same player as Payton who he will be backing up.

DT-Farmer and Jackson are the starters here and there really wasn't even any question about that entering camp and none exiting camp. Both should be motivated as they are likely playing there last year of college ball and need to have outstanding seasons to enhance their draft stock. Jackson is unblockable when he wants to be. Farmer seems like he is ready to have his best season.

I think these two guys are the key to FSU's success on defense. They will definitely factor into how the LBs play this year. Both will be disruptive as individual players, but they will also be responsible for tying up blockers and freeing up and allowing the LBs to play downhill. We saw the LBs get better in camp and were particularly more effective when playing behind these two guys.


Lyons and Kelly or listed as the backups behind Jackson and there is clearly a drop off, but Lyons should continue to develop as the season goes on and he had a nice camp but would like to see him crank his motor up a little more often. I wasn't as impressed with Kelly this fall as I was in the spring, but you can't replace his experience and that will come in handy during the season. Sampson and Durojaiye or listed as co-backups to Farmer. I really think Sampson has the chance to take the next step in his development and solidify himself as the heir apparent to Farmer after this season. Durojaiye took to the move inside very quickly and should just continue to get better with reps. Both work extremely hard in practice.

LB-Riley and Nichelson are listed as co-starters at the WILL LB spot and that jives with what I have seen at practice. They have both improved as fall camp went on and both need to have really good seasons for FSU to be as dominant on defense as it was last year. Ward is listed as the third guy at WILL.

Lundy will be the starter at the MIKE LB spot and will be backed by either Graham Jr. or Cryer. Graham will likely get the first call to backup Lundy, but I think as the season goes on it will be Cryer as the main backup here.

Nickel Corner-Knowles and Little are listed as co-starters with Rawls as the third guy. Having co-starters here is a bit of surprise. Most of the guys that cover the program (I am not included in that group) said it would be Little by a landslide, it wasn't. Knowles had a good camp but did not play well last season. Little has potential but isn't proven. Rawls show flashes. Will be interesting to see how good this position is once we get into the season. Going to have to see if to believe it type thing here. Is Knowles that much better than last year and is Little is big as the hype some have given him?

Boundary Corner-Cypress had a great camp and seems more comfortable playing mostly on the boundary side like he did at UVA. Jones is backing him up and I think he has big-time potential himself but needs to get some game experience. Bates is behind Jones.

Strong Safety-Brown has a solid camp. I thought he might get pushed a little harder than he did by Kirkland. Shyheim is the most experience player in the secondary and should play better than last year. Still fired up about Kirkland's potential but didn't see him flash this fall as much as I thought he would. Bates his behind him.

Free Safety-Brown and Hussey are full of potential but are still young. Will be interesting to see how they play when the lights come on. Might be some trial by fire early but both should get better as the season goes on.

Field Corner-AZ is in line for a huge year and if he has one it is likely his last season in Tallahassee. I thought he had a great camp. Joseph and Lester or listed as co-backups to AZ. Both have huge potential; I just think it is a matter of who matures the fastest as who to plays more.

Senior offensive analyst Gabe Fertitta will step in and coach Florida State’s offensive line against Georgia Tech, filling in as Alex Atkins serves a three-game, NCAA-mandated suspension.

Fertitta has been on FSU’s staff since February 2022. He has focused on helping the development of offensive linemen alongside Atkins and graduate assistant Cooper Williams, who moved on to Missouri this offseason.

Atkins has been coaching FSU’s offensive line through camp and will travel with the program to Ireland, but he will not be available on game day. FSU coach Mike Norvell said the Seminoles have used Fertitta as the offensive line coach in their two scrimmages.

FSU released its depth chart for the season opener vs. Georgia Tech this afternoon.

QB-DJU is named as the starter over Brock Glenn, followed by Luke Kromenhoek. It may take some time once they get into the season, but I do think Norvell will figure out how to best use DJU's skill set in his offense and be solid. I didn't think any of the QBs had a great camps, so it makes sense to go with the guy who has played more football. There are some questions on the passing game heading into the season and its not all about the WRs. I thought there would be more separation in this battle and think it will be interesting to see how Mike tries to get Glenn some in-season experience. I think it has to be put in meaningful situations during games and just not mopping up at the end of a couple of blowouts.

RB-Norvell for whatever reason list 12 starters on offense with the "extra" position being a second running back slot and we are likely to see some 20, 21 and 22 personnel groupings this season. That being said the running back room looks to be in really good shape. Williams and Toafili are listed as the two starters and would be the first two guys in the rotation in 11 and 12-personnel packages. Lucas is the backup behind Toafili and those two will be used in the slot receiver spot to which may allow for Caziah Holmes, Sam Singleton and Kam Davis to get some reps in the backfield. Either way you stack it up, FSU should be deep at RB. All flashed during camp. I think Lucas could be in line for a really big season with Norvell's ability to be creative and find mismatches.

WR-Benson, Douglas and Brown are listed as the starter with Poiter or Williams behind Benson, Spann behind Douglas and Williamson or McCoy behind Brown. This group is a work in progress and is in need of some serious in-season development. There is potential there and Benson is a guy that has the speed to off the top of the defense and Douglas is a proven commodity in the offense but as a whole this group didn't have a great camp. I think you will see a lot of WR combinations early as they try to find three guys who can carry the load and catch the ball consistently.

TE-Morlock is the clear starter here and anything you can get out of the any of the backups is a plus, Courtney and West or listed as co-backups and Thomas and Williams are not listed on the depth chart. FSU really needs Morlock to stay healthy.

LT-Washington backed up by Simmons. I think Darius has had a great camp and Simmons continues to improve. I do wonder if they would shuffle someone out to LT if Darius where to have to fill in at another spot or miss time.

LG-Leonard has been good as a run blocker. He is a mauler and is tough. Will help the run game but his weakness if pass protection. I think he was a solid take in the portal after watching him in camp. Estes is listed behind him, and he did finish camp strong.

C-Maurice Smith is a fixture here and will be as long as he stays healthy. Otto and Rizy or listed as co-backups to Smith and who plays behind Smith each week will be determined by how they perform in practice.

RG-Jones and Ferguson are listed as co-starters here so there is not much seperation between the two although I thought Jones had the stronger camp. Otto has worked some at guard in camp, so don't be surprised to see him work his way into the rotation here.

RT-Byers and Scott are listed as the co-starters here with Early behind them. I haven't seen anything that says Byers won't be the starter and this is another spot that you could see Otto battle for playing time after practicing at three different positions during camp.