Florida State football made a major splash this winter when hiring a new defensive backs coach.
Following the departure of defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Marcus Woodson for a position with Arkansas, Surtain was brought in following the conclusion of the Miami Dolphins season.
Surtain has already made an impact in recruiting, being a major reason for the commitments of 5-star defensive backs KJ Bolden and Charles Lester.
Now through the spring practices and Showcase, as well as fall camps, he’s making an imprint on the field as well, according to head coach Mike Norvell and defensive coordinator Adam Fuller.
“For me, it’s been exciting to them. I’m in that room with him a lot,” Fuller said in a Zoom meeting following the second fall scrimmage.
“And just to see his relationship grow with those guys and see the trust and just his everyday personnel as the thing that I would jump out because I knew he would know how to play the bounce back we’re all different types of teachers. I knew that the teaching component would be there. It was just a matter of what type of that tone even said that group and just pleased at this point.”
Norvell added that Surtain has fit in seamlessly into the coaching staff.
“Been fortunate throughout my coaching career to be around a lot of great assistant coaches, guys that are now head coaches and you watch how they interact with each other,” Norvell said. “There are two characteristics that are an absolute necessity in any person that comes and works on this staff and one, they’ve got to be led from the heart. Relationships have to matter.”
The Seminoles held their second fall scrimmage – the 15th official practice – which was closed to the media, Norvelland coordinators spoke to the local media following the scrimmage via a Zoom Conference video call.
Norvell said the team ran about 90-95 plays, including special teams.
Here are takeaways about the FSU defense and special teams from the first fall camp scrimmage from what Norvell, Fuller and special teams coordinator John Papuchis said.
Greedy Vance and creating turnovers
One major impact Surtain has had on the team is a focus on creating turnovers.
FSU finished tied for 68th with 16 turnovers created (eight fumbles, eight interceptions) and tied for 54th with a plus-2 turnover margin last season.
Cornerback Greedy Vance created the lone takeaway in Sunday’s scrimmage. But it was a significant one.
“Greedy, he made a good really good one-on-one play,” Fuller said. “I thought the offense was doing a pretty good job in the throw game of just executing but, they throw a one-on-one and the way we coach and the way Coach Surtain coaches, is that balls in the air, there is no wideout, there is no DB. That’s about being aggressive. Greedy did a nice job of going out and making the play. It gave us the ball at midfield at the change of possession. I think we knocked a couple of balls in the ground today too, and I don’t think we came up with many of them.”
Vance, a redshirt junior, led the Seminoles and was third in the ACC with three interceptions in 2022.
DJ Lundy, most improved linebacker
When a player enters Year 3 or 4 of his college career, there usually is not a ton of growth left for the player.
That is not the case for linebacker DJ Lundy, as Fuller made a bold claim about the redshirt junior, who is entering Year 4 with the Seminoles.
“I would say right now he’s our most improved linebacker,” Fuller said. “I thought Omar was probably the most improved in the spring. … He’s shown the growth and I think he’s trending in a really strong direction. And he’s somebody that I think can affect third-down pass rush to just offer some opportunities. Because of how physical and, and twitchy he is. He has been really, really impressive with the way he’s gone about the work here the last three weeks.”
Lundy appeared in all 13 games, including two starts, recording 48 tackles, including five for loss with 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Another notable linebacker note is Tatum Bethune, who has been limited throughout the fall and got in a good amount of reps during the second scrimmage.
Defensive freshmen impressing
On a very veteran-laden team, playing time could be hard to come by for a freshmen class that has shown flashes of brilliance during the spring and fall camps.
Special teams are one spot Norvell said that class can play an early role in, with potential playing time opening up due to injuries and inconsistent play ahead of them.
“The defensive back group: Ashlynd Barker, Conrad Hussey, Edwin Joseph, you go through all of them. Quin [Quindarrius Jones] has been here, so we kind of understand what he’s going to be, and he has a great future. You can see the defensive backroom is really, really good. I think more of those guys will be able to help us this year as they continue to progress,” Norvell said.
“A couple of guys have stood out to me at linebacker like Justin Cryer and Blake Nichelson. Both of those guys are really taking steps, battling to see if it’s 5, 6, where they’re going to sit in that rotation and battling for that time defensively, but on the flip-side of it, guys who can be great impact players for us on special teams.”
Potential of defense
FSU’s defense is coming off a season where it finished 15th in total defense (321.8 yards allowed per game) and fourth in passing yards allowed with 165.4 yards per game, in 2022.
With the return of edge Jared Verse and defensive tackle Fabien Lovett, as well as the addition of cornerback Fentrell Cypress II, expectations for the defense remain high.
“We got a chance to be as good as, as good as there is. I think we got a really strong nucleus of players,” Fuller said. “We’re constantly trying to build depth because you’re going to need it. But I feel really comfortable group of guys we have we’re going to have to continue to work at it and continue to execute on game days. I don’t put any limits on what this group can accomplish both defensively and as a team.
“We’ve got the right people but that right group of people needs to continue to push in the right direction. I’ve got no questions about who we coach right now. And I’m excited to go to work and jump into the season with them.”
Special teams returners’ are to be determined soon
FSU is still in the process of figuring out who will return kicks and punts for the team this season.
Practices have been a mix of working different players in throughout the practices to get them accustomed to the position and who fits best.
In Saturday’s practice, Trey Benson returned three punts, while Winston Wright, Destyn Hill and Samuel Singleton Jr. each had one return each.
“I think we’ll be settled into the group that is going to be our primary kick return guys,” Papuchis said. “We have some pretty good depth in the kick return game, so I do think we have some flexibility and some multiplicity in terms of that. Punt return will be settled in terms of who we want it to be.
“We may use two guys depending on situations but once we settle into that and the coach is ready to announce how we’re going to enter that, I think we’ll be pretty comfortable with who those are.”
GAME INFORMATION
Who: AP No. 8 FSU (0-0) vs. No. 5 LSU (0-0)
When/where: Sunday, Sept. 3, 7:30 p.m.; Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM
Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @JackGWilliams on Twitter; @Ehsan_Kassim on Twitter; @JimHenryTALLY on Twitter
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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