- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,194,948
- Reaction score
- 59
Tony White enters his second season in Tallahassee with a restructured defense built around a mix of experience and talented young players.
The Florida State football defensive coordinator led the Seminoles to the 28th-ranked defense in college football last season. While the metrics favor the 2025 unit, there were ebbs and flows in performance, with peaks against Alabama and Wake Forest, and lows against Virginia and Florida.
Coverage issues, particularly at linebacker, and a hunger for a big hit from players rather than a commitment to wrapping up led to far too many explosive plays given up. There were positives, namely the development of defensive backs Ashylnd Barker and Jabril Rawls, alongside the emergence of Darryl and Mandrell Desir.
However, last season's defense left some meat on the bone when it came to overall performance and production.
So how did the Seminoles and White look to address it?
FSU targeted experienced transfers and signed a crop of young talent that could see early playing time. Linebacker was an overhauled position, with Southern Miss transfer Chris Jones and UNC transfer Mikai Gbayor, a former Nebraska player under White, joining freshman Izayia Williams and Karon Maycock, among others.
Ernie Sims, the former assistant linebackers coach, was promoted to the lead role after John Papuchis' departure to Missouri. White, a former Division I linebacker, demands a lot from the position in his 3-3-5 scheme, and the ultimate success of the unit often stems from the linebacker room.
The Seminoles held an average defensive grade of 68.1 from Pro Football Focus (PFF), with a season-high grade of 81.1 against Kent State and a low of 48.6 against Florida. Jadan Baugh rushed for 268 yards and two touchdowns in that game, shredding the Seminoles.
It was a brutal end to the season for the program, and one that confirmed an overhaul of personnel was needed.
Players like Jones and Gbayor bring in experience and are reliable tackles, particularly Jones. While at Southern Miss, he tallied 180 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two interceptions, and three pass breakups — a production machine.
Gbayor played 24 games under White and has one year of ACC experience after a season at North Carolina. He had 39 total tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 10 games last season.
Williams, who came to Tallahassee recovering from a knee injury, is a wild card for the program. If he heals properly, he's got the potential to be an instant impact player. The program prioritized him during his recruitment, which led him to commit to multiple programs before ending up with the Seminoles.
He was the top player in a freshman linebacker class that has the ability to play early with Maycock, Noah Lavalle and Daylen Green.
There is a feeling within the program that the attitude of this season's team is better than that of the 2025 squad, and more players are spending time in the facility working on their game. How that represents itself on the field is something that can only be answered when the pads come on.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football's defensive success starts at linebacker
Continue reading...
The Florida State football defensive coordinator led the Seminoles to the 28th-ranked defense in college football last season. While the metrics favor the 2025 unit, there were ebbs and flows in performance, with peaks against Alabama and Wake Forest, and lows against Virginia and Florida.
Coverage issues, particularly at linebacker, and a hunger for a big hit from players rather than a commitment to wrapping up led to far too many explosive plays given up. There were positives, namely the development of defensive backs Ashylnd Barker and Jabril Rawls, alongside the emergence of Darryl and Mandrell Desir.
However, last season's defense left some meat on the bone when it came to overall performance and production.
So how did the Seminoles and White look to address it?
FSU targeted experienced transfers and signed a crop of young talent that could see early playing time. Linebacker was an overhauled position, with Southern Miss transfer Chris Jones and UNC transfer Mikai Gbayor, a former Nebraska player under White, joining freshman Izayia Williams and Karon Maycock, among others.
Ernie Sims, the former assistant linebackers coach, was promoted to the lead role after John Papuchis' departure to Missouri. White, a former Division I linebacker, demands a lot from the position in his 3-3-5 scheme, and the ultimate success of the unit often stems from the linebacker room.
The Seminoles held an average defensive grade of 68.1 from Pro Football Focus (PFF), with a season-high grade of 81.1 against Kent State and a low of 48.6 against Florida. Jadan Baugh rushed for 268 yards and two touchdowns in that game, shredding the Seminoles.
It was a brutal end to the season for the program, and one that confirmed an overhaul of personnel was needed.
Players like Jones and Gbayor bring in experience and are reliable tackles, particularly Jones. While at Southern Miss, he tallied 180 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two interceptions, and three pass breakups — a production machine.
Gbayor played 24 games under White and has one year of ACC experience after a season at North Carolina. He had 39 total tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 10 games last season.
You must be registered for see images attach
Williams, who came to Tallahassee recovering from a knee injury, is a wild card for the program. If he heals properly, he's got the potential to be an instant impact player. The program prioritized him during his recruitment, which led him to commit to multiple programs before ending up with the Seminoles.
He was the top player in a freshman linebacker class that has the ability to play early with Maycock, Noah Lavalle and Daylen Green.
There is a feeling within the program that the attitude of this season's team is better than that of the 2025 squad, and more players are spending time in the facility working on their game. How that represents itself on the field is something that can only be answered when the pads come on.
Florida State football schedule 2026
- vs. New Mexico State | Aug. 29
- vs. SMU* | Sept. 7
- Bye
- at Alabama | Sept. 19
- vs. Central Arkansas | Sept. 26
- vs. Virginia* | Oct. 3
- at Louisville* | Oct. 9
- at Miami* | Oct. 17
- Bye
- vs. Clemson* | Oct. 31
- at Boston College* | Nov. 7
- at Pittsburgh* | Nov. 13
- vs. NC State* | Nov. 21
- vs. Florida | Nov. 27
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football's defensive success starts at linebacker
Continue reading...
