The Daily Nole

FSU Preseason Position Breakdown: Linebackers

Phil Kelly/FSU athletics

Florida State will pose one of the nation’s most talented rosters in the country in 2016, but the glaring concern for the Seminoles will certainly be at linebacker.

The Seminoles have a proud history at the position with names like Paul Piurowski, Aaron Carter, Marvin Jones, Derrick Brooks, Sam Cowart and Ernie Sims coming through Tallahassee. This linebacking corps for FSU this season however, may be a bigger question mark than it has been in decades. Florida State is not only replacing play-maker Terrance Smith and Reggie Northrup — the team’s leading tackler in each of the last two seasons — but it is essentially unproven at the position across the depth chart.

1. The Name to Know: Matthew Thomas
Now a redshirt junior, South Florida native Matthew Thomas has had a rocky road since becoming a Florida State Seminole. After originally wanting out of his letter of intent, Thomas has been plagued by injury, off-the-field mishaps and trouble in the classroom. Still, Thomas has the potential to be great.

At 6-3 and nearly 230 pounds, Thomas is a big hitter who can run from sideline to sideline. Once a 5-star recruit, Thomas has produced when on the field, but those opportunities have been rare. Thomas has just 30 career tackles, but if he can finally put it all together, he might be as good as anyone in the ACC.

2. Burning Question: Who Steps Up at the Position?
Thomas and Ro’Derrick Hoskins are expected to be the starters for Florida State at linebacker, but who fills in behind those two is anyone’s guess. Thomas has had trouble staying on the field and Hoskins saw his reps reduced as the 2015 season went on.

Redshirt sophomore Delvin Purifoy has been plagued by injury early in his career while sophomore Sh’Mar Kilby-Lane and true freshmen Dontavious Jackson, Emmett Rice and Josh Brown have never taken any meaningful snaps at the collegiate level.

3. Put Your Future Stock In: Dontavious Jackson
Dontavious Jackson might be a freshman straight out of high school, but he certainly already has a college body. At 6-2 and nearly 250 pounds, the Houston native is a vicious hitter and should be able to fill in as an inside linebacker and help stop the run immediately. Expect him to be a contributor from Day 1.

4. Other Names to Know: Jacob Pugh
Jacob Pugh, now a junior, was used mostly as a pass-rusher last season, but is listed as a linebacker. As more of a legitimate linebacker in 2014, Pugh showed that he could stand up, chase ball-carriers and serve adequately in pass coverage.

At 6-2 and 230 pounds, Pugh recorded 32 tackles and three sacks a season ago. Pugh’s career effort came as a freshman when he recorded two interceptions off of future teammate Everett Golson in a top-5 contest against Notre Dame back in 2014.

5. Food for Thought
Florida State’s corps of linebackers enters the season with a combined 139 career tackles. To illustrate how few that is, Terrance Smith and Reggie Northrup combined for 160 last season alone.

Of the seven scholarship linebackers on the roster however, five were blue-chip prospects. Hoskins and Rice are the two exceptions. Each were 3-star prospects before arriving at FSU.

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