FSU Football: 2017 Preseason Position Preview — Defensive Backs

The injury bug bit the Florida State secondary hard in 2016 with starters like Derwin James, Nate Andrews and Marcus Lewis all missing significant time. Despite this, a young secondary showed immense improvement over the final stages of the year and just about everyone returns for 2017.

Heading into the new season, Florida State has a secondary that is not expected to only be a strength of the team, but one of the best in the country. The Seminoles were an opportunistic bunch last season, ranking in the top 25 nationally in interceptions.

Helping the secondary’s cause this season is that a number of prominent ACC quarterbacks are off to the NFL, including a pair of first-round picks in North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson. Five of the eight ACC teams that the Seminoles will face however, do return a starting quarterback which includes Louisville’s Heisman Trophy winner in Lamar Jackson.

1. The Name to Know: Derwin James, S and Tarvarus McFadden, CB
Usually, this section is reserved for one player, but picking between safety Derwin James and cornerback Tarvarus McFadden was just too difficult. James, who played in just two games last season before going down with injury, is one of the nation’s best and most versatile defenders. Despite being worked along slowly as a freshman in 2015, James was among FSU’s leaders in virtually every statistical category and showed little ill-effect of the meniscus injury during the spring.

McFadden returns for a junior year after leading the nation in interceptions a year ago with eight. At 6-2, McFadden is a big corner, but has outstanding technique and went on to be named the winner of the Jack Tatum Award and a first-team All-American by Sporting News. McFadden struggled early on last year, but got much better as the season went on. With Marquez White gone, there is a good chance that McFadden should be targeted less often in 2017.

2. Burning Question: Can the FSU Secondary Live Up to the Hype?
With two projected first-team All-Americans, the expectations are high for the Florida State secondary. The same however, was true coming into last season, but the Seminoles struggled early. FSU routinely gave up big plays for the first month of last season, but got much better after early October. In addition to James and McFadden, FSU has a number of young players who are expected to make significant strides from last season.

3. Put Your Future Stock In: Stanford Samuels III, CB
The Florida State secondary possesses a nice mix of youth and experience, but the most promising newcomer for the Seminoles looks to be South Florida legacy Stanford Samuels III. Samuels enrolled early, which should give him a chance to make an immediate impact in 2017.

At 6-2 and 170 pounds, Samuels is small, but physical and should be able to help FSU in obvious passing downs and as a reserve. Samuels should be able to challenge for a starting job as early as 2018.

4. Other Names to Know: Levonta Taylor, Kyle Meyers, Nate Andrews, Ermon Lane, A,J. Westbrook, Trey Marshall, Carlos Becker

Levonta Taylor, Kyle Meyers and Carlos Becker are three sophomore cornerbacks who will likely vie for two spots — one each at boundary cornerback and one at “STAR”. All three should see significant time after promising freshman seasons and provide a reliable compliment opposite Tarvarus McFadden. Becker came on late last season, but is big enough to be used at virtually any position in the secondary. Becker sealed FSU’s 33-32 win over Michigan in the Orange Bowl with a last-minute interception.

Trey Marshall is a long defender with a wealth of experience. Marshall showed improvement in pass coverage last season while remaining a big hitter. He is expected to start for the Seminoles alongside Derwin James at the safety position in 2017. Adding valuable experience and depth for FSU will be Nate Andrews. Andrews is the last remaining member of FSU’s 2013 national championship team, who made a major impact. Andrews, a safety, received a medical redshirt for last season after missing most of the year with a pectoral injury.

Ermon Lane is a former 5-star recruit at wide receiver, who converted to safety in the middle of the 2016 season and performed admirably. Lane is expected to be a reserve this year, but should have a significant role. A.J. Westbrook may be the biggest beneficiary of James’ injury last season and should see the field again in 2017. Westbrook struggled mightily early on, but settled in as the year went on.

5. Food For Thought
FSU returns 12 of its 15 interceptions from a season ago or 80 percent. The three departing interceptions come from Marquez White, who had two and Marcus Lewis, who had one.

Though FSU struggled early on against the pass last season, the Seminoles held five of their final seven opponents to fewer than 200 yards passing. Three of those five opponents failed to complete 50 percent of their passes.

Among active defensive players for FSU, redshirt senior Nate Andrews is the only one to record a defensive touchdown in his career. McFadden’s eight interceptions a season ago tied for second-most in a single season at FSU ever and was the most for a Florida State defender since Thorpe Award winner Terrell Buckley grabbed a school-record 12 in 1991.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson