Remember when there was confidence in Florida State's defense. It wasn't that long ago.
Here's coach Mike Norvell from May:
"Defensive line, we return four of our top six, guys that really for us going into that second year within Tony's defense, just the confidence, you're much cleaner, I would say," Norvell said. "And just understanding the techniques, the fundamentals, the reason why you're doing things and just play much faster."
And here's White from July, just before FSU opened preseason camp:
“I’ve had defenses with guys who were smaller than these guys and been top 10, top 15 in the country against the run,” said White, who also coordinated defenses at Syracuse and Nebraska before arriving at FSU in 2025. “The size thing doesn’t bother me. ... This defense is about causing havoc. You’ve got some defensive linemen who are twitchy, who can explode and who are at their best just causing havoc back there.”
The Seminoles (2-2) have struggled on defense because they have neither been able to defend the run nor cause havoc. FSU has the No. 80 rush defense in the FBS (allowing 139.8 yards per game) and are 77th in sacks (seven).
Norvell and White built this line to be “twitchy” but it lacks the bulk to consistently defend the run. They went into the transfer portal, acquiring Rylan Kennedy (Texas A&M) and Jordan Sanders (Texas State). Kennedy has five tackles and two sacks on 137 snaps, while Sanders missed the spring due to injury and has three tackles and one sack on 32 snaps. FSU's staff also had to fight off would-be suitors to retain defensive linemen Mandrell and Darryll Desir in January, which also cost money.
Among the rotational defensive linemen, sophomore Kevin Wynn (317 pounds) is the biggest as FSU relies on versatile ends to often play the interior on first and second downs. That includes Mandrell Desir (270), Deante McCray (291) and Daniel Lyons (292). But Wynn’s playing time has been just 52 snaps, including 16 at Alabama and 14 against Central Arkansas.
The Seminoles clearly miss massive defensive tackle Darrell Jackson, but they're also short on a rotation of big bodies to defend the run.
Coaches brought Kennedy to FSU as a pass rusher that they thought could develop into a run defender, too. That hasn't been the case yet. Kennedy said he thinks FSU's defensive issues — at times on third or fourth downs, at times with penalties, at times with alignment or technique — can be corrected.
"We'll do a lot of things right but then it will be like a little mental mistake, which we could easily fix," Kennedy said. "It's just the mental mistakes we can fix. We had a player-led meeting, we've all talked about it. It's really nothing new. We are going to fix it every time."
Kennedy said the players frequently meet up without the coaches, with linebacker Chris Jones and Lyons stepping up as leaders. The discussion has been healthy, Kennedy thinks.
Defending the run has been a sore spot. FSU allowed 247 rushing yards in the 50-36 loss to Alabama. Then the Seminoles gave up six defensive penalties to FCS program Central Arkansas, allowing the Bears to control possession for more than 39 minutes. While FSU held the Bears to 110 rushing yards, it’s notable that Jalen Washington still had 71 yards on 18 carries and an FCS offensive line was able to clear holes against FSU's front.
The road gets tougher as FSU faces Virginia on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (ACC Network), which averages 192.75 rushing yards per game (37th in the FBS). Jekail Middlebrook leads the way with 177 rushing yards, but he’s one of five Cavaliers with 125 or more rushing yards. Xavier Brown averages 6.1 yards per carry and has two rushing touchdowns, and mobile quarterback Beau Pribula has given defenses fits.
"Whether it's packages, whether it's personnel groupings, whether it's schematics, just changing those things that you got to try to take away what they want to do," White said Monday. "The No. 1 thing that they do well is they run downhill, they run straight at you, and everything's based off of that. It's going to be a challenge. We got to make sure we have a good plan, and then make sure the guys feel confident in the plan."
Facing a mobile quarterback is a definite advantage to the offense. Pribula had 15 carries for 110 yards in Virginia's season-opening 34-8 win over NC State. He was contained to the pocket by Norfolk State (-8 rushing yards, including one sack) and West Virginia (-1 rushing yards, including three sacks). Pribula had nine carries for 24 yards and a touchdown to go with a 279-yard passing game, with four touchdowns, against Delaware on Saturday.
"Running quarterbacks present a problem," FSU safeties coach Evan Cooper said. "We got to do a good job scrambling if he breaks the pocket. He’s a veteran. They got a veteran team."
But it's not just Virginia that likes to run. FSU will face three straight top-40 rush offenses, with Louisville (38th, 190.5 yards) coming up on Oct. 9 and Miami (20th, 227.5 yards) on Oct. 17.
Safety CJ Richard, a transfer from FCS Illinois State and FSU's leading tackler with 29, insisted the defense's mistakes are "nothing big that we can't fix." But the mistakes have kept happening.
Yet Richard remains optimistic that FSU's losses, to Alabama and SMU, came to ranked teams that are contenders to reach the 12-team College Football Playoff.
"We were having a close game with them," Richard said. "It’s going to come down to the small things at the end of the day. Once we do that, we’re going to be straight. I promise you."
Beyond the promise, the next three games will speak volumes about FSU's rush defense and the trajectory of the Seminoles in 2026.
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