FSU Seminoles

Each season brings with it new expectations, and a handful of Seminoles will bear the brunt of the pressure to perform in 2013. We're counting down the top 10 FSU players being counted on the most to help the Seminoles live up to expectations.

No. 4: CB Lamarcus Joyner

2012 performance: For the second straight season, Joyner was an All-ACC selection at safety, and few defensive backs in the conference commanded more attention from opposing coaches and quarterbacks. Joyner finished with 51 tackles and five pass breakups, while anchoring a secondary that ended the season ranked tops in the nation. Add in key contributions on special teams, where he averaged nearly 24 yards per kick return, and Joyner's impact was felt often. If there's a knock on his 2012 season, however, it's that while he did all the little things well, there weren't a ton of big plays. Joyner had just one INT on the year.

Pressure point: There was cause for celebration when Joyner decided to return to Florida State for his senior season, but testing the NFL waters did have some consequences. At 5-foot-8, Joyner was undersized for a safety, according to NFL scouts, so when he returned to FSU, he asked if he could try his hand at corner. It wasn't an unreasonable request, considering that's where Joyner began his career, but it does shake up what figured to be a stable secondary. Now, Joyner finds himself as a key cog on a defense that's undergone a massive overhaul, and if he struggles in his new role, more than a few fans will wonder if he put his personal future above the team's current needs.

If he succeeds: It's a win-win for everyone if things work out. Joyner's skill set certainly fits the role. He's quick and physical and won't shy away from competition against any receiver. Moreover, while FSU's linebacking corps and nickelbacks struggled at times last season, Joyner seems like a natural fit to cover slot receivers and work in traffic over the middle. His move also opens up a spot for the immensely talented Karlos Williams at safety, getting yet another talented player on the field for the Seminoles. In the end, it'd be tough for FSU's secondary to improve much on its stellar 2012 performance, but a good year from Joyner could up his draft stock considerably and offer new coordinator Jeremy Pruitt ample options when toying with his scheme.

If he fails: Plenty of criticism will fall on Joyner and Jimbo Fisher for the decision to swap positions, and those NFL concerns about his ability to physically match up as a safety will only be exacerbated if he struggles at corner. It didn't exactly help that Joyner struggled a bit in FSU's spring game, being burned on both of QB Jameis Winston's touchdown passes, leaving a bit of concern lingering through the offseason. Moreover, Joyner's move to corner could signal less playing time for Ronald Darby, Nick Waisome or Tyler Hunter -- all talented players who produced when called upon last year.

Projection: Sure, Joyner's Garnet and Gold game performance wasn't an ideal coda to the spring, but it also wasn't particularly representative of his overall body of work. Throughout the spring, Fisher praised Joyner as one of FSU's top performers, and everyone from top receiver Rashad Greene to last year's starting corner Xavier Rhodes has endorsed the move as a natural fit. In fact, the real questions shouldn't be so much about whether Joyner can play corner. He's bound to lose a battle here and there, but he seems more than prepared for the job. The bigger issue is how much FSU will miss his presence at safety, where he was among the most feared, physical players in the league. Williams can be the same, of course, but if he's not, a big chunk of the blame may fall to Joyner for making the move. But really, from Joyner to Williams, Darby to Waisome, and on down the depth chart, there's simply too much talent in FSU's secondary for this experiment not to work.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Nothing was going to change. That was Jimbo Fisher's story to start the spring, regardless of the massive overhaul of his defensive coaching staff.

Sure, new coordinator Jeremy Pruitt would bring a few new wrinkles from his old stomping grounds at Alabama, but in the big picture, Fisher assured, Florida State's defense would still look much as it did for the past three seasons under Mark Stoops.

By the end of the spring, however, it was clear Fisher had downplayed the impact his new coaches would have. The Seminoles spent weeks watching tape of the Crimson Tide. Pruitt installed new verbiage, new calls, new schemes and a whole lot of new blitz packages. And when a rather vanilla spring game ended, even Fisher was ready to ratchet up the expectations.

"You ain't seen blitzes yet," Fisher said.

If the quarterback battle was all the buzz among Florida State fans this spring, it's the defense that created the most excitement inside the locker room. Pruitt's approach completely restructured the simplified scheme Stoops had used with such success the past three seasons, and that meant new opportunities for the Seminoles' defenders and plenty of confusion for the offense.

The only problem was that FSU had just four weeks to master it before the long summer began.

"That's the hardest part, because at some point we were trying to relate last year's calls to this year's calls, and you really can't do that," safety Terrence Brooks said. "You've got to forget all that. It's learning a whole new defense."

The large-scale changes were bound to occur given the three new coaches on defense. But shaking things up also brings risk.

Stoops' unit was immensely successful, finishing second in total defense in 2012 and fourth in 2011. And the beauty of Stoops' approach was in its simplicity. He asked his defensive backs to cover, asked his linebackers to stop the run and asked his front four to generate pressure. Blitzes were the exception, not the rule.

"Stoops made it really, really simple," Brooks said. "I feel like he was a genius for that, getting the defense to be that good, but so simple."

Maintaining that simplicity might have been difficult regardless of the coaching changes, though. With the loss of five defensive linemen and one of the nation's top cornerbacks to the NFL, changes were inevitable. Ends Bjoern Werner and Cornellius Carradine had been immensely successful in generating pressure without blitzing, but that's a luxury Pruitt won't get a chance to enjoy.

Instead, Pruitt's scheme takes some of the responsibility away from the defensive front and opens up the game plan for the athletes off the line of scrimmage -- and that's an exciting proposition for players such as new starting safety Karlos Williams.

"I feel like we will be way more aggressive than we have been because we're just doing a lot more -- we're a lot more active," Williams said. "But you all can watch it and see what happens."

Blitzes come from all over the field, and Pruitt has created dozens of new looks. Linebackers creep up to the line of scrimmage, ends drop into coverage, defensive backs are blitzing routinely. It's chaos for the offense -- but it's not entirely simple for the defense, either.

"We all felt overwhelmed at some point, but all those little things and calls, it really helps a lot because it gives us a chance to make so many more plays," Brooks said. "It's amazing to see on film how Alabama did it. They had guys dropping into coverage, all the different calls they had, but they all made a lot of plays off those little calls."

But picking up all those new calls was crucial. As a new crop of freshmen arrive this summer and a handful of veterans return from injuries, it will be the responsibility of FSU's veteran defenders to pass along what they learned from this spring's four-week crash course.

Truth be told, linebacker Christian Jones said, they could've used a few more weeks to prepare. But all things considered, Jones is confident the summer will prove to be a productive time even without Pruitt's immediate oversight.

"This spring, we pretty much put in the whole playbook," Jones said. "The guys have done a pretty good job of picking it all up, but it's a lot of stuff. It's a lot of checks, change the fronts a lot."

The new defense presents some pressure, but Jones isn't complaining. It might take a while longer to get everyone on the same page, but when it all comes together, this new defense could be awfully fun to watch.

"It's spring, so they've got to throw all that stuff in so we can know it in the fall," Jones said. "Once we get to the fall and can game plan, I think we'll have a real scary defense."

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- It's tough to say with any level of certainty just how many sacks Florida State's defense would have recorded if Saturday's spring game was played under true game conditions, but even if the quarterbacks couldn't get hit, Jeremy Pruitt's new-look defense had a strong showing.

Overall, the two teams recorded nine sacks in Saturday's scrimmage, led by defensive tackle Nile Lawrence-Stample's 3.5, which would've been impressive under any circumstances. But as Jimbo Fisher pointed out after the game, those numbers came from a relatively vanilla scheme.

"You ain't seen blitzes yet," Fisher said with a grin.

In his first year as Florida State's defensive coordinator, Pruitt has installed an aggressive style that promises to offer a myriad of looks designed to get after the quarterback.

Saturday's spring game wasn't exactly a sneak peak, however, with a number of key defensive starters out with injuries and only a watered-down version of Pruitt's game plan implemented. But the past four weeks have been eye-opening, linebacker Christian Jones said, and there's ample reason for excitement.

"This spring, we pretty much put in the whole playbook, and we just ran a little sample of it," Jones said. "We've done a pretty good job of picking it all up, but it's a lot of stuff, a lot of checks, change the fronts, but we've done a good job of handling all that. Once we get into the fall and can game plan, I think we're going to have a real scary defense."

It wasn't all smooth sailing for the defense Saturday, as all four of Florida State's quarterbacks managed at least one touchdown pass, but there was plenty of room for optimism. Lamarcus Brutus and Karlos Williams both intercepted passes, and P.J. Williams came up with a pick of a Jacob Coker throw that he returned for a touchdown.

"I thought the defense played well," Fisher said. "I'm very pleased with the way they're playing."

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- For all the buzz about new schemes and aggressive tweaks to the defense, odds are Saturday's Garnet and Gold game will feature a relatively vanilla approach as Florida State defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt winds down the spring.

The quarterback battle has been the hottest topic in years among Florida State fans, but coach Jimbo Fisher has yet to draw any lines of demarcation on the depth chart, and he insists the four men vying for the job will again rotate reps Saturday.

And after four weeks of intensity, the battle scars are showing. As many as a dozen key members of the 2013 Seminoles team won't be available for the spring game due to injuries.

So, what's there to be excited about as Florida State's spring practice comes to a somewhat anticlimactic conclusion? Actually, there's still plenty worth watching, even if some of the biggest curiosities will remain just that until fall camp begins in August. Here's a rundown of some of the most noteworthy items of intrigue on display Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The QBs, of course

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- No position on Florida State's roster spent so much of the 2012 season in flux, and yet as this spring draws to a close, Jimbo Fisher insists he's sufficiently comfortable with the status quo at punt returner -- at least for now.

While punt return practice amounted to only about a week of work this spring, the two primary candidates to see work were the two players who bookended last season with the job -- Rashad Greene and Kenny Shaw. Both remain in competition for the role this season.

"You've still got other guys that will be in there, too, but punts are more about catching the ball than running," Fisher said.

His caution comes with ample evidence, as FSU fumbled away a myriad of punts last season, eventually costing Greene and, later, Tyler Hunter the job. That left things up to Shaw to close out the season, and he proved to be relatively effective. His 12.4 yard average trailed both Greene and Hunter, who both averaged better than 15, but Shaw never put the ball on the ground.

"When they gave me the job, I tried to do my best, and the coaches say I did a heck of a job," Shaw said.

But whether it's a job Shaw keeps remains to be seen. He's got a leg up now, but aside from Mario Pender, he's had little competition.

That may change in the fall when a bevy of potential return men join the fray. Hunter and Ronald Darby will both return from injuries that cost them the spring and could join the mix, along with speedster Marvin Bracy and incoming freshmen Ryan Green and Jalen Ramsey.

Perhaps the most intriguing candidate, however, is Lavonte Whitfield, whose combination of game-breaking speed and soft hands make him a good fit as FSU's next great punt returner.

"He's very natural at punt returns," Fisher said. "That sucker, punts will come down and lay right as his feet, and he'll scoop them up and go. He's got some tenacity to him."

For all of FSU's miscues in the punt return game a year ago, matching the production of 2012's return men may not be easy.

Florida State's average of 14.49 yards per return ranked eighth in the nation, and the Seminoles were one of just five teams to return three punts for touchdowns for the season.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Tim Brewster is excited to be at Florida State, and he's not interested in tempering his enthusiasm -- particularly on the recruiting trail.

Just days after taking over as FSU's new tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, Brewster took to Twitter to lay the groundwork with some top targets.

"All the ballers in Miami just know I'm coming to getcha," Brewster tweeted as part of a flurry of excitement aimed at south Florida recruits.

It might have been an ostentatious opening salvo in the recruiting battles with his in-state rivals, but Brewster is making no apologies. That's how he does business.

"I'm not bashful, and I'm extremely proud of the university I represent," Brewster said. "I just want to make sure that people understand, we're going to take an extremely aggressive approach to getting the best players in the state of Florida to come to Tallahassee. We're going to recruit relentlessly."

It's an infectious enthusiasm, and it's a big part of what caught Jimbo Fisher's attention after former FSU recruiting coordinator -- and south Florida expert -- James Coley departed to join the Miami Hurricanes.

Still, Brewster knows that all his in-person excitement doesn't always translate well to social media. It's just that when he's excited about something, he just can't help himself.

"If you're not using social media, you're missing the boat. It's a tremendous way to reach out, because young people today, that's how they communicate," Brewster said. "I try not to go overboard, but it's hard sometimes, because I enjoy it."

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- In Florida State's penultimate game of 2012, Karlos Williams finally reached his potential. It's just that his breakthrough performance didn't exactly come in the fashion anyone had anticipated.

Williams, a safety during his first two seasons with the Seminoles, was an emergency substitute at linebacker in FSU's ACC Championship Game win over Georgia Tech, racking up a game-high 11 tackles in the process. Immediately fans wondered if he'd finally found a niche. Williams wasn't so sure.

"I definitely didn't want to end up playing linebacker," Williams said.

Williams said his height wasn't ideally suited to the position, and as one of the team's faster players -- and starting kick returner -- he wasn't all that interested in adding any significant weight.

As it turned out, however, Williams didn't need to make the switch to find a chance at a full-time job.

With Lamarcus Joyner's unexpected switch from safety to corner, Williams is finally on the verge of locking down significant playing time, and he didn't have to move from safety to do it.

"I've been preparing myself for the past two years to be in the starting position if I've earned the right," Williams said. "So this spring I'm trying to earn the right to start."

Ironically though, Williams' new role might not be limited exclusively to safety. With new coordinator Jeremy Pruitt taking a more aggressive approach on the pass rush, Williams could still find himself playing some nickel and, of course, some linebacker on a part-time basis. And that, Williams said, is just fine.

"Hopefully, in this system, playing the money linebacker a little bit," Williams said. "I hope I get a little more experience with that."

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From the impending quarterback competition to finding replacements for departing juniors, Jimbo Fisher will have his work cut out for him during the next few months as he lays the groundwork for 2013.

With that in mind, we're going to go position by position, looking at Florida State's strengths and weaknesses as the Seminoles prepare for the start of spring practice.

Previous entrees can be found HERE.

Next up: Safety

2012 recap: For all the questions surrounding Terrence Brooks' move to safety or Karlos Williams' role in the rotation, it turned out that 2012 was a remarkably quiet and consistent season for FSU at the position. Lamarcus Joyner was once again exceptional, earning All-ACC honors, Brooks struggled a bit against Clemson but overall found solid footing in his new role, and Williams made strides but never quite cracked the starting lineup. As a unit, the secondary helped Florida State finish tops in the nation in pass defense, and the safeties were exceptional at avoiding the big play. The Seminoles allowed just 41 passing plays of 15 yards or more in 2012, the fewest in the nation.

Departures: Does Joyner count as a departure? He certainly toyed with the idea of leaving altogether, entering the NFL draft where he figured to be a mid-round selection, but ultimately the undersized safety chose to return for his senior season. As it turns out, however, he won't be returning as a safety. Joyner will move to cornerback for 2013, where his size becomes less of a question and he can take a crack at making a bigger impression on NFL scouts. Still, Fisher expects Joyner to be something of a jack of all trades in the secondary, playing some nickel and safety along the way, too.

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