After leading the nation in interceptions a season ago, the Florida State secondary not only looked to be the strength of the Seminole defense entering 2014, but perhaps one of the best units in the entire country regardless of position.
Though the Seminoles’ secondary has not been helped out much by its pass-rush, it has hardly lived up to the lofty billing that was set for it prior to the year. More than halfway through the 2014 season, Florida State has allowed three of its seven opponents to pass for over 300 yards and big pass plays for opposing teams have become all too common.
As the Seminoles get set to face Louisville on Thursday night in a game circled as a potential stumbling block even prior to the start of the season, the underachieving Florida State secondary may have its biggest test yet.
On paper, Louisville doesn’t look to be a team with an offense capable of giving many teams fits, much less the defending national champions. The Cardinals rank 13th in total offense out of 14 teams in the ACC, but much of that came in the absence of DeVante Parker.
At 6’3″ and 210 pounds, Parker may be the most NFL-ready wide receiver that Florida State faces this season.
Parker missed the first seven games of 2014 with a broken bone in his foot, but was stellar in his season debut against North Carolina State over a week ago, finishing with 132 yards on nine catches.
The Seminole secondary headlined by preseason All-Americans in Jalen Ramsey and P.J. Williams has struggled this season against largely inexperienced receiving corps.
Clemson, N.C. State and Notre Dame all threw for over 300 yards against Florida State this season and each of the three lost their top two leading receivers from 2013.
While Parker’s return should greatly help Louisville against second-ranked Florida State on Thursday, he’s far from a one-man show out wide for the Cardinals. In his absence, sophomore James Quick emerged as Louisville’s go-to guy and a big play threat, averaging 15 yards-per-catch. Having Quick slide into the second receiver role makes Louisville much more dangerous.
Though Florida State has underachieved in the secondary, there is no denying the talent. Ramsey has done just about everything this year for FSU while Williams has had a decent year in pass coverage.
The ball continues to find last season’s interception leader in sophomore safety Nate Andrews while redshirt junior Tyler Hunter has slowly returned to form after having his 2013 campaign cut short by a neck injury. Junior cornerback Ronald Darby has struggled, but has not looked 100 percent for most of the year.
With the talent that exists, Florida State’s problems in the secondary have been due to miscommunication and breakdowns as much as they have personnel. That could be partially due to an overlooked lack of cohesiveness that may have come with the losses of senior leaders from last season like Lamarcus Joyner and Terrence Brooks.
While the receiving duo of Parker and Quick look to be a potential match-up nightmare for Florida State on Thursday, the Seminoles will have had nearly two weeks to prepare for the Cardinals when the teams meet.
Louisville’s talented corps of receivers looks to be a tough cover for Florida State, but the overall talent edge still belongs to the Seminoles. But if there was ever a week for the Florida State secondary to live up to the lofty preseason hype, this would be a good one to choose.
