Coming off a biting defeat,22-28, against Miami over the weekend. Mike Norvell’s roster faces another blow. This time, the defensive unit has been stretched thin. The roster was already facing challenges on the defensive unit. 247Sports’ Brendon Sonnone shared that the Seminoles rank last in the “Time to Pass allowed” category. To simplify, the defense reached the QBs at a rate of just 3.13 seconds. Now, more to the woe, the head coach has faced a double crisis on the defense.

Against Carson Beck’s offense, Norvell’s key defensive back was injured early in the game. Junior backup cornerback Quindarrius Jones will be out for the reason, owing to an injury that will require surgery. After chipping in seven tackles, one sack, and a pass breakup over five games, Jones will not feature again this season. “I know he will bounce back from it…it does shake up our defensive backfield,” Mike Norvell said to the press. Last campaign, he had registered  12 tackles, six solo. “He’s a young man that pours a lot into this football team, and it’s obviously unfortunate news for him, unfortunate news for us.”

Replacing him, three redshirt freshmen’s names have popped up, behind starting cornerbacks, Ja’Bril Rawls and Jerry Wilson. The trio includes Cai Bates, Ricky Knight, and Charles Lester III.  It would be interesting to note who goes for the grabs. “So now it’s an open-door opportunity for somebody else,” Norvell said. “We’ve got to continue to be better there within our secondary.” With the added blow, the defensive challenges are still gaping. Coupled with alignment issues, Norvell has his hands full, trudging through all the troubles presently. “Those are the things that piss me off,” he said on the alignment issues that have emerged over the last two games on the defensive unit. “That’s an easy, controllable task.”

Against Virginia, they gave up 440 total yards, including 211 rushing yards. The linebackers couldn’t maintain enough pressure in the backfield, and QB Chandler Morris had enough time in his pocket and was able to find sweet spots for completions. Despite three interceptions, Morris finished with five touchdowns. And FSU’s defense shortcomings surfaced. They recorded a season-high 15 tackles, per PFF. “We’ve got to be the enforcer, we’ve got to knock people back on contact, and we’ve got to get more people to the ball,” Mike Norvell said post-game.

As of the clash against Miami, the back-to-back defeat clearly stung. The defense allowed 338 passing yards against Carson Beck’s offense, including 241 passing yards. Malachi Toney, who chipped in two touchdowns, his mom tweeted, “They was so disrespectful to the Canes this weekend, we renamed their city tonight. Malihasee💚🧡.”

Moving on, Mike Norvell has high expectations of the defense.

Mike Norvell’s next move

Quindarrius Jones is out, but Mike Norvell, Charles, Cai Bates, and Ricky Knight will be vying for the backup role. “That’s a group ( defense)that is continuing to challenge and challenge themselves, ” the HC said of the defense. “Obviously, from all parts of it, we’ve got to see guys that are going to take a positive within that group and expecting to see it; It’s a group that has to go take a step this week.”

In addition to defensive woes, on the offense, right offensive tackle Micah Pettus also headed towards the sidelines and did not return to the game(against Miami). A freshman All-American at Ole Miss, boasting 30 starts on his resume, Norvell plucked him from the transfer portal. The head coach said, “Not expecting anything long-term when it comes to that,” of Micah’s injury(injury not disclosed). On Instagram, the OT gave a positive update. “Preciate all the ones who checked in on me. I’ll be back soon.”

Miami had a stellar defense, exerting a pressure rate of 47.7% against Thomas Castellano’s offense. And Mikey was one of the only O-line players who didn’t buckle under that defense. After he left, things began to crash lopsidedly.

Coming next, the Seminoles will face off against Pat Narduzzi’s Pittsburgh Panthers.