Terrance Knighton Pleased With FSU Football's Physicality Early In Preseason

There has been no lack of physicality since the Florida State Seminoles kicked off preseason camp last week.

When the pads went on ahead of the third practice, the Seminoles answered the call, as the offensive line and defensive line faced off. Both sides won reps, but what stood out the most was collision after collision, no matter who was on the field.

The scrappiness led to a few emotional confrontations. That's not necessarily something Florida State sees as a bad thing, as long as everyone can remain under control.

The Seminoles brought aggression once again on Sunday, much to the delight of defensive line coach Terrance Knighton.

Terrance Knighton Pleased With FSU's Physicality, Highlights Leaders

Walking into the post-practice press conference, Knighton dropped an expletive to drive home how physical the session was.

You could almost see a smile on his face.

"Flying around, man, on both sides of the ball. O-line and D-line, it was a physical day. You're happy to see it, especially coming off the day off," Knighton said. "Teams tend to relax that way, but that speaks volumes to the leadership in the locker room. There's a lot of leaders on the O-line, a lot of leaders on the D-line."

"They made a choice today to come out and be physical. Florida State got better today," Knighton added.

The leaders on the defensive line are setting the standard for the Seminoles. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Daniel Lyons has taken on a vocal leadership role. He's gained enough confidence to play a major role in position meetings.

"Dan has accepted the responsibility of being a leader," Knighton said. "Usually, he's always been the locker room leader. He's not afraid now to speak out and also, at the same time, be the example. He's not scared to make mistakes, and he takes ownership of it."

"He speaks up in the meetings," Knighton continued. "Me, coach Nick, and Odell, we can just sit in the back of the room, and Dan can run the meetings. That's how assertive he's being right now."

Along with Lyons, redshirt senior Deante McCray, senior Rylan Kennedy, and sophomores Mandrell Desir and Darryll Desir are pulling their weight.

"When you've got Deante following with that, and Rylan Kennedy, and the twins, all leading in their own ways, it's easy to coach those guys," Knighton said. "I tell them all the time, as long as they play hard, let me coach. I don't want to coach effort, I want to coach football."

Knighton had a lot of positive things to say about McCray. Going into his second season at Florida State, McCray is the example that Knighton points to in all aspects.

McCray will use his words when he has to. Knighton recalled the veteran defender relaying some tough love to true freshman Franklin Whitley, who got the message.

"He embodies what a leader is. He's the example on and off the field. He's the example in the classroom, he's the example in the film room, he's the example in the weight room," Knighton said. "He's doing everything. If I could have 12 of him, that's what I want. His body has changed. He's explosive and strong. Yes sir, no sir."

"He gives everything he can every single rep, but he's also the guy when you walk in the film room, he has all the freshmen in there, and he's running the meeting. Hats off to him, and I love coaching him," Knighton added.

The steps that Lyons and McCray have taken are important for a defense that was lacking in leadership last season.

What also helps is that Florida State has another maniac on the coaching staff. New EDGEs coach Nick Williams is fiery and passionate. He brings a dynamic of energy to the field that not many others can match.

"The intensity. We see the game the same way. We're hard on our guys, we love our guys," Knighton said. "That's one thing about coach Nick, he loves the players. ... He's passionate, he's the first guy in the building, last guy out. He's pushing those guys."

Rylan Kennedy, Jalen Anderson, and Jaemin Pinckney are consistently battling at the JACK position. Knighton believes the credit goes to coach Williams.

"The JACKs are physical, from a position where you wouldn't expect physicality, but they're taking on the DNA of their coach," Knighton said. "Coach Nick, lack of better words, he ain't a hoe, so JACKs got to go."

"Every single day I admire the way he comes to work," Knighton continued.

Knighton described defensive coordinator Tony White as a mad scientist for his tendency to go off script. At the same time, he believes the defenders preparing for year two with the Seminoles have a better feel for the scheme.

With the first scrimmage of the preseason right around the corner, Knighton is harping on his unit to play hard every snap.

Florida State returns to practice for day five on Monday, August 3, with the first preseason scrimmage scheduled for Tuesday evening.

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