Florida State’s rebuild has brought in a lot of new faces, but sophomore safety Ma'Khi Jones says the biggest change is less about the roster churn and more about the feel inside the building.
After four practices, Jones is already convinced this version of the Seminoles carries a different edge. The transfer from Duke - where he played a key role on the Blue Devils’ first-ever ACC Championship team - pointed to the competitive tone of camp and the way the group is pushing itself on both sides of the ball.
“In practice, you always going to get that competitive energy in here because you all want to be so great,” Jones said on Sunday. “We all want to go to the next level, we all want to chase big dreams, aspirations. Get the championships and rings.”
“I feel like Ashton [Daniels] said in his old interview that this Florida State is different,” Jones added. “This Florida State is different.”
That message has shown up everywhere Jones looks. He said the defense and offense are feeding off each other, with each unit trying to raise the level of the other. He also singled out starting quarterback Ashton Daniels for the way he’s handled camp.
“Our big thing right now is iron sharpens iron, like a friend sharpens a friend. We're working.
We're in there, they're pushing us, we're pushing them,” Jones said. “I'm really pleased to see what I see with all my guys and actually my quarterback, Ashton.
They're gonna see, they're gonna see. I'm pleased with all them boys.
They're pushing us to be better, we're trying to push them to be better.”
Jones said the chemistry inside the program has stood out just as much as the competition. In his view, this group is built around humility, not individual agendas.
“Having no egos is good in the group because you can get on one of your teammates, but you can also take advice from one of your teammates,” Jones said. “Being humble, humility, is like, you've seen this when you was in that group.
How can I apply that to my game? One, make me better, but also, if I need to apply to someone else, how to make them better.”
“I feel like the group dynamic is really good,” Jones added. “We all hang out, we all do this, we have a dynasty going on in NCAA, so we're always together in that capacity, so it's good.”
In Jones’ eyes, the leadership starts in the safety room with Ashlynd Barker. He praised Barker for setting the pace by getting to the facility early, a habit the room picked up after Tour of Duty.
“Ash is definitely an early-riser. We started that a little bit right after Tour of Duty,” Jones said.
“We started getting up around 4:30, 5:00ish, getting here. It translated, like I said before, he took that leadership role, and we all kind of like adapted and started following him in that way.”
That early-morning standard isn’t limited to the players. Jones said safeties coach Evan Cooper is in the building before dawn and has helped set the tone from the top.
“Our coach is an early riser, coach Coop is in the building at like 4:20 every day,” Jones said. “When it was Tour of Duty and Ramadan was here, I had to wake up earlier, and I would come in here, and I would just be in his room with him eating before my teammates got in the building.”
Jones said that kind of example has a ripple effect throughout the room.
“Ash kind of started with player-wise, getting here and doing the extra work, but that started from the top,” Jones said. “Our coach is an early-riser, our coach is a filmaholic, so it's like the leadership in our room from the top really gels us together. Then we've got leaders who can just feed off our higher leadership, and it just becomes like a contagious effect.”
On the field, Jones likes what Tony White’s defense gives him. He said he can handle all three safety spots, and that the unit’s versatility comes from knowing every assignment on every snap. He also believes his football intelligence will help him fit in quickly.
“I'm a very intelligent individual. That helps, not only me, but my teammates out,” Jone said.
“Coach Coop is a very smart coach, so that also adds to my skill set, taking gems from coach Coop. Being at that slot position, there's a lot of space out there, so you've got to be able to take what the offense gives you to see and react to certain plays.”
Jones also had a few offensive players who caught his attention, naming Ashton Daniels, Ousmane Kromah, Duce Robinson, Tae'Shaun Gelsey, and Devin Carter.
Florida State returns to practice for day five on Monday, August 3, with the first preseason scrimmage set for Tuesday evening.
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FSU Secondary Is Giving Tony Whites Defense Real Early Juice
The early days of preseason camp have offered a promising glimpse at Florida States secondary under safeties coach Evan Cooper, and the unit has quickly become one of the more encouraging parts of Tony Whites 3-3-5 defense. The emphasis has been on work ethic, versatility and getting comfortable in a scheme that asks a lot from the back end, with players embracing the challenge of learning their assignments and sharpening their consistency.
Ashlynd Barker has stood out as a player in line to handle the hybrid ROVER spot, a role that should give the Seminoles extra flexibility if he settles in as expected. MaKhi Jones has also been part of the early buzz, and together the groups progress has given Florida State some real optimism that the secondary can provide immediate juice for a defense still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
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