Florida State spent last season trying to make Tony White’s defense work without all the right parts. This fall, the Seminoles believe they finally have a better fit at the edge, and that matters in White’s 3-3-5 system.
The biggest change is at Jack linebacker, where Florida State went into the transfer portal to find help and also added Nick Williams from Syracuse to coach the edge rushers and focus on pass-rushing production. The Seminoles brought in Rylan Kennedy from Texas A&M and Jalen Anderson, the top-ranked JUCO edge, to fill a spot that simply wasn’t there a year ago.
That absence showed up on the field last season. Florida State couldn’t get off the field on third down, and the lack of bodies at Jack forced the defense to shift away from what White wanted to do. Now the expectation is that Kennedy and Anderson can give the Seminoles the outside pressure they were missing.
Mike Norvell said Sunday night that the group was extremely productive in its second scrimmage, and he pointed out that Anderson used his speed to get to the quarterback for a sack. Norvell also said he wants players who can line up on third down and win their one-on-ones, and that’s where Kennedy and Anderson are expected to matter most.
“They get off the rock,” Williams said of the duo. “That's the most important thing about pass-rush.
They're embracing that. They both have two boxes.
They're not just one-trick ponies. They have a plethora of moves that they can work, and we're just trying to perfect our craft from that aspect of pass-rushing, and they've done a great job when we coach them hard.”
Kennedy arrives with SEC experience from Texas A&M, though his role there was smaller. Florida State believes there’s more to unlock now that he’s in a bigger spot. He said he picked up lessons from some of the edge talent around him with the Aggies, including Shemar Stewart, Nic Scourton and Cashius Howell, who went off the board in the second round a year later in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“I really learned just being patient, and also trusting your teammates,” Kennedy said. “Don't try to do everything on your own, because if you work together as a team and do everything together, it's all going to lead up to a set, or the play you want to make. Don't want to always be the hero because you've got guys too.”
“But technique-wise, I learned a lot from Cashius, a finesse guy, using hands. Shemar - power, Fadil [Diggs]. There was a lot of cats at A&M I learned from.”
Williams has noticed Kennedy’s approach since he arrived in Tallahassee. He called him a quiet player who lets his work do the talking, but he also wants more communication from him on the field.
“He's a quiet kid, but he makes plays. He's kind of a leader through his actions,” Williams said of Kennedy.
“I wasn't much of a leader growing up, so I tell him all the time, 'Hey, I want you to be a leader. I can live through you.
So talk, communicate, talk about what you see pre-snap.' That's been one of the things I've been trying to get Rylan to do is just open his mouth on the field and talk to us.
And he's embraced it, and he's doing a better job.”
Kennedy said he’s already grown since arriving in January, pointing to better habits in the weight room, cleaner eating and a stronger voice in the defensive line room.
“It’s been a big road from January all the way to this month now,” he said. “And now we're here. Even in the spring, in the fall camp right now, we've been working, but we've been having a standard for sure.”
Anderson has pushed that room too. Kennedy described him as a relentless worker who shows up every day with purpose, while Williams said Anderson has bought into the details, including his stance and alignment, which has helped him develop a “really good get-off in rushing the passer.”
“He's a hard worker, and I feel like every time he rushes, he has something to prove,” Kennedy said of Anderson. “He doesn't come in with a weird attitude.
He always gets to work. I feel like with him in the game, if I'm tired or something, or I need his help or anything, he's gonna be there no matter what.
If his name be called, he's gonna be there every time. And he's really strong.
You may look at him - he may not look like the biggest, but he's gonna get to the QB every time and strike somebody, and that pushes me every time.”
Florida State still has to see how all of this holds up once September arrives. Kennedy and Anderson are being asked to take on larger roles than they have before, and the Seminoles are counting on their mix of athleticism and strength to create pressure off the edge while also holding up against the run.
Williams said setting the edge remains a work in progress, especially after Florida State’s running backs had a big night in Sunday’s scrimmage. But the important part is that White now has the pieces at Jack that he didn’t have last season, and that hybrid spot remains a key connector in his defense.
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