Florida State's Trio Of Coordinators Preview Week '0' Matchup Against Georgia Tech

The Seminoles are entering their few days of game prep before traveling to Ireland to face off against the Yellow Jackets.

Florida State held its first practice of Georgia Tech game week preparation on Monday as the Seminoles look ahead to their opening game of the season in Dublin, Ireland for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

Following practice, offensive coordinator Alex Atkins, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller, and special teams coordinator John Papuchis all dove deeper into what they expect to see from the Yellow Jackets on Saturday.

"I mean, I think the size of them, sure, size inside. They got two good interior guys, you got a good twitchy defensive end with Romelo (Height), athletic speed, can chase things off the backside, has done a good job," Offensive coordinator Alex Atkins said about what has stood out with Georgia Tech up front. "I just think with that D-line, just the size and athleticism they have on the edge. They've got an experienced guy coming back that didn't get to play last year, and we played against him in 2022. So they've got some guys that have been there for a while, grew up in that system, so they're not going to make very many mistakes."

The Yellow Jackets will be breaking in a new defensive coordinator in former Duke DC Tyler Santucci. The two faced off against each other last season before he was hired away to become Tech's DC.

"Unique run fits," Atkins said of what he's seen from Santucci's scheme. "Sometimes the picture doesn't show who's fitting what gap. They know how to manipulate the scheme, and based on who is gap twisting up front, they do a good job of that and manipulating who plays the C-gap and D-gap and where that safety is fitting into things. So I think they do a good job of protecting the perimeter but also do a good job of disguising where guys are aligned to where they're actually fitting."

On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller will have his hands full with redshirt junior quarterback Haynes King, who threw for 2,842 yards and 27 touchdowns and rushed for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. King paired with Georgia Tech's rushing attack is a handful for any coordinator and defense.

"They led the ACC at rushing... I mean, (if) you can run for 350 against North Carolina, 200 against Georgia, just putting some rushes together, which is going to help them. Anytime you can run the ball, what does that create? Bad eyes, shots in the throw game," Fuller said. "And so it's being consistent, making sure your eyes are in the right place, making sure you're dominating the front so that we can keep some guys playing in the deep part of the field."

The Yellow Jackets return two of their top two receivers from a season ago in Erik Singleton, Jr. and Malik Rutherford who accounted for 1,216 yards and 10 touchdowns a season ago. While the 'Noles will have one of the best secondaries in the ACC this season, Fuller said that they need to be diciplined in order to stop the passing game.

"They're a down-the-field shot football team and whether it's diagonal overs, whether it's condensed sets and deep vertical shots, I think you see their offense become a run-action shot offense, and they do a good job formationally," Fuller continued. "Obviously, they've got a good quarterback, they've got guys that can hurt you on the perimeter, and they've got a better on offensive line. So, I'm sure they're happy with what they have, and it's our job to go out there and play the defense that Florida State deserves to play."

Florida State returns preseason All-American punter Alex Mastromanno and Lou Groza candidate Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald from last years ACC Championship team and head coach Mike Norvell puts an extreme emphasis on the special teams unit as a whole.

"One of the things that I think is always something worth at least mentioning is the idea of, you know, the foundation of the culture here is special teams," Special teams coordinator John Papuchis said. "So, guys have a really high level of intensity in the special teams meetings, and they're able to take it out on the field. They've done a nice job in terms of execution. Obviously, Saturday is going to be the real test, but I think they're ready to go out there and put it on display."

The 'Noles will head to Dublin, Ireland later this week and hold two practices there before game day. The game is set to kick off at 12:00 p.m ET.

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READ MORE: ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit Anticipates Fiery FSU Football Fanbase In Ireland

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