Florida State To "Probably" Be Without Veteran Defensive Lineman Against Wake Forest

The Seminoles will be shorthanded along the defensive line this weekend.

Florida State is preparing for the first half of its second two-game road trip of the season. The Seminoles returned to the practice fields on Tuesday morning to continue working towards the matchup against Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon.

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Following the session, head coach Mike Norvell informed the media that the team will probably be without veteran defensive lineman Dennis Briggs when they travel to Winston-Salem. He's gotten banged up in recent weeks and wasn't available during FSU's victory over Duke last weekend.

"So Dennis, he was out last week, probably going to be out again this week but we'll get him back here soon. He's just unavailable, got banged up a little bit," Norvell said on Tuesday. "Dennis has played really well, it'll obviously test a little bit of the depth of what we have but I like that group. I think Malcolm Ray's a guy that's really kind of come along, Daniel Lyons is pushing to get more opportunities. It's unfortunate for him [Briggs] because he's been playing really well but excited to get him back soon."

Briggs has been a reliable piece along the defensive front for the Seminoles throughout his six-year career in Tallahassee. He's recorded 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two quarterback hurries through six appearances in 2023.

FSU will be turning to other members of the two-deep such as redshirt junior Malcolm Ray and redshirt freshman Daniels Lyons to step up among the trio of redshirt senior Braden Fiske, redshirt senior Fabien Lovett, and redshirt sophomore Joshua Farmer. Lovett is coming off his best game of the season while Fiske and Farmer have been a productive duo throughout the year.

Despite the loss of Briggs, there's an opportunity for the Seminoles to rack up sacks and tackles for loss against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons have surrendered 31 sacks in seven games - a whopping 4.42 sacks per game. Florida State didn't record an official sack last weekend after Fiske was called for a facemask penalty while taking down Riley Leonard. That could change quickly on Saturday.

During his career at Florida State, Briggs has totaled 75 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and four pass deflections in 37 career appearances. He was forced to miss the majority of the 2021 campaign after suffering a lower-body injury.

Florida State returns to action at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 28 with the contest set to be televised on ABC.

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