Seminoles Hire New Defensive Graduate Assistant from Liberty

Florida State has made an addition to its staff after losing a coach last week.

Florida State has already made a couple of staff changes this offseason. Back in January, the Seminoles hired defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain Sr. away from the Miami Dolphins after former staff member Marcus Woodson departed for Arkansas.

READ MORE: Tight Ends Flash During Second Day of Spring Camp

Last week, senior defensive analyst Cortez Carter was hired away for his first on-field coaching position, joining Louisiana Tech as linebackers coach. Carter became the eighth member of head coach Mike Norvell's off-field staff to accept an on-field position since 2020.

That opened up a hole on the staff and Norvell didn't waste any time filling it.

Florida State has hired Malik Slater as a Defensive Graduate Assistant. He'll primarily be working with the linebackers which was the same unit Carter covered prior to his departure.

Greatful For The Opportunity To Be Back At The Crib‼️ #NoleFamily Let’s Work‼️🍢💯 #keepCLIMBing #TTG pic.twitter.com/DzCHB0NF31

— Malik Slater (@_CoachSlater) March 9, 2023

Slater is still relatively early in his coaching career. He spent the 2022 season with Liberty as a Defensive Graduate Assistant where he worked with the defensive line. Among his responsibilities, Slater ran workouts and on the field plays with the defensive line.

Prior to his time at Liberty, Slater worked for two years at Tusculum University (2020-21), where he earned his master's degree. He started off as an assistant defensive line coach (bandits/tackles) in 2020 before moving to linebackers coach/defensive run game coordinator in 2021. Tusculum was named the 2021 Spring SAC Conference Champions after allowing six points per game and compiling a 4-1 record.

A Tallahassee native, Slater played his prep ball locally at Rickards High School. He began his college career at Jacksonville University where he played in 21 games and totaled 113 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks as a linebacker under Jerry Odom, who hired him at Tusculum. Slater earned All-Pioneer Football League honorable mention recognition in 2015 with the Dolphins.

Slater transferred to Valdosta State for the final two years of his playing career. He was named first-team All-Gulf South Conference in 2017 while also being a D2CCA All-Super Region 2 first-team selection. Slater earned an invitation to the FCS Senior Bowl and ended up being named the Defensive Most Valuable Player. Slater totaled 115 tackles in his 20 career games with the Blazers including seven tackles for loss.

The Florida native played one season with the Cedar Rapids River Kings of the Indoor Football League prior to beginning his coaching career.

There will be a lot of valuable experience for Slater to gain at Florida State. Linebackers coach Randy Shannon is a veteran in the profession and the Seminoles have a ton of talent coming back in the room, including Tatum Bethune, Kalen DeLoach, DJ Lundy, Brendan Gant, and Omar Graham Jr.

READ MORE: FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford makes a strong case for the Seminoles to leave the ACC

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