Spring Story Lines: Can Florida State replace the likes of Keir Thomas and Jermaine Johnson?

With the departure of Keir Thomas and Jermaine Johnson, Florida State will be challenged with replacing the star defensive ends.

This past season was a tough one for the Florida State Seminoles. A 5-7 finish and another bowl game missed, the 2021 campaign was a struggle. One of the lone bright spots in 2021 was the play of star transfer bookends, Keir Thomas, and Jermaine Johnson. The defensive end tandem accounted for 18 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss in 2021. Both are NFL players, with Jermaine Johnson being a projected first-round pick. 

Their play on the edge was critical to the little success FSU had defensively; it is hard to imagine what this team would have looked like without them. Jermaine Johnson was a terror for the Seminoles last season. He was the leader of the defense and undoubtedly, Florida State’s best player. Keir Thomas was brilliant playing opposite of Johnson. When teams would try to run away from Johnson, Keir Thomas was there, setting the edge and making play after play after play.

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Indeed, their production will be missed and hard to replace. 

So how does the staff go about doing it?

Thus far, it looks as though they are using the same recipe as last season, acquiring Jared Verse from Albany via the transfer portal. The 6’4”, 250-pound redshirt sophomore has the size and tools to make an immediate impact; and the obvious hope is that he will. 

However, the degree of impact is up for debate. Spring will give us a much better idea of what kind of player Verse is. Still, there seems to be a large contingency of the fanbase that thinks Verse is the second coming of Jermaine Johnson. Jared Verse will almost certainly make in impact, day one. To expect him to come in and produce at an All-American level, to me, is unfair to the player and unrealistic. Let’s not forget, Verse is only a redshirt-sophomore, coming from an FCS-Level program

Jermaine Johnson came to Florida State as a redshirt senior, who had been through the JUCO ranks and fresh off two seasons at Georgia where he played meaningful time and produced. Factor in the talent he was surrounded by at Georgia, it is easy to see how Jermaine Johnson was able to make such an impact right away. He had experienced it all as a player by the time he got to Tallahassee and was basically a finished product. The same can not be said about Jared Verse.

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I still expect Jared Verse to contribute and be a good player for the Seminoles this season; I just think the expectations should be tempered a bit. 

While Jared Verse may be the clear choice to replace Jermaine Johnson, Keir Thomas’s replacement is not so obvious. Keir Thomas had a phenomenal year opposite Jermaine Johnson. A fierce run defender adept at setting the edge, his ability to get in the backfield was remarkable. Not to mention his versatility to move inside to play tackle.

There are talented and experienced players that will all compete for time, but none of which have ever been an every-down defensive end. Guys like Quashon Fuller, Derrick McLendon and Dennis Briggs Jr. are all intriguing options. The staff seems high on young guys like Patrick Payton and Byron Turner. Even a guy like Amari Gainer could provide some depth on the edge. 

Still, to think Florida State can replace that sort of production, with what is currently on the roster, is wishful thinking. This does not mean the defense will be bad in 2022, it just means other players will have to step up to fill the void, at all positions, not just defensive end. 

While the roster has indeed improved under Mike Norvell, there still just aren’t many All-American caliber players at Florida State. So, when you lose an All-American like a Jermaine Johnson and an all-conference player, like a Keir Thomas, it is only natural that you see a dip in production. And its likely that FSU see’s a drop in production from the defensive end spot in 2022.

How big of a drop off? Only time will tell.

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