Florida State football: 5 questions the Seminoles must answer in 2020

4. Florida State football questions: Will the pass rush show up with switch back to a 4-3?

Of the many things that Taggart did that was met with poor results was the switch from Florida State’s traditional 4-3 defense to a 3-4. It didn’t take long for him to be out the door and for Norvell and new defensive coordinator Adam Fuller to get into the building that the switch was put into place for the 4-3 to be the base scheme once again.

Where this could be felt the most is in the pass rush. The Seminoles had one of the worst pass defenses in college football last season and, while part of that was due to the play in the secondary, it didn’t help that they couldn’t consistently get pressure. You have to wonder if getting back to the 4-3 can help with that.

One thing that’s for certain is putting senior defensive tackle Marvin Wilson Jr. in a four-man front should allow him to thrive. He’s a star on that side of the ball and a likely first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and deservedly so. Wilson, however, is not in question. It’s those around him that need to take advantage of the schematic switch and step up.

That may not be truer for anyone than senior defensive end Janarius Robinson. He registered only three sacks last season but was the leader among defensive ends in that regard. With more structure around him, the hope is that he, Robert Cooper and Cory Durden, among others, are able to more consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks so that the pass defense is less of a glaring weakness.