FSU coordinators talk Clemson loss, special teams, defense

Florida State coordinators Alex Atkins, Adam Fuller, and John Papuchis spoke with the media on Wednesday after practice during their bye week to review the 28-34 loss to No. 5 Clemson and discuss moving forward. The Noles are currently on a three-game losing streak after starting off 4-0 and will face Georgia Tech Yellowjackets next weekend in hopes of breaking that.

Offensive coordinator Alex Atkins

The running backs rushed for 206 yards last Saturday against one of the best defensive lines in the country, which is a feat all on its own, but Atkins wasn't interested in moral victories.

“Those guys got out there and competed; they did. We got into a situation where we fell behind, and we couldn't run it like we wanted to throughout the course of the game. We were able to get some chunks in the first couple of drives that kind of got us going but, nah there is no moral victory. We gotta do everything outside of that and be consistent to be able to finish those games.”

When asked about how his offensive line group felt, he said:

“There’s not too much feel good in my room. The result really doesn’t dictate the standard, you know, it’s just, are we operating the way we need to operate? We fully expect to go out there and block, and I thought we would, and I believed we would. We just didn't do it consistently enough to maintain focus in the game.”

Atkins goes more in-depth into his expectations in his full interview below:

Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller

When speaking on the Clemson game, Fuller said that there were some things that showed up but were unusual for his team.

“We uncharacteristically gave up some big plays which is something we’ve been good at. We gave up one miscommunication one execution on a touchdown pass. We misfit one big run that we had been fitting all night but, you know, It takes one and then the trick play after the big kickoff return; we just got our eyes in the wrong spot. Good play by them, bad execution by us, so those are obviously the things that can’t happen.”

When asked about getting behind in momentum, he said:

“Momentum is as big as the next play. You want to have a team where the special teams feeds off the defense, the defense feeds off the offense, the offense feeds off of special teams arrive, you know, but there has been some instances where one side has to pick the other side up.”

Fuller’s full interview can be seen below:

Special teams coordinator John Papuchis

Papuchis on Clemson’s 70-yard kickoff return:

“The kick placement was solid, uh, you know, the ball drifted a little bit on him, but I mean that that shouldn’t have been a factor, uh, good hang time on the kick, uh they ran field return which we anticipated them doing going into it. At the end of the day, you know, the good returner, uh, pretty well blocked on their end. We had an opportunity to tackle it in a couple of different spots, um, you know, and like I said last week when we talked prior to the game, uh, you know, Shipley was a guy that you’re concerned about from a kick return perspective just like with us when we have you know Trey back there you know he’s a big back that breaks tackles um you know you gotta get guys on the ground when you have your opportunity we had our opportunity we didn’t get it done.”

Papuchis’ full interview, courtesy of Noles247, can be seen below, where he details Fabian Lovett’s return and a few more decisions on the defensive line.

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