Though Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya was stellar in Saturday’s 29-24 loss to Florida State, the defensive front for the Seminoles did a good job getting pressure on the sophomore quarterback throughout the night. The FSU defensive front has been much better than last season when it comes to rushing the passer and two of the main culprits were senior defensive tackle Giorgio Newberry and junior defensive end DeMarcus Walker. It’s later than usual, but we’ll look back at their performances from Saturday in this week’s Film Focus.
1st Quarter
13:57 – Newberry first makes an appearance on a 3rd-and-5 during Miami’s first drive. He quickly makes the most out of it by fighting through three blockers and successfully getting pressure on Kaaya to make the pass fall incomplete. Newberry never gave up on the play and prevented the quarterback from setting his feet for the throw.
8:44 – Now lined up on the end, Newberry isn’t the one who gets the initial pressure on the play. However, he does come around and puts his hand in Kaaya’s line of vision, thus making him unable to throw it directly to the tight end. The intended receiver definitely had some room to make a play, but thanks to Newberry’s pass-rushing, he wasn’t able to get a clean ball from the quarterback.
7:37 – Walker gets his first sack of the game at one of the best times to do so. He beats the right tackle off the edge and comes around fast enough that the quarterback can’t step up in the pocket. Also take notice of how blatantly Newberry gets held near the end of the play.
First Quarter Summary: FSU’s defensive line set the tone for the whole game at the very beginning. They were going to be relentless, annoying, and make an impact whether or not they actually recorded any statistics.
2nd Quarter
12:29 – Once again lined up on the edge, Newberry blows up a running play before the ball even gets handed off. All he does is simply toss the left tackle out of the way and begins to pursue Miami running back Joseph Yearby, forcing him to go to the outside. Yearby is met by Tyler Hunter and eventually a careening Derwin James.
6:58 – DeMarcus Walker was very close to getting the sack here, but Kaaya is a good quarterback and hit his dump-off option before he could be taken down. Walker was still able to pressure him and restrict him from making any deep or intermediate throw.
1:48 – Neither Newberry or Walker actually get a recordable statistic on this play. But No. 44 shows the traits which make him such an impactful player and future NFL prospect. He never gives up on the play, pushing aside his first blocker and running into a double team on the right side. But even while facing two blockers, he’s able to push them far enough that Kaaya feels uncomfortable in the pocket. He makes the pass but the play is indicative of a new mentality for the defensive line that was missing last season.
:41 – Missed calls like these make Miami’s offensive line look better than it was. DeMarcus Walker gets blatantly held right in front of the referee but no flag is thrown. The replay makes it even more egregious: His shoulder pad gets tugged so hard that his upper body gets turned with it.
Second Quarter Summary: This was perhaps DeMarcus Walker’s best quarter of the game. He showed off not only his speed in getting to the quarterback, but the pure power that makes him such an enticing player to watch. Whether he’s bull-rushing you into your own backfield or going right around you, he’s going to make an impact.
3rd Quarter
8:27 – Newberry gets a one-on-one situation here and just pushes his way right into Kaaya’s face. Jalen Ramsey was the first one to touch him and hurry the throw, but Giorgio was the one who got in the way of the pass and caused the ball to sail over its intended target. This isn’t just noticed by us either: Kaaya had some anger laced words about the tactic in his post-game press conference.
6:55 – Giorgio is able to fight through two blockers in a goal line situation to meet Yearby at the line of scrimmage. Not too significant a play, but still good to see how much No. 4 has improved.
4:33 – Not a single Miami lineman ever learned how to defend Walker’s rip move throughout the game. He gets right past the left tackle and delivers a blow to the quarterback, but not before he gets the ball out of his hands. It was a great move and impact by Walker since Kaaya was off balance and delivered a bit of a softball to his receiver. Unfortunately, it was a well designed play and the receiver finds himself in the empty spot in the coverage.
Third Quarter Summary: Not a very noteworthy quarter in terms of performance by Newberry or Walker. We got to see some special plays here and there, but overall the Miami offense realized that it would have to negate their disadvantages on the offensive line somehow. Many plays were directed away from the middle, making the defensive line largely ineffective.
4th Quarter
10:41 – The entire defensive line was getting gassed on this drive with the hurry-up offense and Miami gaining big chunks of yardage. Walker tries to get to the outside, but this allows a hole to open up and Yearby gets four yards off of it.
6:16 – FSU’s defensive line needed to step up after the Miami offense had been moving the ball at will the previous couple of possessions. Walker was the one leading the charge here, performing an absolute beautiful spin move on the left guard and stripping the ball from Kaaya during a crucial drive. He did make one mistake, and that was letting the ball out of his grasp and allowing the Hurricanes recover it. Knowing the result of the game makes this much less troublesome because of just how good a play it was from the junior.
2:45 – Remember Kaaya’s complaint about the pass rushers getting “lazy” and swatting the ball at the line? This is one of the plays he’s talking about. Newberry gets double-teamed and looks like he’s out of the play, but he puts his right hand up and tips the ball short. Fantastic awareness on a potential game-winning drive from Miami.
1:49 – Apparently, Walker watched Newberry’s earlier play and decided to get in the action himself. He rushes the edge here and despite being blocked by two linemen, swats the quarterback’s pass. FSU is lucky since the running back had an open field in front of him.
:57 – In an almost poetic end to the game, Giorgio Newberry gets his hand up in the air and bats Kaaya’s final pass to cement FSU’s sixth straight win over Miami. This wasn’t a particularly masterful play or anything. Newberry just knew what he had to do, and came through for the Seminoles when they needed it most.
Fourth Quarter Summary: It’s almost reminiscent of last year that the defensive line’s best quarter came at the very end. Newberry had been pestering Kaaya all game, and it was here that he finally acquired some stats to show it. Two defended passes on the same drive almost have one wanting to give him the game ball for his performance. Add in great plays from Walker, and you have a defensive line anchored by two high-effort veteran players.
Overall
The FSU defensive line silenced any doubters who had become worried after the Wake Forest game about the impact it would have. Whether it was shutting down the run game, swatting passes at the line, or making Brad Kaaya’s job impossible, the defensive line accomplished it. On a night where the pass defense was hurting, the line picked up the slack.
DeMarcus Walker was talked about before the season as a potentially critical player for the defense. He finally lived up to the hype and became a menace for an offensive line that had not faced a player with his abilities. Walker displayed the key attributes that make him such a dangerous defender: a powerful first hit, a variety of moves, and a knack for pressuring the passer.
Meanwhile, Giorgio Newberry continues to improve throughout the year and impress Seminole fans who once thought all he was doing was taking up a scholarship. Some of the credit should certainly go to position coach Brad Lawing, but at the end of the day, there are some things that can’t be coached. Newberry’s hustle and refusal to abandon plays has transformed him into a fan favorite that will continue to be in the rotation as long as he competes.
It will be interesting to see how the pair do against more talented offensive lines since Miami’s was not too renowned coming into Saturday’s match-up. If they can replicate what they did versus the Hurricanes, it should not be any concern.
Editor’s Note: Due to scheduling conflicts, there was no Film Focus last week. The series had been running on Tuesdays and will become a weekly series once again. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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