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Tallahassee native Amari Gainer making a splash on the FSU defense

Posted at 10:07 PM, Sep 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-21 08:17:48-04

FLORIDA STATE — Florida State’s time off this weekend might not have come at a better time following their season opening loss to Georgia Tech and head coach Mike Norvell testing positive for COVID-19. It may have given the Seminoles the perfect chance to tighten a few loose bolts heading into Saturday's showdown with Miami.

The Hurricanes, a high powered offense averaging 39 points a game, led by their man under center, quarterback D’Eriq King. A dynamic playmaker surrounded by offensive weapons which puts the Seminole defense on high alert. But if there’s one thing we learned in FSU's loss to Georgia Tech, the Noles have an emerging star in redshirt-sophomore linebacker Amari Gainer. The Tallahassee native has already earned some pretty high praises from the coaching staff.

“Yea I thought Amari was a guy that really stood out throughout the course of the game. I loved the effort and physicality he played with; there was just a couple extraordinary plays that he had fighting through blocks and creating TFL’s," said head coach Mike Norvell. "You really kind of felt his presence out there on the field and it was great to see that in live-action.”

“I think the stud spot you’re going to see because he is in space, he’s a blitzer, he’s a zone cover guy, he’s an edge setter," defensive coordinator Adam Fuller adds. "You saw him win on the perimeter a couple times but Amari did not let us down.”

“It was never frustration with me, I kind of just go play by play and know what I have to do," says Amari Gainer. "I have way too much going on in my head to be frustrated during the game so it’s just keep playing, keep playing, keep playing.”