Florida State football most important player countdown: No. 30

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Florida State football most important player countdown: No. 30

Curt Weiler, Tallahassee Democrat · Tallahassee Democrat

Mon, Jun 20, 2022 ·

3 min read

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The countdown to the 2022 Florida State football season is underway.

Mike Norvell's third season atop the Seminoles will be a critical one to his long-term chances in Tallahassee. The roster continues to be shaped more in his desired image as he looks to guide FSU to a bowl for the first time in his tenure.

To begin that look ahead to the upcoming season, it's time for the Democrat's annual list of the 40 most important FSU football players, continuing today with No. 30.

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Our list of the 40 most important FSU football players was compiled on June 9 by aggregating the rankings submitted by beat writers Curt Weiler and Carter Karels. Any players added to the roster after that date were not considered for this list. All ties were broken by discussion.

No. 30: Linebacker DJ Lundy

In two seasons with the FSU football team, Lundy has seen the field a lot.

The former three-star recruit from Ocilla (Ga.) Irwin County High was a late addition to Norvell's first recruiting class in 2020. He was the No. 63 athlete in the class per 247Sports and Rivals had him as the No. 30 athlete.

Upon his arrival in Tallahassee, he quickly became a part of FSU's youth movement, playing in seven games as a true freshman in 2020 and recording seven tackles and a half-sack.

Lundy took a step forward into a starting role in 2021, starting 11 of FSU's 12 games and playing 571 snaps, second on the team behind only fellow starter Kalen DeLoach.

FSU linebacker DJ Lundy is down from 255 pounds last year to 239 pounds this offseason as he looks to improve his coverage skills after amassing 69 tackles in 2021. — Florida State football most important player countdown: No. 30
(tallahassee-democrat)

He excelled as a run-stopper and a downhill defender, racking up 69 tackles (tied for third-most on the team) and five tackles for loss. He's also served as FSU's occasional fullback in goal-line situations.

However, he played the 2021 season at 255 pounds and that limited his ability to cover receivers. He got a 40.1 coverage grade for the 2021 season from Pro Football Focus.

Looking ahead: Projecting Florida State football's two-deep depth chart on defense this fall

Lundy is now listed at 6-foot-1, 239 pounds and definitely looked faster with his slimmer weight this spring. His coverage skills seemed noticeably better. If that carries over into the fall, it would round out his game nicely and help him stay on the field as an every-down linebacker.

The addition of UCF transfer Tatum Bethune likely removes Lundy from the starting lineup in 2022. However, he should be one of the first linebackers off the bench along with Amari Gainer and should still see plenty of playing time for the Seminoles.