Veteran Defensive Back Renardo Green Stepping Up As Leader In Florida State's Secondary

Preseason Camp is officially over and the Florida State Seminoles are looking unstoppable. As week one against the LSU Tigers is officially just a week away, the 'Noles are moving full speed ahead as they prepare for the trip to Orlando, where they will start the season in the same venue they ended the last campaign.

While FSU has dominated the transfer portal, and has tons of young talent on the roster, it is essential for any successful collegiate program to have players with years of experience on the team. Redshirt senior cornerback Renardo Green is a perfect example of this.

Having played in nearly every game since 2019, and started almost half of those, Green knows what it means to play for one of the most storied programs in all of college football. Having played through some of FSU’s worst moments and sticking through to stay for hopefully some of the program’s best, Green will not only be a leader on the field, but also a leader off.

Green has seen a huge rotation of players in the secondary, and this group might just be the best during his time at Florida State. With the defensive backs having been a major threat throughout fall camp, the work being put in will show in a week's time. Green noted that “a lot of plays are being made. We’re being more technically sound, understanding the defense better, and we’re doing everything coach has put us through in the offseason to make us bigger, stronger, and faster.”

One thing all the coaches at FSU talk about is something they cannot coach, and that is the brotherhood among the players. Green has been a role model to many of the young DBs and has seen them dominate practice in the offseason.

“In the learning curve from high school to college, the game speeds up and the mental aspect also increases.” Said Green. “Those guys did a good job of trying to grasp the concepts as best as they could.”

The progression in the secondary is a major nod to Coach Patrick Surtain Sr., who is entering his first season as defensive backs coach for FSU. “He’s like a big brother,” Green said. "He talks to us in a way that we understand, because he was once a player, he did it at all levels.”

Despite being an Orlando native, Green is all business ahead of next week’s kickoff in Camping World Stadium. “I’ve been there all my life," Green said. “I’m just focused more on the game, not more on the location or outside factors.”

This “locked in” mentality has been a common mindset between players and coaches throughout fall camp. While bowl wins and conference championships are always the end goal, this team knows there are 12 steps before any of that starts, and in order to be a great team, you have to win those 12 games.

The matchup between the Seminoles and Tigers will be a top 10 contest with FSU ranked eighth and the Tigers ranked fifth in the preseason AP poll, and ironically both teams finished the 2022 season with a bowl win in Camping World Stadium. The 'Noles are looking to once again start the season with a victory against LSU after last year’s dramatic 24-23 victory in New Orleans.