Lamarcus Joyner calls it a “business decision.”
The Florida State senior is switching from safety, a position at which he earned All-ACC honors last season, to cornerback, and it’s a move he said he initiated.
Joyner was realistic. Though he has been successful as a hard-hitting safety at the college level, at 5-feet-8 and 190 pounds he knew he would face long odds for a future in the NFL at that position.
And he still might even at corner.
“Everybody knows I’m an undersized safety. I’m an undersized cornerback,” he said Sunday at the ACC Football Kickoff media gathering. “I’d rather be an undersized cornerback.”
Joyner played corner, among many other positions, while at Fort Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas and saw action at corner in the nickel package as a freshman. But for the last two years, he was a key member of the Seminoles’ highly ranked defense at safety and rarely left the field.
“When my name is in the media guide, or wherever it may be, I expect it to say, ‘defensive back,’ ’’ he said. “I’m a defensive back. I can play all (spots).”
Joyner said the biggest transition will be on the mental side.
“I have to get the focus and mentality back to (play corner),” he said.
Joyner’s ability to make the transition will be crucial as the Seminoles lost all but four starters from a defense that ranked second nationally overall and led the country in pass efficiency defense.
Additionally, the unit must integrate three new coaches, including coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, who will bring a much more aggressive approach.
“It’s complex defense, but you want to make it as simple as possible,” Joyner said. “There is so much to do (in) it. It’s a more aggressive defense … more blitzing. It’s great for the guys we have. We have guys who play that way.”
Perhaps the transition will be easier without the glare of a top-five ranking or the pressure of being favored to win the ACC title.
FSU spent the past two years chasing high expectations, but now the Seminoles are under the radar, entering the 2013 season ranked out of the top 10 and behind Clemson in most polls and not even expected to play in the conference title game.
For Joyner, that’s OK.
“I’m excited about the ceiling we got,” Joyner said. “The way people are dogging us, they give so much room to climb that ladder as far as all the expectations.”
Receiver Rashad Greene isn’t as focused on the preseason polls, but he believes they can be used as motivation.
“That stuff will work itself out,” he said.
Pitt on the prowl: The Seminoles open the season on Labor Day at Pittsburgh in the Panthers' initial ACC game.
“We’re given the responsibility of welcoming Pitt into the ACC and let them know this conference is not going to be a cakewalk,” Joyner said.
The game breaks FSU’s string of three consecutive openers against lower-level programs. The Seminoles faced Samford in 2010, Louisiana-Monroe in 2011 and Murray State last year. Greene and Joyner said opening against a major college program for the first time in four years will mean a more focused camp.
“It adds a lot,” Greene said. “That makes camp more intense, more focused, more prepared. That preparation in camp for that first game sets the tone for every game after.”
