The FSView and Florida Flambeau had the opportunity to talk with Florida State senior defensive end Markus White earlier this week. White shared his thoughts on his role as this year’s lone senior on the defensive front, his leadership mentality toward younger players, the differences he’s noticed between new defensive coordinator Mark Stoops and Mickey Andrews, and more.
FSView & Florida Flambeau: How is everything going? How has fall camp been for you so far?
Markus White: Everyday you’re learning something new. It’s getting hotter everyday. Everyone has to fight through the adversity, keep learning and keep processing what Coach [Fisher] is giving to us.
FFF: Talk about your changed role on this year’s team.
MW: I’m pretty much one of the only guys on the defensive line that played the whole season last year as a starter. I’m the only senior [on the defensive line]. We’ve had a lot of people in and out because of injury. Pretty much, I’m the guy to look up to. I lead by example. What I do is, if I go crazy on the field, if I go off, then everybody else might go off and take it as a bad example and use it. So if I keep my cool in a situation, I guess the rest of the defensive line will do the same. They pretty much learn from me and do what I do.
FFF: What has it been like taking on that leadership role?
MW: That’s something I always like to do. I like to be a vocal leader on the field. I could talk non-stop if they give me the chance. I just try to use it in a positive way and motivate my teammates when I’m on or off the field.
FFF: As a leader, what do you say to your teammates so they can keep grinding it out when it starts to get hotter outside and the bruises start to get deeper?
MW: The key thing is your attitude. Even if you don’t feel good, you could fake it till you make it. You can act like it and then the man next to you will get a vibe off you to where he can be in a positive mood or an energetic mood. What coach tells us every day is you have to fight through the adversity. You can’t win without fighting through adversity. If you want to win a national championship, you’re going to have to fight through the little things. That’s what we learned all summer. A lot of people come together and we fight through the adversity.
FFF: Talk about how your role has changed this year with all the injuries your teammates have sustained this offseason.
MW: It’s kind of crazy. One day I’ll be going against a starter, he’ll switch sides and then they’ll put another person in. In my opinion, it’s different. I might get a bad read by one guy, but then again, I don’t know what to expect. If I go against the same guy every day, I know what to expect. When I go against other guys, I kind of have to read the pass rushes, if he blocks low or if he blocks high, but I get to learn. It can be a good thing and it’s helping other players get better too.
FFF: Talk about the battle at running back between Chris Thompson and Jermaine Thomas.
MW: It’s interchangeable. There’s a different guy back there every day. I don’t know who’s going to be the starter.
FFF: Explain some of the differences you’ve noticed between Mark Stoops and Mickey Andrews.
MW: We meet with him [Stoops] a lot. He really likes to walk through things nice and slow everyday in practice until you get it. He makes sure you know what you’re doing. We meet in the film room more often than we did in the past just as a whole defense. It’s little things like that. That’s his style. We know we have a little different defense with the zone versus the man-to-man.
FFF: Do you like playing in Coach Stoops’ zone defense?
MW: I like it. We have different personnel in different positions, but so far it seems to work, so I like whatever we got going good.