Florida State University Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Defensive Coordinator
Adam Fuller was named Florida State’s defensive coordinator on Dec. 12, 2019, and enters his fourth season in charge of FSU’s defense in 2023.
Fuller has an impressive track record of developing talent, evidenced by his players earning 24 All-America recognitions and 72 all-conference honors. Jermaine Johnson II, selected 26th overall by the New York Jets in the 2022 NFL Draft, developed into a first-round pick after being named the 2021 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, a first-team All-American and first-team all-conference performer in Fuller’s defense. Two of his former defensive backs were among the four FSU defenders selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, marking the second straight year and third time multiple defensive backs coached by Fuller were taken in the same draft.
In 2022, Fuller orchestrated one of the nation’s best defenses to help lead Florida State to a 10-3 record and a final ranking of No. 10 in the Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the AP poll. The Seminoles led the ACC and ranked in the top-15 nationally in both passing defense, yards per pass attempt allowed and total defense. FSU’s average of 165.4 passing yards allowed per game ranked fourth in the country, its average of 6.2 yards per pass attempt allowed was 12th nationally, and its 321.8 total yards allowed per game was 15th in the country. The Seminoles also ranked 12th nationally with an average of 3.08 sacks per game, 14th with an average of 4.85 yards per play allowed, 20th in scoring defense holding opponents to an average of 20.6 points per game and 22nd in passing efficiency defense with opposing quarterbacks having a 120.63 rating.
Fuller’s defense showed improvement across the board as the 2022 defense allowed nearly a touchdown fewer points per game, dropped its passing defense average by 67.8 yards per game, allowed 56 fewer total yards per game, improved third-down defense by 5.4 percent and recorded an increase of 0.33 sacks per game from 2021. In a remarkable stretch toward the end of the season, FSU held four straight opponents out of the end zone in the first half, went 32 straight drives without allowing a touchdown and became the first FBS team to hold consecutive opponents to 65 or fewer passing yards. In a 45-3 win at Miami, the Hurricanes gained only 62 yards through the air and the next week Syracuse was held to 65 passing yards in a 38-3 FSU victory as Florida State accounted for the two lowest passing totals for an ACC team in 2022.
The defense featured All-Americans Jammie Robinson and Jared Verse, as well as ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Patrick Payton. Robinson and Verse were first-team All-ACC performers, with Verse earning the most votes among defensive players after leading the conference in sacks per game and ranking second in the ACC and 10th nationally in tackles for loss per game. Robinson once again led FSU in tackles and became the first Seminole defender to earn first-team All-ACC honors in back-to-back seasons since Jalen Ramsey in 2014-15.
In addition to Johnson’s 2021 accolades, Fuller oversaw the development of Robinson, a first-team All-ACC selection, and third-team defensive end Keir Thomas. Johnson authored one of the best seasons in recent memory as the defensive end ranked first in the ACC with 12.0 sacks and 18.0 tackles for loss, which were both the highest totals for an FSU defender since 2016, and led all defensive linemen nationally with 70 tackles. Johnson and Thomas, who recorded 12.0 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks with 15 quarterback hurries, were the only teammates in the ACC, and one of only three pairs in the country, to average at least 1.3 tackles for loss per game in conference play.
Robinson, who ranked first in the ACC and 14th nationally in interceptions, led a group on defense that featured eight different defenders who grabbed at least one interception and forced 20 total takeaways. FSU made at least one interception in eight straight games to end the season, the longest active streak in America entering the 2022 season and tied for the longest streak in the country at any point during the 2021 season.
The 2021 defense ranked second in the ACC and seventh nationally in red zone defense, allowing a score on 70.6 percent of drives that reached the red zone. The Seminoles’ average of 7.2 tackles for loss per game ranked 12th in the nation, and the defense had four games with at least 9.0 tackles for loss, the program’s highest total since 2017. FSU also ranked in the top-five in the ACC in sacks per game, total takeaways, pass efficiency defense, total interceptions and fewest first downs allowed.
The 2020 season was his second coordinating defense for head coach Mike Norvell. Fuller’s defense had nine first-time starters at FSU and 12 who made their Florida State debut. Linebacker Stephen Dix Jr. earned Freshman All-America honors while cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. was named first-team All-ACC before becoming a second-round NFL Draft pick by the Los Angeles Chargers and defensive tackle Marvin Wilson was a second-team all-conference selection.
Samuel continued his development into one of the top defensive backs in the nation as he finished the season leading all active ACC defenders with 29 career pass breakups. He became only the second FBS defender to grab three interceptions and have two fumble recoveries in his team’s first four games of a season in records dating back to 2000. Samuel also became the first FSU defender since 2016 with at least one takeaway in four straight games and only the third Seminole since 2000 with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries in a season.
Florida State’s defense held opponents to 46.2 percent on fourth-down attempts, which ranked as the fifth-best rate in the ACC and 31st nationally. The Seminoles posted three of their four lowest total yards allowed games over the final three weeks of the season and recorded 19.0 tackles for loss, four interceptions and six quarterback hurries in that span.
Fuller spent the 2019 season as Norvell’s defensive coordinator at Memphis, helping lead the Tigers to a program-record 12 wins, including the school’s first outright conference championship since 1969, and a berth in the New Year’s Six Cotton Bowl. His defense, which featured five all-conference performers, ranked 20th in FBS with a team passing efficiency defense rating of 115.36 and ranked 25th in the nation with an average of 7.0 tackles for loss per game. The Tigers forced 18 takeaways and returned two for touchdowns as Memphis became one of only six teams in the country with multiple defensive touchdowns each season from 2016-19.
In the regular season finale that clinched a third straight berth in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, Memphis recorded 15 tackles for loss, the fifth-highest single-game total in the nation in 2019 and one shy of the program record. One week earlier the Tigers held USF to five first downs and forced five straight three-and-outs to close out a 49-10 victory.
Fuller arrived in Memphis following six years on the defensive staff at Marshall, including serving as defensive coordinator in 2018. That year, the Thundering Herd ranked seventh in FBS with an average of 3.23 sacks per game and eighth in rushing defense, allowing 104.2 yards per game. Fuller coordinated one of only three defenses in the country that did not allow a 100-yard rusher that season. The defense allowed a third-down conversion rate of only .317, 13th-lowest in the nation, and also ranked 12th with 12 fumble recoveries, 17th with three defensive touchdowns and 20th with 24 total takeaways.
From 2013-17, Fuller served as Marshall’s assistant head coach and linebackers coach along with overseeing special teams. In his first season with the Thundering Herd, the defense allowed 22.9 points per game one season after giving up 43.1 points per game, a turnaround that helped win the division crown and the Military Bowl.
In 2014, the improvement continued as Marshall finished 13-1 with a victory in the Boca Raton Bowl and was ranked No. 22 in the final AP poll. All three of Fuller’s specialists earned first-team all-conference honors, and linebacker Neville Hewitt was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Fuller made it two straight Defensive Player of the Year honors courtesy of linebacker Evan McKelvey, and the Thundering Herd finished the 2015 season 10-3 after a victory in the St. Petersburg Bowl. In 2017, Marshall ranked 17th in the country with a scoring defense average of 19.9 points per game and ranked 10th in red zone defense, allowing points on only 73.2 percent of opponents’ drives into the red zone. The Thundering Herd also had the conference’s top rushing defense, ranking 19th in the nation with an average of 121.2 yards allowed per game.
Prior to his time at Marshall, Fuller was the defensive coordinator at Chattanooga from 2009-12. In his first season, his defense was the most improved in FCS. The Mocs allowed 25.7 points per game and 307.7 yards of total offense one season after giving up 37.9 points and 442.5 yards per game. The defensive strides helped Chattanooga go from one win in 2008 to six victories in 2009.
Fuller spent the 2008 season as the head coach at Assumption College, a Division II program in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was hired to the head chair after three seasons at Richmond, where he helped the Spiders win two conference championships and advance to the national semifinal round of the FCS playoffs in 2007 and the quarterfinals in 2005. He helped develop three NFL Draft picks at Richmond.
From 1999-2004 Fuller coached at Wagner, starting as linebackers coach for two seasons before taking over the defensive backs and adding special teams coordinator duties. His final season he was the co-defensive coordinator. His first coaching job was overseeing linebackers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Fuller was a four-year letterwinner at Sacred Heart University, where he earned All-America honors from his linebacker position in 1996 and served as a team captain in 1997. He earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in sociology from Sacred Heart in 1998 and a master’s degree in secondary education from Wagner in 2001.
Fuller and his wife, Hope, have two sons, Jack and Aidan.
| Years | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2020- | Florida State | Defensive Coordinator |
| 2019 | Memphis | Defensive Coordinator |
| 2018 | Marshall | Defensive Coordinator/Safeties |
| 2017 | Marshall | Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2013-16 | Marshall | Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers |
| 2009-12 | Chattanooga | Defensive Coordinator |
| 2008 | Assumption College | Head Coach |
| 2006-07 | Richmond | Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2005 | Richmond | Defensive Backs |
| 2004 | Wagner College | co-Defensive Coordinator |
| 2001-03 | Wagner College | Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Backs |
| 1999-2000 | Wagner College | Linebackers |
| 1998 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Linebackers |
