This is the sixth and final piece in our position-by-position look at the best tandems in the ACC this season. Today it's best secondary duo.
The best: Florida State
The duo: FS Terrence Brooks and CB Lamarcus Joyner
The reasoning: Brooks was a backup corner and a special-teams ace in his first two seasons, but he moved to free safety last season and looked comfortable in his new spot. Brooks (5-feet-11, 200 pounds) had some consistency issues, but that's to be expected with the position change. Brooks is fast and physical, and covers a lot of ground. He had 52 tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups last fall. If he shows better instincts this fall, he should move up draft boards.
Joyner has played in every game at FSU since arriving in 2010 as one of the nation's top 20 prep prospects out of powerhouse Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas. Joyner was a backup corner as a true freshman, then started at strong safety in each of the past two seasons. Joyner (5-8, 190) moved back to corner during spring practice for new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, who had been secondary coach at Alabama. Joyner admits he lacks ideal size, but he is tough, instinctive, both fast and quick and a big-time hitter. He has six picks and 11 pass breakups in his career. Joyner is good in run support because of his physical nature. His versatility -- he probably could play free safety in a pinch and is a solid kickoff returner -- intrigues scouts, and how high he's drafted likely comes down to how well he performs in man-to-man coverage this season. He certainly would seem to have the speed, instincts and strength to handle that facet of the game.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
