Florida State sophomore defensive back Nate Andrews is not the most intimidating player on the Seminoles roster. He's not the fastest, he's not the tallest. In fact, he's not even a starter.
Andrews is, however, an intelligent, ball-hawking, integral piece of an FSU defense finally showing flashes of last year's record-breaking unit.
"He's a very smart player," fellow Seminoles DB P.J. Williams said. "He's a student of the game, every week he learns from his mistakes. He plays fast, he's definitely a playmaker for us."
After becoming the first true freshman to ever lead the Seminoles in interceptions with four in 2013, the reserve safety is again leading the team in INTs after picking-off Oklahoma State QB J.W. Walsh and returning it 9 yards for a touchdown in their season opener.
"I was so happy when I actually caught it, I was like heck yeah!" Andrews said. "I was just in the right place at the right time, I feel like I was just lucky. It was one of the easiest ones I've ever had."
The modest Andrews repeatedly used the adjective "lucky" to describe his defensive prowess and on-field success. But after recording five interceptions in his first 17 games and the game-saving fumble recovery in last week's win over Clemson, Andrews seems to be defying Webster dictionary's definition of lucky -- producing a good result by chance.
"He [Andrews] has an instinct to play the game," Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said. "He can feel things, see things, be in the right place. He puts it all out there and he has an instinct to play the game and, like you say, when the ball is on the ground he happens to be in the middle of it every time."
Andrews, a Rivals.com 3-star recruit out of high school, joined a star-studded 2013 FSU secondary consisting of two future NFL players in safeties Lamarcus Joyner (Minnesota Vikings) and Terrence Brooks (Baltimore Ravens), as well as 5-star recruit and current teammate Jalen Ramsey.
Surrounded by all of those high-profiled athletes, confidence was an issue for the safety out of Fairhope, Ala.
"When Nate's coming over here, he hadn't been recruited, had one or two offers," Fisher said of Andrews. "He's coming into it with a group of guys that have been recruited all over the country. And you're thinking, if I'm a young man, I'm confident, but deep in my soul I'm thinking, 'Can I really do this, am I good enough to play with these guys?' Then all of a sudden he gets out there and he forgets all of it and just competes."
Adam Winegarden, Andrews' high school football coach, has thoughts on his ex-player's perceived confidence issues.
Now in his second year as a member of Florida State's "No Fly Zone" secondary -- and with Joyner and Brooks gone -- Andrews understands he's no longer the freshman trying to fit in, he's a necessary element for Seminoles success.
"Yeah I have to be confident now," Andrews said. "This year I feel like I can play with a lot of guys. It was actually the first game of the year versus Oklahoma State where I was like man I gotta play, I'm on the big stage and I need to help my teammates get the 'W.'"
