BYE Week Practice Observations For The Florida State Seminoles

It was the young guys who flashed during FSU's practice on Tuesday morning.

FSU Athletics

Florida State hit the field for its first practice since the loss to Clemson with the team in the middle of a BYE week. Tuesday morning was actually a mock Sunday practice for the Seminoles which includes an extended duration of time for younger players to put in significant work before the rest of the team joins them.

In general, it was the young Seminoles who flashed as Luke Kromenhoek, Amaree Williams, Elijah Moore, and BJ Gibson all impressed. Following practice, head coach Mike Norvell complimented the freshmen wide receivers and tight ends while also noting there were too many drops throughout the day.

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NoleGameday was in attendance for the entire session and we jotted down some observations from multiple position groups. The Seminoles return to practice on Wednesday morning.

— The Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had personnel viewing the practice.

— Ryan Fitzgerald capped off a successful drive with a 46 yard kick. Jake Weinberg saw extensive action, making live reps from 30 yards, 33 yards, 43 yards, and 52 yards.

OFFENSE:

— Luke Kromenhoek was slinging the ball around at a high level for most of Tuesday, especially during the younger player portion of practice. He found Amaree Williams over the middle and hit Landen Thomas outside the numbers. Kromenhoek put the perfect amount of air on a ball to Elijah Moore that sailed over a defensive back for a completion to the true freshman. It felt like he was seeing the field well and making quick decisions about where to go with the football.

There were some freshman mistakes but Kromenhoek never seemed like he was overwhelmed and consistently rebounded from negatives with positives. He delivered an accurate deep pass to Amaree Williams for a touchdown in team drills. Kromenhoek even showed off his ability to scramble after tucking the ball on a few plays.

— For the most part, it was Kromenhoek who stole the show out of the quarterbacks on Tuesday. Brock Glenn did find Lawrance Toafili out of the backfield and threw a well-placed ball to Amaree Williams in stride but he had a few throws that got away from him. Glenn didn't get much help from the skill players either as there were way too many balls on the ground with a lot of those miscues coming from veterans.

— Trever Jackson was inconsistent on most of his reps but the good moments are really fun. He tossed a dime to walk-on wide receiver Willy Suarez that hit his target in stride for a long touchdown.

— Amaree Williams was excellent on Tuesday and the standout of the day. Whether it was the boost of confidence from scoring against Clemson or something else, he was on another level as a receiving threat. From the younger portion of practice to the extended session with the full group, Williams made his presence felt. He pulled in a tough catch over the middle to start the practice and followed that up with a ridiculous one-handed catch on his next rep where Williams reached out to snag the ball while continuing to move at full speed.

Williams hauled in a touchdown in team drills after stretching out for a deep ball. It was a consistent outing for Williams as I noted at least eight catches from the beginning to end of practice. He also got some work in at defensive end and joked after practice that he could be the next Travis Hunter.

— Elijah Moore made a few big plays as well. He fought off a press to come down with a deep ball early in practice. Later on, Moore went vertical on the sideline to reel in a pass that lofted over a defensive back. He made the catch while staying in bounds and cut up the field for a long gain. Moore also had a toe-tap catch on the sideline. His potential was on full display and he was one of the players Norvell mentioned by name after practice.

— Another good day for true freshman wide receiver BJ Gibson. He pulled in a deep shot on the sideline with his helmet popping off on the play. Norvell ran over to celebrate. Gibson had another tough grab in the middle of the field in 7-on-7, adjusting to make the play.

— Landen Thomas wasn't as impactful as Amaree Williams but he turned in a solid day as well. The highlight was a sharp catch outside the numbers as he cut up field for more yards.

— Caziah Holmes popped up early with a few explosive runs, including an effort where he weaved through a group of younger defenders and worked back across the field to turn a good run into a scoring opportunity.

— Walk-on wide receiver Willy Suarez showed up with a wild one-handed catch as he worked across the middle of the field. Suarez scored a touchdown too.

DEFENSE:

— Patrick Payton was active on Tuesday with multiple tackles for loss and at least one sack. I felt like he was flying around and consistently making plays. Darrell Jackson also had a sack and Sione Lolohea had a tackle for loss.

— True freshman defensive back Cai Bates read a short pass before it left the quarterback's hand. He jumped on the ball as soon as it was thrown and took it the other way for a pick-six.

— Linebacker DeMarco Ward somehow came down with a pick while covering Brian Courtney in the middle of the field. Courtney turned to attempt to make the catch but wasn't able to secure the ball as the two players jockeyed for it. Ward ended up with the football for one of the more difficult interceptions you'll see.

— It was the beginning of a tough sequence for Courtney as a few plays later a pass went off his hands and Ashlynd Barker tracked down the deflection for an interception that he took the other way.

— Ricky Knight III broke up a pass intended for BJ Gibson with a physical effort early in practice.

— Earl Little Jr. popped Samuel Singleton on a run up the middle and earned some praise from the coaching staff. The play was whistled dead after the hit but it looked like Singleton ran through the contact.

— Edwin Joseph deflected a pass over the middle in 7-on-7.

— Quindarrius Jones broke up a handful of passes throughout the day and continued to bring energy to practice. He's been playing at a high-level recently.

— Shawn Murphy punched out a pass intended for Kam Davis towards the end of practice.

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