Florida State vs. Georgia Tech: Wednesday Practice Observations For The Seminoles

The Seminoles put forth their final practice in Tallahassee before flying to Ireland.

Florida State concluded its final practice in Tallahassee on Wednesday morning before the team flies over to Ireland later this evening. Despite the long travel ahead of them and the season opener just three days away, the Seminoles came out with a focused, competitive effort, showing they aren't skipping the little things with so many potential distractions floating around.

It was a promising session, especially with so many new pieces about to play their first game at Florida State. I felt like it was a back-and-forth day with the wide receivers continuing to take steps in the right direction, similar to the ascension we began to see last week. The defensive backs made plenty of plays of their own too.

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NoleGameday was in attendance for the entire session and we jotted down some observations from multiple position groups. Practice reports will be somewhat altered moving forward now that Florida State has entered the 2024 season.

— Ryan Fitzgerald capped off a successful drive early in practice with a 44-yard connection. He made two 30-yard field goals and a 43-yarder in the special teams portion of the day. Jake Weinberg had plenty of leg on his 43-yard make.

— There is still no telling who Florida State's punt returner will be on Saturday with Malik Benson, Jaylin Lucas, and Lawayne McCoy listed as co-starters at the position. I thought Benson and Lucas put in some really good work on Wednesday and I didn't notice any muffs.

OFFENSE:

— Decent day from DJ Uiagalelei. There are probably a few passes he'd like to have back that got away from him but I thought his command of the offense was pretty consistent. Uiagalelei worked the unit downfield early in practice for a scoring possession. Facing a fourth down, he fired a pass to Ja'Khi Douglas in the middle of the field for a big gain. Uiagalelei kept things going with a throw to Jalen Brown where the receiver made a heck of an extension to reel it in and moved the offense into position to ultimately get a field goal.

His best throw of the day came on a pretty lob to Ja'Khi Douglas down the sideline that hit the receiver right in the breakbasket. It was one of those passes that not many other quarterbacks in college football would be able hit as Uiagalelei's arm strength and precision were picture perfect.

— Jalen Brown just keeps going to work. Mike Norvell made it a point to bring him up after practice. Brown scored a touchdown in team drills, 1-on-1's and 7-on-7. I'll have my eyes on him on Saturday.

— Another solid outing for veteran wide receiver Darion Williamson, who made the catch of the day in 1-on-1's with a ridiculous grab in the end zone where he went twisting in the corner to haul in a pass while barely getting a foot down. Kentron Poitier showed up as well with a contested vertical catch in the back of the end zone. Good signs to see for sure.

— Lawrance Toafili and Kam Davis had big runs.

— Malik Benson is known for his playmaking but his blocking caught the attention of Mike Norvell on Wednesday. Benson kept fighting with a defender all the way into the end zone on a run from Kam Davis with the head coach flashing a big smile as he watched on.

— Kyle Morlock battled off press coverage for a grab in the end zone in 1-on-1's.

— Elijah Moore scored a touchdown in 1-on-1's and team drills. Fluid and fun to watch with such a wide catch radius.

— I thought this was probably one of Landen Thomas's better days of the fall. His speed at the tight end position showed up and he was consistently catching the ball when it came his way.

DEFENSE:

— Azareye'h Thomas was good, like really good on Wednesday. I think he's more than ready for Saturday. Thomas nearly picked off a pass on a diving effort early in practice. He shut down back-to-back reps in 7-on-7 with tight coverage and great instincts.

— I feel like Conrad Hussey is ready to hit somebody. He's been playing with a lot of physicality lately. His ability in coverage was on display today as he battled vertically with Amaree Williams in the back of the end zone and forced the ball out as the two went to the ground.

— Marvin Jones Jr. had an impressive sequence in team drills where he beat an offensive tackle off the edge and kept pursuing the quarterback from the backside of the play to ultimately record a sack.

— Trust the eyes. That's what Shyheim Brown did on a rep in team drills where he wasn't fooled by misdirection and ended up with a massive tackle for loss.

— Omarion Cooper was the beneficiary of an errant throw. The ball hit him right in the chest and Cooper picked it off.

— KJ Kirkland somehow wound up with an interception late in practice after coming down with a tipped ball in the end zone. He deflected a pass in team drills after arriving to hit a receiver right as the ball arrived.

— Good day from Edwin Joseph. He had an athletic deflection in the end zone after leaping into the air and getting his hands on a pass.

— Blake Nichelson didn't bite on play-action and ended up with an instant sack.

— Earl Little Jr. recorded a pass deflection in the back of the end zone.

— Ricky Knight III had a pass hit him right in the hands but he couldn't hold on.

— Justin Cryer with tight coverage and a pass deflection right at the goal line.

— Daniel Lyons popped up again. On one rep, he disengaged from his blocker and recognized a throw, jumping into the air and batting the pass down at the line of scrimmage.

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READ MORE: Former Florida State Quarterback Comes Up Short For Starting Job At Third School

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