FSU Football Fall Camp Observations: Seminoles Wrap Up 11th Practice With Eyes On Jacksonville

The Seminoles are in the middle of a four-day stretch as they prepare to head over to UNF.

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Florida State wrapped up its 11th practice of the preseason on Tuesday morning with the team in the middle of a four-day stretch that will continue with two sessions in Jacksonville. The Seminoles mainly focused on special teams and situations, lightening the workload but not the intensity between the lines.

Head coach Mike Norvell pushed his squad from beginning to end, demanding effort and execution. The Seminoles responded with a couple of really competitive sequences.

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NoleGameday was in attendance for the session and we've listed some observations from different position groups and players below. This report will be a little shorter than some of our previous editions.

— The Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and New England Patriots had representatives watching the practice.

— Ryan Fitzgerald and Jake Weinberg were really good once again - not a ton of live misses this preseason. Fitzgerald connected from 21 and 32 yards out. Weinberg matched him from 21 yards.

— Brian Courtney put some strong work together during the special teams period. He's going to be an important piece on that unit once again.

OFFENSE:

— It was a back-and-forth type of practice between the offense and defense with both sides popping up with big plays. DJ Uiagalelei did his part early to get the offense moving in a situational drill after stepping up in the pocket to avoid pressure before finding Malik Benson over the middle between two defenders for a conversion on fourth down. He scrambled later in the drive for another first down around midfield. Uiagalelei kept things going with good awareness in the pocket, standing in and hitting Benson with pressure bearing down on him. He followed that up with a quick pass to Elijah Moore later in the possession. The throw came over the middle after Uiagalelei recognized an incoming blitz with Ryan Fitzgerald capping things off with a 32-yard kick.

— Luke Kromenhoek fired an absolute dime to Elijah Moore in the middle of the field. The pass was accurate but also strong enough to hit the wide receiver with Justin Cryer going for the deflection. Kromenhoek also connected with Amaree Williams on the sideline for one of the catches of the day. The ball was in a good spot, allowing Williams to adjust and pull it in while staying inbounds with Cam Riley on his heels.

— The offense worked on end-of-game scenarios late in practice, with one being a Hail Mary throw to the end zone. Brock Glenn moved out of the pocket and launched a throw towards the end zone while on the run. It was in a perfect spot for true freshman Elijah Moore to go up and pluck it out of the sky. It's worth noting that I'm not sure if the defensive backfield was 'live' on the play.

— Roydell Williams threw a nice block on Byron Turner Jr. to open up room for DJ Uiagalelei to run up the middle.

— Brian Courtney hauled in a pass over the middle and exploded near the edge of the goal line late in team drills. Hard to tell if he scored or not from my vantage point.

— Active day for Elijah Moore. He's put together two good practices after a monster catch in the first scrimmage. The true freshman is impressing as of late.

DEFENSE:

— A nice outing for Blake Nichelson on Tuesday with the sophomore linebacker consistently around the ball. He brought down Lawrance Toafili for no gain out of the backfield, arriving to make a hit right as the ball hit the running back's hands. Nichelson combined with Omar Graham Jr. for a sack on the same drive where both defenders showed off a nice effort and pursuit. He deflected a pass in the end zone later in the day to prevent a touchdown.

— Edwin Joseph continues his rise this preseason. He created a pass deflection in the final moments of practice. Joseph also nearly picked off a pass near the end zone on a competitive rep in pass coverage. He stuck with Amaree Williams and briefly had his hands on the ball before it fell to the turf.

— Azareye'h Thomas played tight coverage on Darion Williamson, deflecting a pass on what was a potential interception opportunity. Thomas also got to DJ Uiagalelei for a sack after easily sneaking by a running back on a blitz.

— Strong work from Patrick Payton in the middle of the defense. He held his ground on a running play, plugging up the gap and allowing Graham Jr. to make a stop.

— Marvin Jones Jr. had an explosive rep off the edge where he battled with Jeremiah Byers to put pressure on Uiagalelei. Byers kept Jones Jr. off the quarterback but his presence was enough to force a throwaway.

— Noted Tomiwa Durojaiye, Daniel Lyons, and KJ Sampson consistently creating pressure. Sampson batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage at one point.

— I thought it was a solid practice for Charles Lester III. He was in position to bring Kam Davis down on a throw out of the backfield. Lester battled with Deuce Spann in coverage to force an incompletion over the middle. He almost picked off a pass on a throw out of the backfield that got away from Kromenhoek.

— Timir Hickman-Collins got away from a block by Amaree Williams for a "sack".

— Kevin Knowles tackled Toafili short of the line to gain to force a fourth down.

— Omarion Cooper got through on a blitz that would likely be a sack in a real game. Brock Glenn ended up scrambling for a short gain instead.

— Walk-on linebacker AJ Cottrill fought off a block to stop Roydell Williams for a loss on a throw out of the backfield. Good read and react.

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