Tuesday Practice Observations For Florida State Prior To North Carolina

The Seminoles kicked off Tuesday practice in prep for UNC at home.

Dillon Riera/NoleGameday

The Florida State Seminoles held their first open media practice on Tuesday ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels who head into Tallahassee, Florida this weekend. The 'Noles hope to snap their four-game losing streak after starting the season 1-7 with their most recent loss last weekend to the Miami Hurricanes. Despite the disastrous year the Seminoles have had, there has still been interest from the NFL. Scouts from the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, and Baltimore Ravens were all in attendance.

It was a pretty standard showing at practice, which lines up with what we've seen all season. Flashes of great plays were made on both sides of the ball, followed by lulls offensively and missed coverages on defense. One thing I will say, though, that was different is that many of the injured players were on the sideline, in the huddles, or with their position groups, giving instructions on what they were seeing and celebrating with their teammates.

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NoleGameday had multiple staff members in attendance for the entire session and we jotted down some observations from various position groups. There will be another open practice on Wednesday as the 'Noles continue to prepare for UNC.

— The kickers were solid today. Ryan Fitzgerald made attemps from 45, 43, and 33 yards. Backup Jake Weinberg was also good from 43.

OFFENSE:

— The offense started out well under quarterback Brock Glenn in the first-team drill. He managed to find wide receiver Jalen Brown for a quick gain, and after a tackle for loss on running back Sam Singleton, he found wide receiver Malik Benson for 10 yards. One of the more impressive plays of the first drive was Glenn escaping the pocket and taking off downfield. It would've been a touchdown, but it was called dead at around the 35-yard line by contact. Fitzgerald's kick was good from 45.

— Quarterback Trevor Jackson looked solid as well. He found tight end Kyle Morlock for a first down early in practice. Later on, in third-down drills, he hit wide receiver Darion Williamson over the shoulder with a great pass, but in an in-game scenario, it would've been a sack because defensive tackle Darrell Jackson was in his face and sidestepped the quarterback to avoid contact.

— In one-on-ones, there were a few well-placed balls from both quarterback Luke Kromenhoek and Glenn. Wide receiver Ja'Khi Douglas and defensive back Kevin Knowles took multiple reps together, but it seemed Douglas had the upper hand. Despite both players having speed, Douglas was able to separate, and Glenn was able to lead the throw for an easy completion.

— A few plays later in the same matchup on a throw from Kromenhoek, Douglas was able to cut in on a short route to block out Knowles. He made the catch but what stood out to me was how hard the ball was thrown and how hard Douglas secured it with Knowles digging at the ball from behind.

— The freshmen and underclassmen showed promise on offense as well in one-on-ones. Kromenhoek had great throws to wide receiver BJ Gibson, wide receiver Lawayne McCoy, and tight end Brian Courtney, but one route that stood out was from Gibson. He stopped his route short, much like the Douglas catch, and adjusted to the ball. After the catch, he shook off defensive back Ja'Bril Rawls and was able to take the ball upfield.

— In team drills, running back Caziah Holmes had around an 18-yard run, and Singleton was able to break free from a gap that opened up on the left side of the line. Singleton took it nearly 50 yards to the house with defensive back Conrad Hussey on his heels.

— In seven-on-seven, the offense kind of took a drop off but Kromenhoek was able to find running back Micahi Danzy on a couple of 10-yard completions. He also found Gibson in a one-on-one matchup against Rawls where it seemed the ball was thrown higher than Rawls anticipated. Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller came over and gave instructions on what went wrong and how he should've been boxing Gibson out to the sideline so the ball would've been caught out of bounds.

— Glenn had a good throw to Williamson where it looked like a miscommunication in the secondary. I'm not sure what the actual defensive play call was but it looked like a young defensive back got caught out of position, leaving Williamson wide open.

DEFENSE:

— As much as I've mentioned Rawls in the offensive section, I think he and defensive back Edwin Joseph had a good practice overall and both have been stringing together good showings over the past few weeks. Rawls jumped a route on a pass thrown by Jackson, and came down with an interception and really shined in one-on-ones. He had multiple pass breakups on Jalen Brown and seems to be playing at full speed again.

— Freshman defensive back Ricky Knight also had an interception in one on ones on a pass thrown by Glenn. He was able to get in front of the scout team receiver and come down with an easy pick.

— Defensive back Azareye'h Thomas was able to make a few good plays on Benson in one-on-ones. It looked like the ball was a little in front of Benson and he had it in his hands but Thomas was able to get a hand on it to end the play. The two were going up against each other all morning and it looked like Thomas won most of reps.

— Darrell Jackson had multiple sacks on the day and a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage in teams. Linebacker Cam Riley had a sack of his own and linebacker Shawn Murphy had a tackle for loss to end a drive.

—Linebacker Justin Cryer had a sack as well at the goal line but Glenn was able to get the ball off to Malik Benson. Defensive back Fentrell Cypress was in coverage and made the breakup in the end zone anyways but Cryer came in untouched which would've been a massive hit in a real game scenario.

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READ MORE: Luke Kromenhoek's Legs Spark Florida State's First Touchdown Drive Against Miami

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