Florida State Spring Camp Observations: Seminoles Back on the Field Following Spring Break

There were plenty of exciting plays on both sides of the ball but true freshman KJ Kirkland's pick-six stole the show during FSU's practice on Tuesday.

After roughly 11 days off, Florida State returned to the practice fields on Tuesday afternoon to resume spring camp. The Seminoles were in full pads for the session under a sky that provided no cloud cover to escape the glaring sun. Regardless, there was plenty of enthusiasm as the team stepped onto the field at nearly the one-third mark of the 15 practice slate in front of them.

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A couple of impressive plays from both sides of the ball were the highlight on Tuesday. Head Coach Mike Norvell was pleased with the physicality and competitiveness of the practice but he also harped on the Seminoles finishing plays and working at a faster tempo.

NoleGameday was in attendance for the entire practice and jotted down some observations from day four of spring practice.

— Multiple recruits, including Florida State commitments, four-star wide receiver Camdon Frier and three-star defensive tackle Keishawn Mashburn, viewed the practice from the sidelines. Frier was attached at the hip with General Manager Darrick Yray.

— Former players such as Jammie Robinson and Ebo Entsuah were also in attendance for the practice.

— Trey Benson, Lawrance Toafili, Ja'Khi Douglas, Caziah Holmes, Rodney Hill, and Deuce Spann were among the players returning kickoffs early in practice. Vandrevius Jacobs and Winston Wright got a shot at fielding punts as the session went on.

— Your daily kicking update....Ryan Fitzgerald connected on his attempts from about 32 yards and 43 yards out, respectively. Tyler Keltner came up wide on his kick from 32 yards out but nailed the 43 yard attempt.

OFFENSE:

— Tight end Kyle Morlock has been coming on strong over the last couple of practices. He put in a consistent effort prior to Florida State's break and didn't appear to miss a beat coming out of spring break. He got going in 1-on-1's against the defensive backs with nifty footwork that left a linebacker in the dust while Morlock made a big play. Later in the practice, he used a diving effort to come down with another tough catch. Morlock grabbed one on the sideline in team drills as well. Norvell has been impressed with so far.

— True freshmen wide receivers Vandrevius Jacobs and Hykeem Williams both earned praise following Tuesday's practice. Jacobs, in particular, has been a man on a mission, consistently making contested grabs. He came down with a catch on a pass over the middle after getting a step on Fentrell Cypress II. That began a stretch where Jacobs was seemingly unstoppable, making a variety of big plays.

— One of the plays of the day for the offense came during team drills in the middle of practice when AJ Duffy put a throw on a rope down the sideline to Kentron Poitier. The redshirt junior stuck out on hand to bring in the ball and take it the distance. On his next rep, Poitier almost made another athletic catch with one hand but the ball popped out, prompting Norvell to sprint over while screaming "two hands, two hands!"

— Jordan Travis worked the offense into scoring range during two-minute drills. He completed back-to-back passes to Johnny Wilson and Markeston Douglas to set up a field goal from inside 40 yards from Keltner, which was good.

— Tight end Jaheim Bell earned praise from the coaching staff for driving back a linebacker during run-blocking drills.

— D'Mitri Emmanuel has yet to learn the status of his waiver but he's remaining involved in the team. While he's been unable to practice, Emmanuel had a headset on and was listening in on play calls during team drills.

— Late in practice, Travis was pressured and forced to throw up a pass for grabs. Johnny Wilson came skying in to pull down the attempt over the middle. Wilson also dropped a touchdown in 7-on-7, showing he's still working on his overall consistency.

— Running back Rodney Hill had a nice spin move to get around a defender during team drills. Trey Benson made a big play out of the backfield on a throw from Travis.

DEFENSE:

— True freshman defensive back KJ Kirkland was one of the top performers on Tuesday. He made arguably the play of the day within the first couple minutes of practice when he took advantage of a poor throw by Tate Rodemaker, picking it off and taking it the distance. Fellow true freshman Quindarrius Jones joined him on the turnover train by pulling down an interception of his own late in practice. Jones also broke up a pass that hit Johnny Wilson in the hands during 1-on-1's.

— Another newcomer to come down with an interception was coveted transfer cornerback, Fentrell Cypress II. This was a case of being in the right place at the right time as the quarterback slipped on the play, sending a ball right in Cypress' hands.

— The defensive line has consistently been generating pressure up the middle early in spring camp. The efforts paid off during tempo drills as Travis was forced out of the pocket and brought by Kalen DeLoach.

— Running back Lawrance Toafili got a carry in two-minute drills and was stonewalled by Travis Jay.

— It gets easy to take what Jared Verse does day in and day out for granted. With that being said, it's clear to see that he's trying to take his game to another level in 2023. Verse was disruptive during the practice and easily won a couple of reps against the offensive line during run-blocking drills.

— With that, it's also worth mentioning that Patrick Payton and Darrell Jackson continue to flash in individual and team drills. This is a deep defensive line.

— Cornerback Jarrian Jones took advantage of what appeared to be a miscommunication between Jordan Travis and Johnny Wilson. Jones worked his way into the backfield for a tackle for loss on Travis. He picked off a pass on the sidelines during 1-on-1's while guarding a tight end.

— Travis Jay nearly intercepted Rodemaker during 7-on-7. He read the play with his eyes but came up just short of pulling in the pass.

— Defensive lineman Dennis Briggs recorded a quick sack during the latter half of practice.

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