FSU Football Fall Camp Observations: Seminoles Back At Practice After First Preseason Scrimmage
Florida State is coming off its first scrimmage of the preseason as the team returned to the practice fields on Tuesday morning. The Seminoles were in full pads for the third consecutive practice as the beginning of the week marked the tenth session since camp kicked off late last month.
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It was a muggy morning in Tallahassee due to humidity prior to the sun opening up during the second half of practice. Florida State's players battled the elements while putting together a pretty competitive session.
NoleGameday was in attendance for the entire practice and jotted down some observations with camp essentially halfway over.
— Athletic Director Michael Alford was in attendance for practice,
— The Denver Broncos, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks all had personnel at the session.
— Tuesday was the first real 'down day' for Florida State's kicking unit this preseason. That could have been due to the coaching staff testing their kickers from longer distances. Ryan Fitzgerald was wide right from 40 yards before connecting from 45 yards out. Tyler Keltner was pure from 40 yards but missed from 45 yards out. Fitzgerald connected from 31 yards out and made an extra point in other parts of practice.
OFFENSE:
— This didn't feel like the sharpest practice overall from the quarterback unit. There were a couple of ill-advised throws and poor passes that ended up being picked off by the defense. At the same time, we did see Jordan Travis and Tate Rodemaker connect on a pair of perfect throws downfield.
— Rodemaker let one fly to Hykeem Williams during team drills. The ball dropped in perfectly over the shoulder as the true freshman sprinted to the end zone for a big play. Travis answered with a pass in the red zone that landed right in the breadbasket to Johnny Wilson for a touchdown.
— Tight end Kyle Morlock has brought the momentum he found in Jacksonville back to Tallahassee. He came down with a huge gain early in practice on a pass that was thrown deep. Morlock had two tough grabs in 7-on-7, including one on the sideline where he walled off Akeem Dent with his frame and went vertical for a catch.
— It was a good day for multiple tight ends as Preston Daniel probably had his best practice of camp. Daniel hauled in a deep ball down the seam for a big play that seemed to give him some confidence. He ended up being active throughout practice, hauling in a tough grab for a touchdown in goal line 1-on-1's.
— The potential is evident for wide receiver Deuce Spann. If he puts it together, Florida State's offense will be that much more dangerous. Spann made a few plays in the passing game early in practice. It will come down to consistency if Spann is going to break into the rotation.
— Wide receiver Johnny Wilson simply makes the difficult plays look routine. He had a couple of big catches that looked routine, almost like he was bored as he worked away from defensive backs downfield. The connection between Wilson and Travis has really started to heat up as of late.
— Joshua Burrell continues to stay active during the first half of camp. He caught a wide-open pass over the middle during two-minute/tempo drills after losing his man with a nifty move. Burrell again displayed the ability to make difficult catches, timing a ball in the air and leaping to make the grab with a defender in the area during 1-on-1's.
— This might have been the best overall day for Trey Benson during camp. He was productive in the passing game but it was a run up the middle in team drills that caught my attention. Benson exploded through the defense and got into second gear up the sideline. Mike Norvell, Ron Dugans, and Gabe Fertitta came sprinting after him.
— Morlock and Daniel might have taken most of the shine from the other tight ends on Tuesday Jaheim Bell still had his moments. One was a play where he was wide open on the outside for a huge gain.
— Vandrevius Jacobs made it look easy during 1-on-1's with a couple of grabs. He carried the effort into 7-on-7 with a gain of 20-30 yards before hauling in a tough catch with a defender all over him.
DEFENSE:
— Linebacker DJ Lundy has been extremely consistent with his performance during the preseason. He's displayed an enhanced ability in pass coverage while continuing to stay solid against the run. Tuesday was arguably his most active day of camp as Lundy was all over the field, particularly when the ball was in the air. Lundy showed the capability to stick with Trey Benson on a route out of the backfield. He went vertical to nearly intercept a pass on one of the final plays of practice while also recording a tackle for loss earlier Tuesday.
— There were some good battles between Azareye'h Thomas and the receivers during practice. He won a rep against Deuce Spann in team drills with an athletic play on the ball. Travis threw to the corner of the end zone to Spann with Thomas in single coverage. The sophomore cornerback jumped up and picked off the pass before Spann could react to shut down a drive.
— Multiple players in the defensive backfield forced turnovers on the day, including nickel cornerback Greedy Vance. While playing tight coverage in the end zone, Vance was able to come down with an interception during a fight for a deflected pass.
— Put another pick under true freshman Conrad Hussey's belt. After racking up three interceptions in Jacksonville, Hussey got his first pick in Tallahassee during camp on Tuesday on a play that was simulated as a throw to the end zone on the final play of a game. Hussey forced an incompletion earlier in the day while coming in on a blitz.
— Edwin Joseph pulled down an interception on a throw that sailed slightly from Rodemaker on the sideline. Joseph made the catch and got his feet down before going out of bounds.
— True freshman Blake Nichelson continues to pop up on our radar due to his athleticism between the tackles and pursuit. Nichelson had a nice track while pursuing Lawrance Toafili for a stop at the line of scrimmage or for a loss. He showed the footspeed to chase down Jordan Travis on a roll-out which is not something many defenders can do.
— A guy who keeps finding himself in the right positions is linebacker Justin Cryer. The true freshman filled a hole for a stop on Lawrance Toafili after a very short gain in tempo drills. Cryer also broke up a pass intended for Preston Daniel down at the goal line, it was hard to tell if he got a hand on it for the deflection.
— Dante Anderson's effort stood out to me on Tuesday. Toafili caught a pass out of the backfield and Anderson raced to the sideline for a tag. He also made a good read to stick with Duffy on a tackle for loss where the quarterback tried to keep the ball instead of handing it off.
— Braden Fiske absolutely blew up a play before it even got started. He came right through the middle of the offense line and tried to wrap up Jordan Travis and the running back before the handoff could be completed. A reminder of what the massive man in the middle can do.
— I thought it was a solid day for Shyheim Brown. He was working on getting the defense in the right spots and had a couple of pass deflections.
— A good read from true freshman defensive tackle KJ Sampson. The offense tried to set up a screen but Sampson recognized the play and stayed with the running back for a tackle for loss.
— Malaki Menzer appeared to record a sack during practice.
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