FSU Football OC Alex Atkins Talks DJ Uiagalelei, Performance of Offense During Spring

"Take control. We've got a lot of mixed groups out there; there's no ones, twos, threes, it's a lot of mixture going on."

Spring camp is officially coming to a close for the Florida State Seminoles. With a plethora of freshmen and transfers already having made an impact on the team, it is clear just 13 practices in that 2024 is shaping up to be another successful season in Tallahassee.

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One notable transfer, DJ Uiagalelei, not only brings a strong arm to the quarterback room but also five years of experience in college football. After signing with the team following an 8-4 season at Oregon State, Uiagalalei had to fight for the starting role, and his rapid progression caught the eye of offensive coordinator Alex Atkins.

"Just how fast he's picked up the language — our quarterbacks here have always had a lot of freedom, so you've gotta learn it before you start changing things and changing looks, so as fast as he's picking up the language because offensive football is all concepts," Atkins said.

Atkins noted that there is still work to be done amongst the team, but more specifically with Uiagalelei in his role as a game manager and leader. Atkins discussed what he hopes to see from Uiagalalei in the Spring Showcase and into the season.

"Take control. We've got a lot of mixed groups out there; there's no ones, twos, threes, it's a lot of mixture going on, so we'll put threes out there with the ones, so there's just a lot of mixed receiving," Atkins continued. "So just take control when things are not looking how they're supposed to be, or when things aren't looking like what they're supposed to look like. I want to see him take ownership of that when they're out there because it's their offense, and not just running the plays as called."

Malik Benson is another transfer who seemingly made an immediate impact in his position room. After two seasons with Alabama, Benson has exceeded expectations since winter workouts and has become a leader among wide receivers.

"I like his progression because that's another position where it's just learning another language, and how we do things, and how we operate. There's always a period of just learning it and looking forward and progressing it, trying to play with a little more freedom so you're seeing that speed happen in real-time and not just in workouts," Atkins said. "We can run that route in full speed, but is he confident in what it is and what it looks like? So I've been confident in how I'm seeing him grow and still kind of catch his stride."

Spring camp is meant for players to develop and improve on each individual area of need without having to game plan for the next week's team. Atkins noted that he has noticed the offense improving in certain areas while also needing more work in others, and he mentioned that the improvements ad inconsistencies are different for each player.

"You're always going to have a bunch of both because everything is so simplified to each individual in the spring more so than it is the total offense. We're looking for each individual person to be a little bit better than last practice. We're not really collectively planning for the group per se; it's just more individually getting better. It's not like we're planning against the defenses or scouting this and that," Atkins said. "I think the biggest thing has been guys embracing the fundamental aspect of the spring and applying it to the big picture. So I guess what we want to see now is a little bit more big picture going into the showcase, but that's still practice 14, so I still want to see the improvement from practice 13 when we go to 14."

The 2024 Spring Showcase will be held on Saturday April 20th at 4:00 PM in Doak Campbell Stadium as the 14th practice of spring. The showcase will be an opportunity for fans to get a glimpse of what is to come in the highly anticipated 2024 season.

READ MORE: Expected Recruiting Visitor List For FSU Football's Garnet & Gold Spring Showcase

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