FSU held its final practice availability before Saturday's 3:30 p.m. home game vs. North Carolina Wednesday morning. In his interview after practice, head coach Mike Norvell didn't hold back his disappointment towards the showing the offense put on the field during the day's work. He admitted that FSU was without a few offensive players during the day's work (while saying they should be back within the next few days) and that some of the younger players didn't take advantage of that opportunity like he hoped they would.

"Had some guys that were down today offensively, and guys that got opportunity. And have to make sure we're capitalizing on those opportunities that you get. Everyone talks about wanting more, but when it's thrown there at you, you've got to show that you're ready for more," Norvell said Wednesday. "I thought there were some areas we have to be cleaner and better there. Offensively, should have those guys back hopefully in the next day or so, we'll see. Thought we had some missed opportunities there on certain position groups on the offensive side of the ball. Had some solid response, but not just as consistent throughout what we needed. So, go to work, keep getting better."

Here are the Osceola staff observations from Wednesday morning's practice:

• The defense winning the day started from the very first team period of work. A one-minute drill drive was totally derailed by pressure from the defensive line. Darrell Jackson had a pressure on second down that forced a throwaway and KJ Sampson had a "sack" on fourth down to force a quick four-and-out stop for the defense. Jackson added another "sack" later in 11-on-11, continuing to build on his two-sack showing last week at Miami.
• I didn't think it was the sharpest day for the quarterbacks. Both Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek had a few nice throws, but they weren't consistently accurate enough on the day, sailing quite a few throws in 1-on-1s over the intender receiver's heads. But the secondary also made it hard on both of them on the day. Edwin Joseph had a pair of pass breakups in 1-on-1s and another on the goal line while KJ Kirkland, Fentrell Cypress and Cai Bates all tallied PBUs during 1-on-1s as well.. The secondary wasn't making it easy on the passing game Wednesday morning. But Kromenhoek had a few nice passes, including a 1-on-1 deep ball down the sideline to Amaree Williams in stride while Glenn used the middle of the field well for chunk gains during the middle 11-on-11 period, had an exceptional outside post deep shot to Hykeem Williams in pass-skelly work and found BJ Gibson for a touchdown during goal line/red zone work.
• Probably the most impressive defensive back on the day, though, was Ja'Bril Rawls. In 11-on-11, he made a ridiculous leaping interception where he high-pointed a downfield pass and fell backwards onto his back, securing the ball for a pick. He also added a pair of PBUs in the 7-on-7 pass skelly period.
• Walk-on linebacker AJ Cottrill, who has become quite a special teams player, also made quite a few plays during goal line/red zone work Wednesday. In short succession, he had a "sack" when coming off the edge as a blitzer and also tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage. Patrick Payton also added a batted pass at the line during this period of practice.

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The converted safety is one of the top players at Miami Central and he is working his way towards becoming a national recruit.

With no bowl game to prepare for, December’s focus will be on three areas:

— Roster retention, with Norvell and the staff evaluating which players are not just returning but those they want back for 2025.

— High school recruiting, which has lagged this fall as losses have mounted. The Seminoles have just 11 commitments and just over a month left to host prospects before the calendar goes dead on Dec. 1, the day after the Florida game. Then it’s a three-day signing window beginning on Dec. 4.

— Transfer portal, which undoubtedly will be a revolving door, and opens up on Dec. 9 after the conclusion of the conference championship games but before bowl games.

The Osceola previously evaluated FSU’s offensive roster and defensive roster, outlining an argument for transfer needs at each position. In this story, we’ll briefly look at Norvell’s recent comments on roster retention and high school recruiting.