Florida State held its final practice in Tallahassee on Wednesday before flying to Ireland later in the evening. The practice began two hours later than usual (11 a.m.) and it was noticeably warmer.
We saw a good number of 11-on-11 periods, including the first-team offense vs. scout team and first-team defense vs. scout. There was also some first-team offense vs. first-team defense.
The practice felt erratic, especially in the passing game, after some recent practices that were more crisp. It felt like a team ready to jump on a plane and wasn’t as focused. There were more drops on Wednesday compared to some prior open practices, for example.
Mike Norvell said there was a focus on different looks and “preparing for all things and what you might see” from Georgia Tech. He feels good about the game prep over the last 10 days or so.
Norvell continued to praise the receivers, especially through the context of battles with FSU’s talented defensive backs. He feels the timing and rhythm is building in the passing game over the last few weeks. While that wasn’t quite the case in our view today, the last couple weeks of open practices have shown improvement in the chemistry of the passing game.
Among the first receivers Norvell mentioned is a practice star, Darion Williamson, who had a nice downfield grab. Norvell also discussed Kentron Poitier and Ja’Khi Douglas. Norvell said he felt Malik Benson has been very consistent throughout camp, which we have also seen.
While there are still some drops from Jalen Brown, moments where the focus isn’t dialed in just yet despite the ball being on the money, Norvell said the redshirt freshman “has a chance to be an impact player.” There’s a reason why he’s atop the depth chart for one of FSU’s three receiving spots.
DJ Uiagalelei was hit-and-miss on Wednesday. His hits are quite good, though, including in 11-on-11 when he lofted a pass that dropped in the bucket and was caught by Douglas in tight coverage. His misses are at times a result of indecisiveness as he goes through progressions and some inconsistencies with his footwork that prompt a pass to go too high or off target.
Brock Glenn was also inconsistent on the day, missing some shorter and intermediate passes. He hit Lawayne McCoy late in practice on a deep throw as well as showed good touch to Landen Thomas on a short pass along the sideline.
Uiagalelei spoke after practice about absorbing the enormity of the playbook and then seeing it filtered down to what was specific to this week’s game plan vs. GT. Look for more from him later today.
We’ve followed the pursuit of tight end depth throughout camp and mentioned a variety of names. In particular to Wednesday, Jackson West had a good, contested grab down the sideline. We also saw some nice catches by Brian Courtney and Thomas.
Azareye’h Thomas had a diving interception off a high pass that was tipped off an intended receiver, which sums up the competitiveness we’ve seen from him in camp. Ricky Knight also had an interception.
Edwin Joseph also had a pass break-up in 11-on-11.
FSU will hold a practice (closed) on Thursday in Dublin. Curt Weiler will cover Friday’s practice in Dublin.
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