And with the start of Florida State preseason camp, comes another time-honored tradition: Getting a glance of the team's freshmen.
Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff signed what Rivals rated as the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation in February. Six months later, those players are now on campus and taking part in their first day of practice.
FSU had seven players enroll early and for freshmen like Cam Akers, Joshua Kaindoh and Stanford Samuels, they've had some experience. Here's some observations of what it was like for the rest of the freshman class.
James Blackman, QB: Listed at 6-foot-5 and 169 pounds, he looks every bit the part. He's got an extremely long stride and when he throws, it's quite different compared to other quarterbacks. His delivery is that of a taller quarterback. J.J. Cosentino, who is also 6-5, has a flatter trajectory which is common. Blackman throws downward. He can still make the passes but it's just different. Also, it was a contrast to see him throw with Bailey Hockman. Hockman has power and that's well-known. Blackman has power but its different. That said, his throws seem a lot easier to corral than Hockman's to this point.
Khalan Laborn, RB: You know, the "other" five-star running back? For starters, he's wearing the No. 4 jersey. Take that for what you will. His size stands out right away. He's listed at 5-11 and 209 yet is built really well for a first-year player. It's almost like he's had a year or two in a college program based off what we observed. He had no issue in the ball carrier drill where he dragged a teammate holding an elastic band attached to the football.
Tamorrion Terry, WR: Anyone who looks at Terry can see the potential. He's big, fast and can jump to no end. That said, he's still raw. Receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey had Terry re-do the cone drill because his feet were too fast. Terry looked better on the second try. It's still Day 1 but based off what we did get to see, he looks pretty fascinating.
Hamsah Nasirldeen, DB: Nasrildeen is built like Derwin James or Ermon Lane with a 6-4 and 219 frame. During drills, he showed some decent footwork but you can tell where he needs to improve in order to stay with quicker receivers or tight ends. Charles Kelly has a lot to work with in the seasons to come.
Zaquandre White, RB: He's another running back in this class who has some size. We got to see him do a ball carrier drill and White has strength. He didn't have any problems in the drill. White looked good, it was just that Akers and Laborn looked better.
Marvin Wilson, DT: Really, really easy to see why he was the No. 2 prospect last year. Wilson was technically sound and his footwork was extremely solid. He's 6-5 and 332 pounds and yet doesn't look like he's anywhere close to being too big. For his build, he looked really well put together and athletic.
Ontaria Wilson, DB: Wilson was fluid during drills. He looks a little smaller than his 6-foot and 165-pound bio indicates. He could be those numbers but when compared to guys like James, Lane and Tarvarus McFadden, Wilson appears smaller. Still, he appeared consistent in drills.
D.J. Matthews, WR: Lot to like here. Then again, he was a four-star out of high school. He's 5-10 and 151 pounds. He'll need to put on some weight but Matthews looked really quick when he was running drills. Matthews also has some quick hands given how he snatched the ball out of the air.
Leonard Warner, LB: This one was hard to assess. The linebackers were doing a bizarre drills where they were on their knees and their hands were behind their back. The objective was to see how far they could move by pushing off their knees. Warner looked OK doing it.
Ja'len Parks, DT: Parks had a moment during chute drills when his technique was not the strongest. Odell Haggins worked with him and he got it right the second time. Beyond that, it was pretty straightforward.
Alexander Marshall, TE: At 6-8 and 233, there's no denying he could some day be used in the red zone. Marshall moves really well for his size and was able to release quickly off the block. His only blemish was a dropped ball during drills. That said, he might have the best tattoo of any first year player.
Cory Durden, DT: Durden looked good in drills. He was paired with Wilson and seemed to hold his own in regards to his technique.
Tre' Lawson, DE: Lawson is 6-6 and 250 but he's not the lean defensive end comparable to Josh Sweat. He's build more like DeMarcus Walker and did OK during drills.
Brady Scott, OL: He's out for a bit. Something about a scooter accident. You may have seen it on Twitter last week.
Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff signed what Rivals rated as the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation in February. Six months later, those players are now on campus and taking part in their first day of practice.
FSU had seven players enroll early and for freshmen like Cam Akers, Joshua Kaindoh and Stanford Samuels, they've had some experience. Here's some observations of what it was like for the rest of the freshman class.
James Blackman, QB: Listed at 6-foot-5 and 169 pounds, he looks every bit the part. He's got an extremely long stride and when he throws, it's quite different compared to other quarterbacks. His delivery is that of a taller quarterback. J.J. Cosentino, who is also 6-5, has a flatter trajectory which is common. Blackman throws downward. He can still make the passes but it's just different. Also, it was a contrast to see him throw with Bailey Hockman. Hockman has power and that's well-known. Blackman has power but its different. That said, his throws seem a lot easier to corral than Hockman's to this point.
Khalan Laborn, RB: You know, the "other" five-star running back? For starters, he's wearing the No. 4 jersey. Take that for what you will. His size stands out right away. He's listed at 5-11 and 209 yet is built really well for a first-year player. It's almost like he's had a year or two in a college program based off what we observed. He had no issue in the ball carrier drill where he dragged a teammate holding an elastic band attached to the football.
Tamorrion Terry, WR: Anyone who looks at Terry can see the potential. He's big, fast and can jump to no end. That said, he's still raw. Receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey had Terry re-do the cone drill because his feet were too fast. Terry looked better on the second try. It's still Day 1 but based off what we did get to see, he looks pretty fascinating.
Hamsah Nasirldeen, DB: Nasrildeen is built like Derwin James or Ermon Lane with a 6-4 and 219 frame. During drills, he showed some decent footwork but you can tell where he needs to improve in order to stay with quicker receivers or tight ends. Charles Kelly has a lot to work with in the seasons to come.
Zaquandre White, RB: He's another running back in this class who has some size. We got to see him do a ball carrier drill and White has strength. He didn't have any problems in the drill. White looked good, it was just that Akers and Laborn looked better.
Marvin Wilson, DT: Really, really easy to see why he was the No. 2 prospect last year. Wilson was technically sound and his footwork was extremely solid. He's 6-5 and 332 pounds and yet doesn't look like he's anywhere close to being too big. For his build, he looked really well put together and athletic.
Ontaria Wilson, DB: Wilson was fluid during drills. He looks a little smaller than his 6-foot and 165-pound bio indicates. He could be those numbers but when compared to guys like James, Lane and Tarvarus McFadden, Wilson appears smaller. Still, he appeared consistent in drills.
D.J. Matthews, WR: Lot to like here. Then again, he was a four-star out of high school. He's 5-10 and 151 pounds. He'll need to put on some weight but Matthews looked really quick when he was running drills. Matthews also has some quick hands given how he snatched the ball out of the air.
Leonard Warner, LB: This one was hard to assess. The linebackers were doing a bizarre drills where they were on their knees and their hands were behind their back. The objective was to see how far they could move by pushing off their knees. Warner looked OK doing it.
Ja'len Parks, DT: Parks had a moment during chute drills when his technique was not the strongest. Odell Haggins worked with him and he got it right the second time. Beyond that, it was pretty straightforward.
Alexander Marshall, TE: At 6-8 and 233, there's no denying he could some day be used in the red zone. Marshall moves really well for his size and was able to release quickly off the block. His only blemish was a dropped ball during drills. That said, he might have the best tattoo of any first year player.
Cory Durden, DT: Durden looked good in drills. He was paired with Wilson and seemed to hold his own in regards to his technique.
Tre' Lawson, DE: Lawson is 6-6 and 250 but he's not the lean defensive end comparable to Josh Sweat. He's build more like DeMarcus Walker and did OK during drills.
Brady Scott, OL: He's out for a bit. Something about a scooter accident. You may have seen it on Twitter last week.
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