After a bye week off from practice, the Florida State football team was back at practice Tuesday morning for the first of two availabilities this week before Saturday's game vs. Memphis (Noon on ESPN).
Mike Norvell said he thought it was a good day of work and that the team didn't appear to be pressing as he is pushing for them to play more calmly after he believed they struggled a bit in this capacity over the first two weeks of the season. Here are our observations from the day of work:
It might not surprise you to hear that the offense didn't get off to the best start to Tuesday's practice. However, I thought the offense closed out very well and ended the day on a strong. This is especially true at quarterback. In my estimation, Brock Glenn was the best quarterback on the day. He balled out in 1-on-1s, managed the offense well in third-down work with a few runs to pick up first downs and generally operated things well. After a slower start, DJ Uiagalelei ended the day better, starting with an excellent deep ball down the seam to Kyle Morlock in good-on-good 11-on-11, with the tight end making a great full-extension catch to secure the pass for a sizable pickup of 30ish yards. Luke Kromenhoek also had a nice day that showed off his arm's potential. Amidst some freshman moments, he had quite a few gunslinger moments, rocketing passes over the middle of the field and down the sidelines, connecting with Elijah Moore (who made a great downfield catch through contact) and Micahi Danzy (newly promoted from the scout team, made a great adjustment on a ball down the sideline to secure a catch.
Another passing-game target who stood out Tuesday was freshman tight end Landen Thomas. After he was a bit limited this preseason, he looks to be rounding into his impressive spring form early this season. He was a frequent target during passing periods Tuesday and ended the day with a really nice one-handed catch on a slightly-high pass against the scout team. In the run game, a few of the depth pieces were the flashiest during Tuesday's practice. Both Sam Singleton Jr. and Caziah Holmes broke a few runs in team periods.
I thought it was an encouraging day from the starting defensive ends in practice. On the first two team period reps of the day in the red zone, Pat Payton had a near-instant pressure to force an errant pass and then had a "tackle for loss" the very next play to set up a third and long. Later on, he added a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage after unleashing a really nice spin move to beat his blocker. Marvin Jones Jr. had a strip sack during a later goal-line team rep, rushing off the edge and knocking the ball out of the quarterback's hands right before they threw it. If FSU is able to set up more advantageous third down situations for the defense, that may help create more pass-rush opportunities for this pair to show off their speed and playmaking ability we haven't seen much of through two games. KJ Sampson also had a "sack" of Kromenhoek during a team period.
On the Mission Takeaway front, Shyheim Brown had an interception during 1-on-1s Tuesday and Azareye'h Thomas nearly added another on a diving pass breakup during a middle 11-on-11 period.
We'll be back out here Wednesday morning for the final practice availability of the week before Saturday afternoon's game.
Mike Norvell said he thought it was a good day of work and that the team didn't appear to be pressing as he is pushing for them to play more calmly after he believed they struggled a bit in this capacity over the first two weeks of the season. Here are our observations from the day of work:
It might not surprise you to hear that the offense didn't get off to the best start to Tuesday's practice. However, I thought the offense closed out very well and ended the day on a strong. This is especially true at quarterback. In my estimation, Brock Glenn was the best quarterback on the day. He balled out in 1-on-1s, managed the offense well in third-down work with a few runs to pick up first downs and generally operated things well. After a slower start, DJ Uiagalelei ended the day better, starting with an excellent deep ball down the seam to Kyle Morlock in good-on-good 11-on-11, with the tight end making a great full-extension catch to secure the pass for a sizable pickup of 30ish yards. Luke Kromenhoek also had a nice day that showed off his arm's potential. Amidst some freshman moments, he had quite a few gunslinger moments, rocketing passes over the middle of the field and down the sidelines, connecting with Elijah Moore (who made a great downfield catch through contact) and Micahi Danzy (newly promoted from the scout team, made a great adjustment on a ball down the sideline to secure a catch.
Another passing-game target who stood out Tuesday was freshman tight end Landen Thomas. After he was a bit limited this preseason, he looks to be rounding into his impressive spring form early this season. He was a frequent target during passing periods Tuesday and ended the day with a really nice one-handed catch on a slightly-high pass against the scout team. In the run game, a few of the depth pieces were the flashiest during Tuesday's practice. Both Sam Singleton Jr. and Caziah Holmes broke a few runs in team periods.
I thought it was an encouraging day from the starting defensive ends in practice. On the first two team period reps of the day in the red zone, Pat Payton had a near-instant pressure to force an errant pass and then had a "tackle for loss" the very next play to set up a third and long. Later on, he added a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage after unleashing a really nice spin move to beat his blocker. Marvin Jones Jr. had a strip sack during a later goal-line team rep, rushing off the edge and knocking the ball out of the quarterback's hands right before they threw it. If FSU is able to set up more advantageous third down situations for the defense, that may help create more pass-rush opportunities for this pair to show off their speed and playmaking ability we haven't seen much of through two games. KJ Sampson also had a "sack" of Kromenhoek during a team period.
On the Mission Takeaway front, Shyheim Brown had an interception during 1-on-1s Tuesday and Azareye'h Thomas nearly added another on a diving pass breakup during a middle 11-on-11 period.
We'll be back out here Wednesday morning for the final practice availability of the week before Saturday afternoon's game.
