Florida State was back at work Wednesday morning, holding its final practice availability of the week before Saturday night's home matchup against ACC newcomer Cal.
FSU head coach Mike Norvell said afterwards that he thought the FSU defense had one of its better practices. It's become harder to ascertain how practice has translated over to games (spoiler: not very well) but I do agree with Norvell's assessment. The defense, especially the secondary, brought quite a high energy level to Wednesday morning's practice, talking quite a bit and hyping each up during plays. Redshirt freshman safety K.J. Kirkland said after practice that this was a player-led decision that they hoped would spark the team as a whole as it remains in pursuit of that elusive first win of the 2024 season.
This was most evident during 1-on-1s against the wide receivers in the middle of practice. The secondary played with quite a bit of swagger and was winning reps at an impressive rate. There were a few reps won by the passing game -- Brock Glenn had a great deep ball to Ja'Khi Douglas and Jackson West fooled Conrad Hussey with some impressive footwork for an open catch in the end zone. On the whole, though, the secondary won the day. It was a throwback of sorts to when the FSU secondary had a quite impressive stretch in the middle of preseason camp.
Hussey almost had an interception early in the practice, jumping a route over the middle of the field in 11-on-11 work. Sione Lolohea also had a "sack" of DJ Uiagalelei during this period. Fentrell Cypress made a great play on the goal line, knocking down a pass in the back of the end zone and drawing a big reaction from his defensive teammates. Azareye'h Thomas also made quite a few plays on the ball in 11-on-11 work Wednesday, denying a few coverages with active hands and tight coverage.
The first team period of Wednesday's practice saw the offense tasked with trying to get points in a one-minute drill situation. The offense marched across midfield with a pair of short catches by Kyle Morlock, a catch by Amaree Williams and a defensive holding penalty. However, the offense ran out of time and Ryan Fitzgerald was unable to hit a 61-yard field goal.
The offense's best period of work came on the goal line near the end of practice with touchdowns scored on at least three straight plays, maybe even a fourth if a low pass was caught (a bit unclear). DJ Uiagalelei found Landen Thomas for a touchdown and then Douglas -- who had an impactful day in all phases -- for another. In between those, Brock Glenn took off and scampered his way for a touchdown run. Glenn also had a touchdown pass to Elijah Moore during this period.
Shortly after that in red-zone work, Glenn had probably the best throw of the day, a back-shoulder pass to Kyle Morlock which he caught while on the move through tight coverage for a really impressive touchdown.
FSU head coach Mike Norvell said afterwards that he thought the FSU defense had one of its better practices. It's become harder to ascertain how practice has translated over to games (spoiler: not very well) but I do agree with Norvell's assessment. The defense, especially the secondary, brought quite a high energy level to Wednesday morning's practice, talking quite a bit and hyping each up during plays. Redshirt freshman safety K.J. Kirkland said after practice that this was a player-led decision that they hoped would spark the team as a whole as it remains in pursuit of that elusive first win of the 2024 season.
This was most evident during 1-on-1s against the wide receivers in the middle of practice. The secondary played with quite a bit of swagger and was winning reps at an impressive rate. There were a few reps won by the passing game -- Brock Glenn had a great deep ball to Ja'Khi Douglas and Jackson West fooled Conrad Hussey with some impressive footwork for an open catch in the end zone. On the whole, though, the secondary won the day. It was a throwback of sorts to when the FSU secondary had a quite impressive stretch in the middle of preseason camp.
Hussey almost had an interception early in the practice, jumping a route over the middle of the field in 11-on-11 work. Sione Lolohea also had a "sack" of DJ Uiagalelei during this period. Fentrell Cypress made a great play on the goal line, knocking down a pass in the back of the end zone and drawing a big reaction from his defensive teammates. Azareye'h Thomas also made quite a few plays on the ball in 11-on-11 work Wednesday, denying a few coverages with active hands and tight coverage.
The first team period of Wednesday's practice saw the offense tasked with trying to get points in a one-minute drill situation. The offense marched across midfield with a pair of short catches by Kyle Morlock, a catch by Amaree Williams and a defensive holding penalty. However, the offense ran out of time and Ryan Fitzgerald was unable to hit a 61-yard field goal.
The offense's best period of work came on the goal line near the end of practice with touchdowns scored on at least three straight plays, maybe even a fourth if a low pass was caught (a bit unclear). DJ Uiagalelei found Landen Thomas for a touchdown and then Douglas -- who had an impactful day in all phases -- for another. In between those, Brock Glenn took off and scampered his way for a touchdown run. Glenn also had a touchdown pass to Elijah Moore during this period.
Shortly after that in red-zone work, Glenn had probably the best throw of the day, a back-shoulder pass to Kyle Morlock which he caught while on the move through tight coverage for a really impressive touchdown.
