Sorry I didn't post these earlier. Long day with interviews, practice, and then the trip to California for the Sweet 16.
This is pretty heavy on offense. I’m sure Corey and Gene will focus more on defense Friday. But here are some thoughts and observations:
New approach, but an old and familiar feel
As Corey wrote Wednesday in his column, the energy and enthusiasm was the biggest difference between FSU’s first spring practice under Willie Taggart and what has taken place on FSU’s practice fields in recent years.
I won’t spend a lot of time on that since Corey did a nice job of summing it up, but I will share some insights from a conversation I had with a former player who came out for the practice. This was a Bowden-era player, but it was one who occasionally attended Fisher’s practices as well.
He felt that the energy and competition at Wednesday’s practice was much closer to what he recalled from his playing days. While Bowden certainly didn’t have rock, hip hop or even country music piped in to the practice fields, the practices were designed to foster competition – and that is where the spirit came from.
One of the changes Fisher made to FSU’s practice routine when he took over in 2010 was to split the team onto two practice fields. The 1s and 3s would be on one field, while the 2s and 4s would be on the other. The reason for that change was efficiency. By using that system, the Seminoles essentially were able to conduct two practices at once. It’s something Fisher did previously with Nick Saban when they were at LSU.
But there was a tradeoff there.
The downside to it, at least in this player’s opinion, was that it dampened some of the competition at practice. It reduced the number of quality players who would be going against each other at any given time, and it also removed some of the emotions that came with having everyone together – cheering on big plays and giving grief to players who lost those battles.
There are pluses and minuses to every system. And clearly, Fisher’s approach wasn’t much of a problem during the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons, when the Seminoles posted a combined record of 39-3. But one could make a case that those years were carried by a unique set of players – both in terms of talent and personality. On top of that, there was a different mix of assistant coaches.
Whether due to one of those reasons – or a combination of several – everyone at practice Wednesday could sense the difference. Now, we’ll see if that is maintained over the long haul. It’s easy to bring energy at the start of the spring. It’s another to still have an abundance of it three weeks from now.
Evaluating the QBs
All things conssidered, I thought all three of FSU’s quarterbacks showed promise Wednesday.
James Blackman was the most impressive of the bunch. He appeared to be very comfortable running Taggart’s offense and made a bunch of really nice throws. Some of his deep throws were just beautiful, and he has developed very good timing with FSU’s receivers. You can see that they've put in a lot of work together in informal passing drills.
I thought Bailey Hockman and Deondre Francois had their moments as well, but I don’t think either delivered as many “wow” plays as Blackman. Of course, Francois is still limping pretty good and spent part of Wednesday doing light work on the side.
Plenty of skill on offense
For all the hype about Florida State’s running backs – and it is well-deserved – the Seminoles’ wide receivers showed plenty of playmaking ability on Wednesday as well.
There are only four healthy scholarship wide receivers right now, as George Campbell was with the group of players rehabbing injuries. But the ones who participated on the first day – Nyqwan Murray, D.J. Matthews, Tamorrion Terry and Keith Gavin – all flashed at different times.
Terry, a 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman, was particularly impressive on several deep balls. And Matthews seemed to pick up right where he left off at the end of last season. You could already sense that Taggart is looking to get the ball to Matthews on quick passes, which should allow him to make plays after the catch.
Murray sustained a minor knee injury during practice, but it did not appear to be serious.
Mixing and matching on the OL
Not only are all of the starting jobs across the offense and defense up for grabs, but Taggart wouldn’t even admit to having a depth chart right now. He said most of the starting positions early this spring are based on experience and/or who performed well in offseason conditioning drills. He cautioned that it all would be a fluid situation.
That seemed to be the case with the offensive line, as OL coach Greg Frey checked out a number of linemen at different positions on Wednesday.
The first offensive line appeared to be Jauan Williams at left tackle, Derrick Kelly at left guard, Corey Martinez at center, Cole Minshew at right guard and Josh Ball at right tackle. (Alec Eberle was with the rehab group.)
The second line looked to be Mike Arnold at left tackle, Landon Dickerson at left guard, Brady Scott at center, Christian Armstrong at right guard and Abdul Bello at right tackle.
Several players seemed to be cross-training at several positions throughout the practice.
Tempo is going to take some getting used to
Before Wednesday’s practice, I asked Taggart how he prepares the players for playing and practicing at the breakneck tempo he wants to use in games. And he said it will be a work in progress. He said the players aren’t being asked to execute much of their playbook yet, so that helps. And he said there undoubtedly would be some rough patches – players lining up wrong, turning the wrong way, etc.
That was pretty apparent Wednesday. When the Seminoles got to the periods when they turned up the pace, there were some chaotic moments. There were other times when the execution was pretty good, but it’s clearly gonna take a little time before FSU looks comfortable practicing at that pace.
This is pretty heavy on offense. I’m sure Corey and Gene will focus more on defense Friday. But here are some thoughts and observations:
New approach, but an old and familiar feel
As Corey wrote Wednesday in his column, the energy and enthusiasm was the biggest difference between FSU’s first spring practice under Willie Taggart and what has taken place on FSU’s practice fields in recent years.
I won’t spend a lot of time on that since Corey did a nice job of summing it up, but I will share some insights from a conversation I had with a former player who came out for the practice. This was a Bowden-era player, but it was one who occasionally attended Fisher’s practices as well.
He felt that the energy and competition at Wednesday’s practice was much closer to what he recalled from his playing days. While Bowden certainly didn’t have rock, hip hop or even country music piped in to the practice fields, the practices were designed to foster competition – and that is where the spirit came from.
One of the changes Fisher made to FSU’s practice routine when he took over in 2010 was to split the team onto two practice fields. The 1s and 3s would be on one field, while the 2s and 4s would be on the other. The reason for that change was efficiency. By using that system, the Seminoles essentially were able to conduct two practices at once. It’s something Fisher did previously with Nick Saban when they were at LSU.
But there was a tradeoff there.
The downside to it, at least in this player’s opinion, was that it dampened some of the competition at practice. It reduced the number of quality players who would be going against each other at any given time, and it also removed some of the emotions that came with having everyone together – cheering on big plays and giving grief to players who lost those battles.
There are pluses and minuses to every system. And clearly, Fisher’s approach wasn’t much of a problem during the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons, when the Seminoles posted a combined record of 39-3. But one could make a case that those years were carried by a unique set of players – both in terms of talent and personality. On top of that, there was a different mix of assistant coaches.
Whether due to one of those reasons – or a combination of several – everyone at practice Wednesday could sense the difference. Now, we’ll see if that is maintained over the long haul. It’s easy to bring energy at the start of the spring. It’s another to still have an abundance of it three weeks from now.
Evaluating the QBs
All things conssidered, I thought all three of FSU’s quarterbacks showed promise Wednesday.
James Blackman was the most impressive of the bunch. He appeared to be very comfortable running Taggart’s offense and made a bunch of really nice throws. Some of his deep throws were just beautiful, and he has developed very good timing with FSU’s receivers. You can see that they've put in a lot of work together in informal passing drills.
I thought Bailey Hockman and Deondre Francois had their moments as well, but I don’t think either delivered as many “wow” plays as Blackman. Of course, Francois is still limping pretty good and spent part of Wednesday doing light work on the side.
Plenty of skill on offense
For all the hype about Florida State’s running backs – and it is well-deserved – the Seminoles’ wide receivers showed plenty of playmaking ability on Wednesday as well.
There are only four healthy scholarship wide receivers right now, as George Campbell was with the group of players rehabbing injuries. But the ones who participated on the first day – Nyqwan Murray, D.J. Matthews, Tamorrion Terry and Keith Gavin – all flashed at different times.
Terry, a 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman, was particularly impressive on several deep balls. And Matthews seemed to pick up right where he left off at the end of last season. You could already sense that Taggart is looking to get the ball to Matthews on quick passes, which should allow him to make plays after the catch.
Murray sustained a minor knee injury during practice, but it did not appear to be serious.
Mixing and matching on the OL
Not only are all of the starting jobs across the offense and defense up for grabs, but Taggart wouldn’t even admit to having a depth chart right now. He said most of the starting positions early this spring are based on experience and/or who performed well in offseason conditioning drills. He cautioned that it all would be a fluid situation.
That seemed to be the case with the offensive line, as OL coach Greg Frey checked out a number of linemen at different positions on Wednesday.
The first offensive line appeared to be Jauan Williams at left tackle, Derrick Kelly at left guard, Corey Martinez at center, Cole Minshew at right guard and Josh Ball at right tackle. (Alec Eberle was with the rehab group.)
The second line looked to be Mike Arnold at left tackle, Landon Dickerson at left guard, Brady Scott at center, Christian Armstrong at right guard and Abdul Bello at right tackle.
Several players seemed to be cross-training at several positions throughout the practice.
Tempo is going to take some getting used to
Before Wednesday’s practice, I asked Taggart how he prepares the players for playing and practicing at the breakneck tempo he wants to use in games. And he said it will be a work in progress. He said the players aren’t being asked to execute much of their playbook yet, so that helps. And he said there undoubtedly would be some rough patches – players lining up wrong, turning the wrong way, etc.
That was pretty apparent Wednesday. When the Seminoles got to the periods when they turned up the pace, there were some chaotic moments. There were other times when the execution was pretty good, but it’s clearly gonna take a little time before FSU looks comfortable practicing at that pace.
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