Florida State at Louisville: Monday Practice Observations
The Seminoles hit the practice field on Monday morning to continue preparations for Louisville. This is a short week so the schedule has essentially been moved up a day for the team. Today was essentially a Tuesday practice, tomorrow will mirror Wednesday, and so on. Head coach Mike Norvell challenged the team throughout the practice.
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NoleGameday was in attendance for the session and we've listed some observations from different position groups and players below.
— Florida State had crowd noise playing from the beginning of Monday's practice. The Seminoles will get their first taste of a true road game on Friday night and it's clear that the coaching staff doesn't want noise to throw the team off its rhythm.
OFFENSE:
— The offense started clicking early with Jordan Travis connecting with both Malik McClain and Mycah Pittman to get into the red zone. McClain came away with a nice contested catch down the middle able to keep the ball tight to his chest for a 10-yard completion. Pittman has been in a stride during the last couple of practices with Travis. Those two continue to build chemistry early in the season. Mike Norvell made sure to let Travis that he was happy with the drive.
— Travis hung in the pocket to hit Pittman again later in the session.
— Wide receiver Darion Williamson made the catch of the day during goal line drills. Travis threw into the end zone and Williamson went up into the air while sealing off Kevin Knowles to come down with the score. He made his first appearance on the two-deep this season on Monday's depth chart.
— Wide receiver Johnny Wilson beat cornerback Jarrian Jones down the sideline for a big gain in one on ones.
— Walk-on wide receiver Mike Roussos came down with a tremendous catch after going up with Kevin Knowles in coverage. Solid coverage by Knowles but Roussos simply made a good play.
— Tight end Wyatt Rector beat a safety downfield and Travis hit him with a perfect over-the-shoulder pass.
— Wide receiver Deuce Spann came back to the ball to make a big play downfield in one on ones.
— Wide receiver Kentron Poitier outran his man for a deep ball.
— Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson pulled down a pass with Greedy Vance all over him. Wilson even drew a flag on the play.
— Running back Trey Benson displayed his patience on a few runs in third and short and on the goal line. He waited for his blockers to open up the hole before hitting it for positive yardage.
— Preston Daniel and Markeston Douglas caught back to back touchdown passes. Cam McDonald also pulled down a pass during team drills. Brian Courtney got some praise for his pursuit on special teams. Good day overall from the tight end group.
— Quarterback AJ Duffy delivered a deep ball to Poitier for a touchdown.
— Running back Treshaun Ward had a huge gain down the sideline after Travis found him with no one in the area.
DEFENSE:
— Defensive back Malik Feaster recorded an interception in team drills early on in practice with a nice play on the ball deep down the field. Feaster is slowly getting a hang onto the defense and we’ll continue to keep an eye on him as he develops into Adam Fuller’s defense.
— Linebacker Brendan Gant read and attacked a route on a throw from Tate Rodemaker. Gant was able to break up the pass as it hit a tight end's hands. He broke up another pass later in the session. Gant was listed on the depth chart for Louisville as a co-reserve at linebacker with Amari Gainer.
— Defensive end Byron Turner beat an offensive lineman and brought down a running back at the line of scrimmage.
— Cornerback Kevin Knowles undercut a route from Mycah Pittman to pick off a pass from Jordan Travis. Knowles deflected a pass later in practice.
— Cornerback Sam McCall forced a pass break-up against Darion Williamson.
— True freshman cornerback Azareye'h Thomas had a pretty good day for the defense. He played tight coverage to break up a pass in one on on ones. Thomas deflected a ball for Joshua Burrell in 7-on-7. He got his hands on another for his third break-up of the day before the period was over.
— A pass hit wide receiver Johnny Wilson in the hands on the sideline but cornerback Renardo Green was in position to swat it out.
— Defensive tackle Bishop Thomas came away with a fumble recovery. Later, he beat a blocker across their face to stop a running play in its tracks.
— Veteran cornerback Jarrian Jones pulled down two interceptions on Monday. He picked off an overthrown pass that was intended for Williamson. Jones intercepted another pass against the scout team on a ball that he tipped to himself.
— Defensive tackle Malcolm Ray made a tackle for loss.
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