Florida State at North Carolina State: Tuesday Practice Observations
Florida State held its first open practice session of the week on a cool Tuesday morning in Tallahassee. The Seminoles are moving forward after their first loss of the season as the team now has its eyes set on North Carolina State. Following the practice, head coach Mike Norvell liked what he saw.
READ MORE: Florida State releases Depth Chart for North Carolina State Wolfpack
NoleGameday was in attendance for the session and we've listed some observations from different position groups and players below.
— The Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, and Indianapolis Colts had representatives at practice.
— Crowd noise returned on Tuesday morning with Florida State preparing for its second road game of the season. The noise hasn't been cranked up over the last two weeks while the Seminoles prepared for home games against Boston College and Wake Forest. It didn't seem to have any effect on the players at this point in the year.
— Starting kicker Ryan Fitzgerald went 3/3 during practice while backup Aidan Shahriari went 2/2. Fitzgerald was good from roughly 40, 32 and 40 yards. Shariari connected from 28 and 40 yards out. His second attempt would've likely been good from 50+ yards out. Norvell observed the kickers very closely as he crouched on one knee while being in each players' peripheral vision. There was also a speaker playing crowd noise that was pointed directly at the kickers while they went through attempts.
OFFENSE:
— Running back Rodney Hill found some room to the right side during two-minute drills. Other than, the offense couldn't get much going during the session.
— Quarterback Jordan Travis rolled out of the pocket and hit wide receiver Deuce Spann on the sideline. Spann made an impressive grab with a defensive back all over him by corraling the ball with strong hands.
— Later at the goal line, Travis put perfect touch on a throw to the corner of the end zone for Malik McClain. The ball sailed right over the defensive backs and into an area where only McClain could reel it in for a touchdown. The offense ran over to celebrate the catch afterward. In 7-on-7, Travis connected with tight end Markeston Douglas. On his next rep, he threaded a ball past a defensive back's backside shoulder to find Mycah Pittman down the seam. He ended practice by hitting Cam McDonald on the sideline. Overall, it was a solid day for the redshirt junior.
— Running back Lawrance Toafili got loose for a big gain after shaking linebacker Brendan Gant with a nice move. Logan called it the "stanky leg." Toafili caught a pass out of the backfield for a first down in 7-on-7.
— Running back Trey Benson caught a pass to the right side and it looked like he would be stopped. Instead, Benson put a foot in the ground and cut up field past the defense for one of the longest plays of the day. After the play, he jogged back to the huddle with a smile on his face while watching the replay on the video board.
— Running back Treshaun Ward brought in a pass out of the backfield during 7-on-7.
— Walk-on wide receiver Mike Roussos made a few big plays during practice. He won back to back reps in 1-on-1's by going up vertical over two defensive backs. Roussos did it again during 7-on-7 and earned some praise from a couple of coaches.
DEFENSE:
— Defensive back Jarrian Jones put together a consistent outing on Tuesday. He made the biggest splash play for the defense on the day on a ball that was thrown deep in 1-on-1's. Jones tipped the ball then somehow got another hand on it to bobble it to himself for an interception. He broke up a pass in 7-on-7 as well.
— Defensive back Renardo Green was rewarded for being in the right position in 1-on-1s when a receiver fell down and a football hit him directly in the chest for an interception.
— Defensive back Sam McCall baited quarterback Tate Rodemaker in team drills. Rodemaker fell for it and McCall bit back to pick the pass off.
— Defensive end Jared Verse looked very explosive throughout the session. It appears that he's continuing to make progress after contributing in a limited role against Wake Forest.
— Defensive tackle Bishop Thomas stonewalled the second team offensive line to make a tackle at the line of scrimmage. On the next play, walk-on defensive lineman Malaik Menzer held up Julian Armella to force another stop for no gain.
READ MORE: Kickoff time announced for Florida State's home game against Clemson
Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the season.
