Florida State Fall Camp Observations: Practice 18
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The final few days of the preseason have arrived for the Florida State Seminoles. After two physical practices to begin the week, the team wore helmets and pants on Thursday morning to limit contact. Head coach Mike Norvell said after the session that the Seminoles will be back in pads on Friday.
NoleGameday was in attendance for the session and we've listed some observations from different position groups and players below.
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— Thursday was a shorter, less physical practice after two tough practices where Norvell mentioned that players were still hitting their top speeds of camp. Throughout a less than two-hour session, the majority of the focus surrounded fundamentals and different aspects of special teams.
— There was a ton of different special teams work. Early in practice, the coaching staff put an emphasis on punt and punt return. The punt team was trying to have players in position to down punts around the goal line. Wide receiver Mycah Pittman still appears to be the most natural punt returner on the roster.
— Later in the day, the Seminoles spent a fair amount of time working on different kicking situations, including onside kicks. Norvell worked with the group on deciding when to fair catch a kick versus attacking and recovering it.
— Wide receiver Mycah Pittman muffed an onside kick that bounced in an odd direction early in the drill. A few minutes later, a kick came his way on a hop again and Pittman instantly got on top of it, drawing praise from Norvell and special teams coordinator John Papuchis.
— Norvell was happy with a few onside kicks from kicker Ryan Fitzgerald and punter Mac Chiumento.
— The Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, and Kansas City Chiefs had representatives in attendance on Thursday. It appeared that the Bengals and Chiefs were watching Jammie Robinson while the Titans, Colts, Packers, and Ravens focused on the defensive line.
Offense:
— Make it back-to-back days for wide receiver Ontaria Wilson with a nifty catch. After coming down with a tough catch yesterday, Wilson did it again on Thursday morning. Quarterback Jordan Travis looked deep but he was forced to check down to Wilson. The ball was low and too far in front of the redshirt senior but he made an impressive effort to control his body and use his fingertips to reel it in.
— Florida State is still finding a balance with Joshua Burrell at wide receiver and running back. He had a nice catch out of the backfield early in practice.
— Quarterback AJ Duffy delivered one of the best throws of the day towards the beginning of practice. With pressure in his face, Duffy threw deep to walk-on wide receiver Mike Roussos and placed the ball over his shoulder where only the receiver could bring it in. The whistle might've been blown before the pass but it was a good delivery regardless. A few players earlier, Duffy and Roussos connected on the sideline with a nice pass outside of the pocket while on the move.
— Harder to note on the offensive line and defensive line when the pads aren't popping but thought veteran Dillan Gibbons showed nice awareness and positioning on a few pull blocks.
— Wide receiver Johnny Wilson scored a touchdown on a hail mary.
Defense:
— The top play on the defense was made possible by a deflection from true freshman defensive back Azareye'h Thomas. He tipped a pass that was slightly behind wide receiver Malik McClain. Linebacker Brendan Gant showed excellent body control to adjust and intercept the deflection.
— The defense was bringing pressure in a variety of ways to confuse the offense. Shyheim Brown, Patrick Payton, Amari Gainer, Daniel Lyons, and George Wilson all got to the quarterback at different times.
— Defensive back Akeem Dent and Renardo Green both had pass deflections on the day. This has been Green's most consistent week of fall practice after a standout performance over the offseason. Green picked off passes on Tuesday and Wednesday.
— The defensive backs were focused on knocking passes down in the end zone during positional drills. Kevin Knowles and Jarrian Jones each had athletic interceptions where they high-pointed the football and came down with. Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller was happy with both of their efforts.
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Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout fall camp.
