FSU Football Fall Camp Observations: Seminoles Return To Practice Fields With Plenty Of Enthusiasm
Thursday marked the beginning of Florida State's preseason camp as the team gears up for a competitive couple of weeks under the sweltering Tallahassee sun. Make no mistake about it, this is going to be a challenging period but it's going to tell Mike Norvell a lot about this group's ability to overcome adversity and their mental toughness.
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The first couple of days will revolve around fundamentals and the small details while the Seminoles work their way into the pads.
NoleGameday was in attendance for the entire practice and jotted down some observations from the opening day of camp.
— Florida State legend Lamarcus Joyner was at the session after speaking with the team on Wednesday night.
— As we've seen previously, Florida State has separated the offense and defense into two groups to begin camp. One is made up of returners while the other consists of mainly newcomers.
— The kicking battle has begun. Ryan Fitzgerald connected on all three of his live attempts today from 30, 33, and 36 yards. Tyler Keltner was also perfect on the day, making kicks from 30 and 33 yards out.
— Multiple players spent time working with the return units on Thursday including Deuce Spann, Winston Wright Jr., Destyn Hill, Rodney Hill, Trey Benson, Keon Coleman, and Caziah Holmes.
— Lawrance Toafili, Coleman, and Hill caught punts during practice. Toafili muffed one but other than that it was a pretty clean day.
OFFENSE:
— It wasn't a particularly sharp day for any of the quarterbacks to open camp. The unit had some timing issues with the skill players coupled with a few off-target throws. That led to some passes that were nearly picked off.
— Running back Caziah Holmes had the biggest play for his unit on Thursday. He took a carry to the right side before cutting back to the opposite side of the field and finding open room up the middle into the secondary.
— Wide receiver transfer Keon Coleman might've been the star of the day for Florida State's offense. His blend of size and speed is extremely impressive to watch in person. Coleman made it look easy against All-ACC cornerback Fentrell Cypress II on back-to-back reps during 1-on-1s. On the first play, he beat Cypress down the sideline before leaping into the air for an acrobatic catch. Coleman came back for round two where he displayed quick-cutting ability on the sideline before working back to the ball for a tough catch.
— Speaking of newcomers, Destyn Hill walked into his first practice at Florida State today. He showed some signs throughout the day and you can tell this is a moment that he's been waiting on for a long time.
— It wasn't Johnny Wilson's best day as there were a couple of passes that he let go by the wayside. Regardless, he was able to lose the defense in the secondary a few times and his massive frame means he's always open.
— Hykeem Williams trimmed up a little bit over the summer and he appears to be coming into fall camp in slightly better shape than the spring. That's already aiding him in practice as he put a move on a defender down the field to create space on a catch.
— We got our first look at Goldie Lawrence working today. He's got some serious speed.
— One of the impressive plays of the day during 7-on-7 was a pass from Brock Glenn into a tight window between two defenders to Jackson West, who caught the ball and hauled up-field. Encouraging sign from West after he missed last season with an injury.
— Jaheim Bell easily beat a defensive back downfield after a move to create space.
— Markeston Douglas came away with a catch in a tight window on a pass from Tate Rodemaker. He's up to 285 pounds but still has some wiggle left in his game.
— Another player who was limited by injuries last season, Joshua Burrell, is back working at wide receiver and flashed on Thursday. He made at least two nice plays on throws from Duffy.
— Winston Wright Jr. made a nice move to get by Ashylnd Barker and come down with a deep ball. Showed off some acceleration on the play.
— At one point during the practice, Jordan Travis was looking downfield before taking off on a scramble. It's very easy to forget the weapon that the Seminoles have in Travis' legs due to how much he's improved as a passer over the last few years.
— A younger offensive lineman was struggling to do a drill correctly to the ire of Alex Atkins. The player finally did good enough for Atkins to move on and then veteran center Maurice Smith stepped up to give his teammate some advice.
DEFENSE:
— The defensive line and defensive backfield were very active during Florida State's first practice. It's important to remember the offensive line is limited while the team isn't in pads and that makes for an advantage on the defensive side of the ball.
— Defensive end Jared Verse came away with a tackle for loss on the first play of team drills. Darrell Jackson was in the area as well. It doesn't seem fair to have those working next to each other on any given snap.
— Byron Turner Jr. made progress throughout the offseason and is fighting for a spot in the rotation. He made his case on day one with a sack on AJ Duffy prior to deflecting a pass that was thrown to the flats and stopped Rodney Hill on back-to-back plays.
— True freshman defensive back Edwin Joseph made a crafty play to get his hand in front of Wright Jr. for a deflection while working in coverage. He made a leaping play to deflect another pass late in practice. Joseph was more than active during his first practice with the Seminoles.
— Malcolm Ray displayed really impressive hustle in his first practice back since missing the spring with an injury. A pass was thrown short to Coleman before Ray came sprinting from the interior to make the tag.
— Shyheim Brown almost intercepted Jordan Travis on a pass that was too far for his intended receiver. Brown wasn't expecting the throw to be off-target and couldn't quite come up with it.
— Dennis Briggs had a tackle for loss down the stretch in practice that helped the defense get off the field.
— Azareye'h Thomas came with a pass deflection while working in tight coverage on Johnny Wilson.
— True freshman defensive back Ja'Bril Rawls almost picked off a pass in 1-on-1's. The ball bounced off his hands.
— Quindarrius Jones had a pass breakup during the practice.
— Linebacker Omar Graham Jr. met CJ Campbell in the hole for an immediate stop.
— A defender going through their first practice was dealing with cramps late in practice. A veteran saw what was going on and teased the younger play 'lack of water. Got to hydrate.'
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