Florida State Spring Camp Observations: Seminoles put together physical practice in full pads to end off first week
The pads were popping on Friday afternoon as Florida State held a fully padded practice for the first time. That provided an opportunity for multiple new players on the roster to begin asserting themselves without being restricted by 'pajamas.' One Seminole who stood out immediately was junior defensive tackle, Darrell Jackson.
READ MORE: Tight Ends Flash During Second Day of Spring Camp
NoleGameday was in attendance for the entire practice and down below are the observations taken from day three of camp.
— Multiple former players including Jameis Winston, Jermaine Johnson, and Jammie Robinson were in attendance for the practice. Winston spoke with the team once the session wrapped up. Athletic Director Michael Alford was also on the sidelines.
— The kicking wasn't pretty on Friday. A bad snap ended Ryan Fitzgerald's first attempt before it got started, culminating with Alex Mastromanno throwing an interception to Kalen DeLoach. Fitzgerald's next attempt was wide right from over 40 yards out. Tyler Keltner was pure on his first attempt but no good from about 44 yards.
OFFENSE:
— Florida State's practice got started with two-minute/tempo drills early in the session. On the first drive, Jordan Travis had a pass broken up on the sideline by Omarion Cooper. Trey Benson plunged up the middle on the next play before Travis went to Johnny Wilson on the sideline. Travis completed a throw to Markeston Douglas over the middle prior to Fitzgerald attempting and connecting from 39 yards out.
— AJ Duffy went play-action on his first play and completed a short pass to Deuce Spann on the sideline. Rodney Hill was swallowed up by Darrell Jackson on a run before bouncing outside to the right on his next carry. Duffy dropped a snap but picked up him and ran up the middle for a decent gain.
— Running back CJ Campbell was dropped by walk-on defensive lineman Malakai Menzer but his next rush went deep into the secondary. Quarterback Tate Rodemaker went deep and dropped a pass in stride to true freshman Hykeem Williams, who was blanketed by a defender. Williams came down with the catch and Mike Norvell was fired up. Antavious Woody ended the drive by batting down a ball at the line of scrimmage.
— Keiondre Jones drove back Daniel Lyons during drills against the defensive line.
— Drills between the offensive line and the defensive line got chippy at different points which is to be expected during the first day these guys are getting after each other. Mike Norvell got right in the middle of a scuffle to break it up. It was a hilarious image with Norvell trying to prevent things from getting out of hand.
— True freshman wide receiver Hykeem Williams is still coming along. There was an early drop during individual drills before he displayed some of the smooth athleticism that makes him a coveted prospect. Williams had a block on a defensive back to spring Caziah Holmes for a big run.
— Johnny Wilson is still working on his consistency. He was dominant during his first two reps of one on ones against Azareye'h Thomas before dropping a pass with Greedy Vance in coverage. Wilson responded with a tough sideline catch during 7-on-7 and caught one over the middle on the next play that he took the distance.
— Deuce Spann was too quick off the line for Fentrell Cypress II and beat him downfield for a deep ball.
— Darius Washington held up against Jared Verse while Jaylen Early stood up Gilber Edmond during one on ones.
— Brock Glenn showed off impressive awareness by going through his progressions and hitting Hykeem Williams over the middle. A play earlier, he connected with Caziah Holmes for a big play out of the backfield.
DEFENSE:
— Defensive tackle Darrell Jackson is the real deal. Jackson laid out Rodney Hill with an emphatic stop early in practice. He had a dominant rep where he worked through Zane Herring with ease during drills against the offensive line. Jackson fought through Kanaya Charlton's inside shoulder for another win on his rep. He stuffed a hole to prevent a positive run during team drills while working from the opposite side of the field to get a hand on Benson from behind during the same period.
— Antavious Woody might have had his best practice since arriving at Florida State on Friday. He batted down a pass during team drills and carried the momentum into drills against the offensive line. Woody beat Zane Herring easily during their matchup. He won his next rep by using power and Norvell was right there to dap him up. Woody continued his disruptive play into team drills where he stuffed a gap and showed the move to the defensive line is paying off in a big way.
— Travis Jay had a pretty solid day overall. He put a physical stop on Rodney Hill during team drills before coming away with a turnover during 1-on-1s. Winston Wright made the initial catch in front of Jay, who used one hand to rip out the ball and corral it before running the other way.
— Linebacker Tatum Bethune intercepted Jordan Travis on one of the final plays of the day. Travis starred down the wide receiver and Bethune read him the entire way. Believe that was the first interception from JT during spring camp.
— Defensive end Byron Turner showed some promise during the session. He held the edge against Julian Armella on a rep that had Fabien Lovett and Jared Verse hyped up. Turner got in Rodemaker's face to force a throwaway toward the end of practice.
— Fabien Lovett was Fabien Lovett between the lines on Friday. Even more impressive was his leadership, hyping up and giving props to Byron Turner, Daniel Lyons
— Bishop Thomas used a strong move to get past Lucas Simmons. Thomas got the best of Daughtry Richardson as well.
— Jarrian Jones came up short on his first rep Darion Williamson but responded with a near-leaping interception on his next opportunity.
— Quindarrius Jones and Azareye'h Thomas both had pass breakups during one on ones.
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