Florida State vs. Duke: Wednesday Practice Observations For The Seminoles

The Seminoles continued to work towards a crucial top-25 matchup against the Duke Blue Devils on Wednesday morning. Once again, cool weather crept over the practice fields as Florida State put together a competitive session.

It was a clean practice where both sides made plays which is probably just what head coach Mike Norvell wanted to see with gameday closing in. I thought Johnny Wilson was really good on the day while Renardo Green turned in another nice practice.

NoleGameday was in attendance for the entire session and jotted down some observations from the day.

— The Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills had scouts viewing the practice from the sidelines.

— Ryan Fitzgerald has had an excellent week of practice ahead of the Duke game. He made a 54-yard field goal to cap off a successful offensive drive during two-minute drills. The kick went straight down the middle and probably would've been good from 60 yards. He connected on two more live attempts from 30 yards and 43 yards with Tyler Keltner making kicks from the same distances.

OFFENSE:

— For the second consecutive day, the defense applied pressure and made the offense have to work to find success. Quarterback Jordan Travis didn't sweat as he completed four consecutive passes to lead the unit downfield. That included back-to-back catches from Johnny Wilson on the sideline with one being a patented highlight where he high-pointed the football and got out of bounds. Fentrell Cypress did nearly end the drive with an open field tackle on Rodney Hill short of the line to gain but Jordan Travis threw his next pass away to set up the long kick from Fitzgerald.

— Johnny Wilson continues to trend in the right direction and the Seminoles have to be confident that he'll be available on Saturday. Outside of his strong effort in two-minute drills, Wilson hauled in a touchdown on a pass from quarterback Tate Rodemaker during 7-on-7.

— It felt like an impactful day for Kyle Morlock, who just kept popping up throughout practice. Morlock caught a lob pass in the end zone while outleaping a defender for a successful two-point conversion. He came back in 1-on-1's for two touchdown catches and hauled in another one during 7-on-7. Encouraging to see after his performance on Saturday.

— Trey Benson was highlighted by head coach Mike Norvell for one of his runs against the scout team. He relayed a message to the other running backs to perform like that this weekend.

— Wide receiver Kentron Poitier hasn't caught a pass during his first two appearances of the season but it feels like he's starting to get back to his old self. Norvell said as much following a practice where Poitier's presence was evident. He reeled in a ball over the middle prior to scoring a touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Poitier went vertical and outjumped a defender for another touchdown in red zone work.

— Tight end Jackson West had a couple of flashes in 1-on-1's. He caught a deep ball while being covered by a safety before coming back with a touchdown catch after losing a defender with a beautiful route.

— Brock Glenn isn't going to play this weekend but he will suit up as he continues to work his way back from an injury he suffered earlier in the year. Glenn hit Morlock on the outside for a score during 7-on-7 and has been ramping back up.

— Vandrevius Jacobs put together a few big plays during 1-on-1's. He caught a deep ball with a defender on his heels and also caught a touchdown as he was drilled, holding on through the contact.

— Markeston Douglas got behind a safety for a catch during 1-on-1's.

DEFENSE:

— After I highlighted his performance in practice on Tuesday, I've got to do the same thing once again with cornerback Renardo Green. He didn't give up much ground on the day and pulled off another turnover. This time, it was linebacker Kalen DeLoach applying pressure on AJ Duffy to force an off-target throw to the inside of the field instead of the outside that Green picked off.

— Jared Verse was in a position to absolutely destroy a skill player on an end-around. He sniffed out the play presnap and the offensive player was lucky that it wasn't a game scenario or he would've been decleated.

— Azareye'h Thomas stayed active throughout the practice with multiple pass deflections, including a diving effort to prevent a completion to Hykeem Williams downfield.

— Conrad Hussey forced an incompletion on a pass that should've been caught by a wide receiver during 1-on-1's, leading to some praise from Norvell.

— Greedy Vance nearly picked off a pass after jumping a route but couldn't quite hold onto it.

— Kevin Knowles deflected a pass to prevent a connection over the middle.

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the 2023 season.

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