Florida State vs. LSU: Tuesday Practice Observations For The Seminoles

The Seminoles have been waiting on this week for the entire offseason. With only five days remaining until Florida State kicks off its 2023 campaign with a top-10 matchup against LSU, it could've been very easy for this team to overlook practice on Tuesday morning, especially with a hurricane on its way to town.

Instead, the program stayed focused on the task at hand as head coach Mike Norvell came out of the day encouraged by Florida State's energy. The rest of the week could prove to be a challenge with inclement weather expected in Tallahassee. It remains to be seen if the Seminoles are affected by the storm.

NoleGameday was in attendance for the entire session on Tuesday and jotted down some observations from the day ahead of the city losing power!

— The Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets had NFL personnel viewing the practice.

— The kickers opened up an encouraging week on Tuesday. Ryan Fitzgerald connected on attempts from 42 yards and 34 yards out as crowd noise blared in his ears. Fitzgerald's kick from 34 yards went so high into the air that it landed on the roof of the IPF. Tyler Keltner matched him from 42 yards out.

OFFENSE:

— Practice got started with two-minute drills as the starting offense matched up against the starting defense. Quarterback Jordan Travis got the period underway with a play-action pass to the opposite side of the field. Tight end Markeston Douglas made a fantastic adjustment to reel in the ball with one hand while fighting to stay inbounds.

From there, the defense tightened up as Trey Benson had a short run followed by a catch out of the backfield where he was quickly brought down by Tatum Bethune. Defensive tackle Braden Fiske batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage on third down to force a field goal attempt. Fitzgerald drilled it right down the middle.

— Brock Glenn is continuing to show strides while displaying that he's able to quickly respond from mistakes. Glenn tossed an interception on the opening play of 7-on-7 while going deep down the field. He came back with a lofty throw to the sideline that left his hand before Goldie Lawrence even got to the top of his route. The throw was delivered in the right spot and showed off his anticipation.

— Tight end Jaheim Bell caught a short pass near the sideline and cut up the field as Darius Washington laid a punishing block on a defender. Washington realized the level of damage he'd done and went over to help up the player after the play concluded.

— Tight end Kyle Morlock had a couple of grabs in tight space, including one late in practice where he held on despite Jarrian Jones being wrapped all over him.

— The confidence continues to grow for wide receiver Winston Wright Jr., who spoke at length about his rehab process following practice. He is no longer sporting a compression sleeve on his leg and just seems to be moving with a different kind of bounce in his step.

— A reminder of the unstoppable weapon that 6-foot-7 wide receiver Johnny Wilson is prior to taking the field on Sunday night. He made a nasty catch on the sideline while being tightly covered. It was a grab that probably would've popped out of his hands a year ago.

— Destyn Hill's concentration is noticeable whenever he's trying to come down with a tough catch. He beat Greedy Vance downfield on one rep but the ball was thrown late. Hill slowed up and timed his leap perfectly to make the snag.

— Keon Coleman got free during 1-on-1's and caught a pass down the sideline that he took all of the way.

— Another solid outing with up-and-moments for true freshman wide receiver Hykeem Williams. He caught back-to-back passes in team drills but also earned the ire of Ron Dugans later in the day for his effort on a block.

— Rodney Hill had the best run of practice as he caught a toss to the outside before working back inside with a good move and finding a hole to get through the defense without being touched. He earned plenty of praise from the staff and players on offense after that display.

— Lawrance Toafili caught a pass out of the backfield while being defended by a linebacker on the sideline. Toafili made a fantastic adjustment to flip his body and make the catch with not a ton of room to work.

DEFENSE:

— Mike Norvell noted on Tuesday that he's excited with what he's seen from veteran defensive tackle Fabien Lovett. Last week was the first time that he really had gone through a ton of physical contact other than conditioning work since the beginning of the preseason. Lovett has ramped up his workload as of late, continuing to get more and more active at practice. There were stretches of dominance to begin the week as he easily beat two veterans in consecutive reps during 3-on-2's against the offensive line.

Lovett carried that into a fourth-down drill against the offense. Pressure from Braden Fiske forced Travis to step up in the pocket before Lovett came through to finish off the quarterback and give the defense a win in the period. Very encouraging signs for the Seminoles.

— Speaking of dominance, a perfect synonym for the word is Jared Verse. The star defensive end makes his presence felt during every practice. He threw an offensive lineman to the ground during the first half of the session in an effort that looked a little bit too easy.

— Safety Akeem Dent made a nice read and reacted on a pass during 7-on-7 for an interception. His consistent camp is carrying over into game week.

— Linebacker DJ Lundy had an impressive interception that displayed his improvement in coverage, ability to move in space, and ball skills all in one play. He saw the ball in the air and stepped in front of a tight end to force a turnover. I can't say enough about how much he's improved.

— Omar Graham Jr. had back-to-back sacks early in Florida State's practice. On one of the plays, he tagged the quarterback so quickly that the coaching staff just let the action continue.

— I thought Tatum Bethune was very active as a run-stopper while also making plays in coverage of Tuesday.

— Quindarrius Jones broke up a pass that was intended for Deuce Spann on the sideline. The true freshman has been impressive and consistent since the spring which is one reason he's the primary backup to Renardo Green.

— It looked like a tight end was going to make a grab during 1-on-1's before Conrad Hussey delivered a hit to knock out the ball. Fellow true freshman defensive back Edwin Joseph broke up a pass on the next play.

— Safety Shyheim Brown deflected a throw to the sideline while working in coverage.

— Byron Turner Jr. recorded a tackle for loss during team drills after trusting his eyes and working laterally across the line of scrimmage to hold up AJ Duffy.

— Cornerback Ja'Bril Rawls delivered a big enough hit on Preston Daniel to force out a pass to the sideline.

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