Florida State vs. Wake Forest: Wednesday Practice Observations
Florida State was back on the practice field on a windy Wednesday morning as the Seminoles continued preparations for Wake Forest. Hurricane Ian has continued to shift easy and it appears that the contest will move on as scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
READ MORE: Florida State Seminoles release Depth Chart for Wake Forest Demon Deacons
NoleGameday was in attendance for the session and we've listed some observations from different position groups and players below.
— The wind played a factor during Wednesday's practice with Hurrican Ian moving in. There were multiple times where the offense was trying to throw the ball outside and it got caught up in a strong gust. If these conditions continue into Saturday, it might impact Wake Forest more than Florida State considering the way that the Seminoles can run the ball.
— The Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals had representatives at practice.
— Florida State legend and Heisman winner, Charlie Ward, observed the latter half of the session in the IPF. Athletic Director Michael Alford also dropped by.
— Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald went 4/4 on his attempts during the special teams portion of practice. Fitzgerald's longest attempt was from around 41-yards.
OFFENSE:
— Quarterback Jordan Travis hit four straight passes to open two-minute drills, including two connections with running back Lawrance Toafili. However, he was intercepted at the conclusion of the period while the offense was driving for a score. Outside of that, it was a pretty good practice for Travis, who hit multiple deep balls towards the end of the session.
— Wide receiver Malik McClain was consistently getting open throughout Wednesday and Travis found him multiple times.
— Toafili caught a touchdown out of the backfield at the goal line. The offense ran over to celebrate following the play.
— Wide receiver Johnny Wilson made a few big catches on the day. He came away with two touchdowns on nice throws from Travis during scout team work.
— Tight end Markeston Douglas caught a pass with a veteran defender draped all over him. Despite that, Douglas reeled it in with one hand after tipping it to himself.
— Travis connected with wide receiver Deuce Spann for a short touchdown in goal line work.
DEFENSE:
— The defense responded to Travis' hot start during two-minute drills. Defensive back Akeem Dent broke up a deep pass in the end zone that was intended for McClain. Two plays later, defensive back Omarion Cooper read a pass and reacted to jump the route for an interception to give the defense a win in the drill.
— The strong play out of the defensive backfield continued throughout practice. Defensive back Kevin Knowles came away with a pick against the scout team. Dent nearly added one himself but it just slipped out of his hands.
— Defensive back Jarrian Jones made one of the plays of the day for the unit. Travis found McClain on the sideline for what appeared to be a completion but Jones made a diving effort to get a hand in and swat the ball out. Multiple members of the defense and coaching staff sprinted over to celebrate with the veteran.
— Defensive end Dennis Briggs sacked quarterback AJ Duffy after the true freshman took too long to go through his progressions. It wasn't the sharpest day for Duffy.
— Defensive back Azareye'h Thomas broke up a pass in the end zone that could've been an interception.
— Defensive back Greedy Vance had a nice day, including an interception during red zone work.
— Defensive end Pay Payton beat Darius Washington handily during one on ones. It was a solid outing from the redshirt freshman on his birthday.
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