WEDNESDAY OBSERVATIONS: Offense, defense trade blows as Florida State returns to practice

It wasn’t until the final 15 minutes of Florida State’s Wednesday practice that the Seminoles started working on preparation for their Sept. 3 season opener against LSU. And that was actually the least competitive portion of the day.

With mostly underclassmen and walk-ons making up the scout-team offense and defense, the first- and second-teamers began installing their game plan for the 2023 opener. While that portion is more of a dress rehearsal than real competition, there was plenty of quality back-and-forth during the first 20 or so periods of practice.

It was the first day of practice since Sunday’s scrimmage, and both sides looked ready for the challenge.

Not surprisingly, quarterback Jordan Travis was outstanding. During 1-on-1, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, he seemed to display great chemistry and timing with a bunch of different receivers. (Read a full breakdown of Travis’ impressive day passing.)

But despite all of those big plays through the air, the Florida State defensive backs did not have a bad day by any stretch. Junior Fentrell Cypress, sophomore Azareye’h Thomas and senior Renardo Green all continued to play with very tight coverage and came through with some impressive plays. They each gave up some passes as well, especially against Travis and the top Florida State receivers. But those three corners are seemingly always in good position.

Cypress, who transferred in from Virginia earlier this year after earning second-team All-ACC honors there, started off the day with an impact play. At the end of a two-minute drill at the start of practice, Cypress’ tight coverage on Winston Wright led to a deflection and an interception by safety Shyheim Brown.

In 1-on-1s, Cypress also broke up a pass from Travis to Hykeem Williams. And later in practice, he intercepted a pass that bounced off of tight end Preston Daniels’ hands.

Green, meanwhile, turned in one of the best individual plays of the day, diving to break up a pass from Brock Glenn to Wright. Thomas also had excellent coverage on Keon Coleman on one rep, forcing an incomplete pass.

But if we had to pick an overall winner for the day, it would have to be the receivers and tight ends. Along with the plays singled out in the previously linked Jordan Travis article, Coleman and Jaheim Bell turned in back-to-back highlight-reel catches in 1-on-1s. On similar passes from Glenn, Coleman and Bell each made leaping grabs over defensive backs.

Glenn, incidentally, looked very sharp again on Wednesday. After the practice, he spoke about how comfortable he feels in his first preseason camp.

Here are some other notable performances and observations from the two-hour practice:

Freshman WRs Destyn Hill and Hykeem Williams both had strong days. One big highlight came when Hill got deep on safety Akeem Dent, and Travis hit him with a perfect strike.Freshman CB Ja’Bril Rawls knocked a ball out of Deuce Spann’s hands after a near-catch. Rawls later had good coverage on Spann and forced an incompletion in 7-on-7.Freshman DB Edwin Joseph had a good breakup on a pass to WR Goldie Lawrence. Joseph later had great coverage on a pass attempt from Tate Rodemaker to Bell.Lawrence hauled in a pass of about 40 yards from Rodemaker in an early 11-on-11 session. Tight ends Jerrale Powers and Kyle Morlock each had a few nice catches, as did walk-on WR Carson Pielock.Winston Wright continues to get more opportunities and made some nice catches. He beat Greedy Vance with a double-move for a pass of about 30 yards in 1-on-1s.RB Trey Benson broke off a couple of long runs, as did CJ Campbell. Late in practice, during an 11-on-11 drill, Lawrance Toafili had a very impressive cut-back run that got head coach Mike Norvell excited. Norvell first voiced his approval to RBs coach David Johnson, and then he ran down to Toafili to compliment him.DT Braden Fiske looks like he could be a menace as a pass-rusher. Twice during 11-on-11 drills, he beat his blocker badly to get into the quarterback’s face.The DBs were aggressive in run support and rushing the quarterback at times. Vance and Cypress had nice stops on Toafili near the line of scrimmage, and Shyheim Brown and Quindarrius Jones each had what appeared to be sacks. Brown also had great coverage late in practice on an incomplete pass from Travis to Hill.Quindarrius Jones also intercepted Glenn during 11-on-11, but Norvell seemed to be more mad at the receiver than the QB.In 11-on-11 work, freshman LB Justin Cryer showed excellent pursuit and instincts to stop a run on the opposite side of the field. The Florida State offensive line had it blocked up were it not for Cryer making a play form the back side.Tyler Keltner drilled a 35-yard field goal at the end of the early tempo drill. Then during special teams, Keltner and Ryan Fitzgerald both connected on each of their field goals — the first from about 30 and then the second from 45 yards.

Here are some highlights from the trenches.

Florida State Trench Notes (by Tom Lang)

Combo Drills

Guard D’Mitri Emmanuel stood defensive tackle Joshua Farmer up right in his tracks.DT Dennis Briggs shot through a gap nicely, but couldn’t see who he got past.DT Braden Fiske won two impressive reps with strength, beating Bryson Estes and Emmanuel, respectively.Estes drove back DT Daniel Lyons far enough that he got a shout out from coaches and a high-five from a teammate. Estes and Briggs fought to a stalemate in a good, violent rep.DE Gilber Edmond got leverage on tackle Julian Armella.DT Darrell Jackson drove Emmanuel backward with scary efficiency.

Run Game Drills

I had the defense taking these drills over the offense with 10 wins in 18 reps (three were 50/50 splits).Linebackers DJ Lundy, Kalen DeLoach and Blake Nichelson all made stops at the line or in the backfield.Edmond, Briggs and Malcom Ray also turned in run-stuffs or tackles for loss.The offensive line blocked up at least three long runs.

1-on-1s

DE Jared Verse had the first rep of the period, and it was a beauty. Verse got the better of Jeremiah Byers and took off with a raised fist for a small victory lap after the rep.Best offensive line rep of the day: Guard Keiondre Jones locking down Darrell Jackson. Jones drew the loudest ovation from the offensive line after his win.Guard Casey Roddick caught Fiske working over his skis to win a battle.Tackle Robert Scott absorbed and shut down a rush by Edmond, who was trying to bully the multi-year starter.I’m not sure that DE Patrick Payton or tackle Bless Harris won their head-to-head rep, but what I am sure of is that Payton brought a kind of power that caught me off guard.Runner-up for best OL rep of the day: Freshman Andre Otto. It wasn’t about the opponent as much as it was how fluid and technically sound the true freshman looked. Impressive first camp for Otto.OL Darius Washington did well to stalemate Farmer.2-on-2 reps (twists/pass-offs) went squarely to the defense.

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.

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