Corey Clark: Another darn good day for the Florida State offense

So what happened on Tuesday might not have been an anomaly for the Florida State football team.

Wednesday’s practice was almost entirely focused on special teams, so it was impossible to know if the Florida State passing offense could stack on another good day and build off the success it had on Tuesday.

Well, now we know.

It absolutely could.

The Seminoles were actually even sharper on Thursday than they were on Tuesday in the passing game, with a number of receivers making impressive catches throughout the day. And with senior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei looking as good as he’s looked all camp.

So, let’s get right to the good stuff from the Seminoles’ aerial attack.

In the first 11-on-11 portion of practice, in Period 3, which is always essentially a last-minute drill, Uiagalelei hit Ja’Khi Douglas for a 12-yard gain and then dropped a beautiful throw to Malik Benson for a 32-yard gain down the sideline to set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s 27-yard field goal. Florida State coach Mike Norvell tried to ice Fitzgerald by calling a timeout at the last second, but the senior came back and drilled the kick after a brief break.

Backup QB Brock Glenn’s drive wasn’t quite as successful, but he did find Darion Williamson for 15 yards on fourth down and then hit Lawrance Toafili with a terrific 35-yard throw. But freshman Jake Weinberg missed the ensuing 32-yard field goal wide left.

In the next portion of 11-on-11 a few periods later, Kentron Poitier made a great leaping catch over Azareye’h Thomas for about a 20-yard gain. Poitier, who had a really good day overall, then had another first-down catch on a pass from Glenn.

In the 1-on-1s, the receivers had an outstanding day overall.

Benson had a contested, leaping catch over Thomas for about 20 yards, Douglas beat Kevin Knowles for about 12 yards, Jalen Brown had a short reception against Ja’Bril Rawls, and Poitier beat Edwin Joseph and made a great catch for about 20 yards on a throw from Glenn.

Deuce Spann got the best of Shyheim Brown for a 10-yard gain, Lawayne McCoy got free from Quindarrius Jones for a big catch over the middle, tight end Amaree Williams caught a pass for about 30 yards and Brown then got behind either Charles Lester or Cai Bates (they both were wearing No. 4) for a 75-yard touchdown on a perfect deep ball from Luke Kromenhoek.

Then, with the ball placed at the 5-yard line going in, the Florida State offense continued to shine.

Uiagalelei hit Benson for a 5-yard touchdown against Thomas — again, just another sensational catch against tight coverage. Douglas had an impressive 5-yard TD catch against Earl Little, and Brian Courtney had a TD catch as well.

Conrad Hussey had two PBUs for the defense during 1-on-1s, and Ricky Knight almost had an interception on a 50-50 ball, but he was out of bounds when he caught it. Knight did come back during scout-team work and turned in a diving interception off a tipped pass.

Joseph also had a PBU working against Elijah Moore.

In the final 11-on-11 portion of practice, inside the red zone, it was mostly running plays, and the defense did well. KJ Sampson had a tackle for loss, Blake Nichelson made a good read to stop a run up the middle, and Brown had a PBU on a pass intended for Kyle Morlock.

Lester also almost had an interception in the flat when he made a great read on a pass from Uiagalelei.

In the 7-on-7 portion of practice, Courtney had a 17-yard catch from Kromenhoek, Spann had a 12-yard catch from Glenn, Poitier had a 15-yard catch on a strike from Uiagalelei, Moore had a 15-yard grab from Glenn, Micahi Danzy gained about 15 yards on a reception, Uiagalelei hit Toafili for 10, and he hit Moore for a first down as well on the next throw. McCoy also had a 22-yard grab on a throw from Kromenhoek.

Nichelson did make an impressive play during this period when he stayed with speedy running back Samuel Singleton and was able to break up a pass.

And in scout-team work, both Williamson and Poitier had long touchdown catches.

For the most part, of course, the defense has done very, very well this preseason. But the last two practices, the passing offense has seemingly started to find its form.

Florida State Trench Notes (by Tom Lang)

Tackle Jeremiah Byers was a top standout in pass rush drills, handling the best Florida State has to offer at edge rusher: Patrick Payton, followed by two reps with Marvin Jones Jr.. Jones Jr. was working on a specific technique with position coach John Papuchis.

Edge rusher Byron Turner displayed his strength in getting through Darius Washington in a 1-on-1 rep.

The defensive line was put through the ringer during individual drills. One drill in particular focused on hand strikes and quarterback pursuit through a series of dummies, and the group ran it repeatedly until they were dog tired. Defensive tackle Grady Kelly showed a lot of motor and conditioning in the drills.

Darrell Jackson‘s effort stood out, too, during those same drills as he combined technique and power for some of the day’s most impressive reps.

Julian Armella worked next to Byers for some 2-on-2 drills, and the pair was impressive in its communication to wall off the defensive line. One rep in particular drew a loud “Good!” from Alex Atkins. Solid sequence for Armella.

Maurice Smith handled Jackson with good strength and form in a 1-on-1 rep. He later beat Tomiwa Durojaiye, but there was an awful lot of jersey being tugged.

On Durojaiye: Meticulously working to refine his technique. Coach Odell Haggins is spending a lot of time coaching Durojaiye, and the West Virginia transfer is working hard to put those tips into practice. Payton also coached Durojaiye in between reps.

KJ Sampson and Andre Otto had impressive back-to-back battles. A lot of strength being shown by both.

Kelly and Richie Leonard traded wins in 1-on-1 drills.

Florida State RB Roydell Williams and quarterback DJ Uiagalelei give each other a low-five during practice. (Ben Spicer/Warchant)

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

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