Ira Schoffel Observations: A little something for everyone at FSU’s Thursday practice
JACKSONVILLE — After watching his team practice for more than two hours on a steamy Thursday morning on the UNF campus, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell said the workout was exactly what he wanted.
And while they didn’t all speak to the media, it’s a safe bet that each of his assistant coaches would have said the same.
Whether it was the Florida State running game or passing game, the run defense or pass defense, everyone had something to feel good about — and moments that required teaching — during Thursday’s workout.
Let’s start with the running game, which has looked improved from last year for most of this preseason. Every day, it seems, a different running back or two steps up, and on Thursday it was senior Roydell Williams, junior Jaylin Lucas and redshirt freshman Samuel Singleton.
After picking up a short gain during his first carry in 11-on-11, Lucas came back and broke off a run of 30-plus yards on his next attempt. Lucas also showed off his pass-catching ability during Thursday’s practice, and he had a couple more nice runs, including one that went for about a 15-yard touchdown during red-zone drills.
Singleton, meanwhile, continued what has been a very strong week, beginning with last Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage.
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The Florida State Seminoles begin Thursday’s practice at UNF. (Ira Schoffel/Warchant)
On his first carry during 11-on-11 team competition, Singleton came flying out of the pack and sprinted for a touchdown of 70 or 80 yards ( I couldn’t see the line of scrimmage from where I was standing). Cornerback Fentrell Cypress was in hot pursuit once Singleton got to the second level, but he couldn’t catch him before the end zone.
After getting stopped quickly on his next couple of runs Thursday, Singleton then broke loose for a run of at least 20 yards while following a block from tackle Jaylen Early.
Williams, who transferred into Florida State from Alabama this offseason, had several impressive runs Thursday, including one that might have gone the distance for a long touchdown had the coaches not blown their whistles. He also showed off his physicality and agility on other carries throughout the day.
Florida State senior Lawrance Toafili and freshmen Kam Davis and Micahi Danzy all also appeared to have nice runs at various points of the practice.
The rushing defense certainly had its moments as well. There was one perimeter run that was cut down behind the line of scrimmage by speedy sophomore linebacker Blake Nichelson. Defensive tackles Darrell Jackson and Grady Kelly teamed up to drop Williams for a loss near the goal line. Defensive tackle KJ Sampson dropped another ballcarrier short of the end zone. And there were several other rushing attempts that got smothered at the line of scrimmage.
When Florida State’s offense tried to move the ball through the air, the Seminoles had some success. But the star of the day was probably defensive back Edwin Joseph. The redshirt freshman broke up at least four passes during team drills, and each of them were impressive in their own way.
On one pass from Brock Glenn to Darion Williamson, Joseph reached in to deflect the throw just before it was caught, prompting Norvell to come over and give him a high-five. During 7-on-7, Joseph very nearly intercepted a pass from Glenn to Toafili.
Joseph also had very good coverage on receiver Jalen Brown on one route, riding him out of bounds before a completion could be made. And his best play might have come on a throw from Glenn to Brown in the end zone. As the ball came down toward Brown’s hands, Joseph came out of seemingly nowhere to knock the pass away.
Another highlight for the defensive backs came early in 11-on-11 when DJ Uiagalelei completed an underneath pass to receiver Malik Benson. Safety Shyheim Brown was right there on the catch and absolutely flattened Benson before he could run. Safety KJ Kirkland also broke up a pass from Glenn to Deuce Spann.
Sophomore cornerback Quindarrius Jones turned in a dynamite defensive play after it appeared that Glenn had connected with freshman WR Elijah Moore on a completion. As soon as the ball settled into Moore’s grip, Jones came in and ripped it out for the incompletion. It was a great display of effort and technique, and the Florida State coaches clearly loved it.
Kevin Knowles, Davonte Brown, Charles Lester and Ashlynd Barker were among other defensive backs who displayed strong coverage to force incompletions. And Conrad Hussey and Cai Bates turned in nice plays to stop ballcarriers from picking up big gains.
On the offensive side, Uiagalelei completed multiple nice passes to tight end Kyle Morlock and receiver Jalen Brown, as well as perfectly placed touchdowns in the back of the end zone to Malik Benson and Ja’Khi Douglas. Uiagalelei later connected with tight end Jackson West on a short TD pass.
Freshman Luke Kromenhoek had one of his best days of camp, completing back-to-back touchdown passes to Morlock and receiver Lawayne McCoy during 7-on-7 drills. The pass to McCoy was particularly impressive because of Kromenhoek’s accuracy while on the run.
Kromenhoek later came up with a fortuitous touchdown pass when his throw was deflected into the air and hauled in by Brown for a score. The freshman QB then completed a pass of about 15 yards to Deuce Spann, and he teamed with McCoy for another TD completion in a goal-line drills.
Most of Brock Glenn’s completions came on shorter passes, including a touchdown to tight end Brian Courtney. The redshirt freshman’s best throw of the day might have been his previously mentioned strike to Moore, which was ripped out by Quindarrius Jones.
Because of where the media were stationed at Thursday’s practice, it was often hard to tell what was happening at the line of scrimmage. But I did see Byron Turner Jr. cause an incompletion when he pressured Uiagalelei, and freshman linebacker Timir Hickman-Collins had a tackle for loss on Kam Davis.
Florida State’s players will have Friday off before hitting Doak Campbell Stadium for their second preseason scrimmage on Saturday.
Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.
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