Time To Cook? FSU coaches putting together best menu for new QB DJ Uiagalelei

Florida State football coach Mike Norvell likes to use a menu analogy when discussing the installation of his offense. And when it comes to building a plan for a particular game — or even an entire season — he compares it to selecting items from that menu.

With a quarterback like Jordan Travis and the skill players and offensive linemen from last year’s team, the Seminoles might have served up one style of meal.

With DJ Uiagalelei running the show, and with this season’s skill players and linemen, the dining experience might be slightly different.

Florida State’s season opener against Georgia Tech looms in just 11 days, and Norvell said the Seminoles are just now determining what they will be serving up.

“We went through fall camp, and it was a big menu,” Norvell said. “As we get into game plan, we’re going to tighten that up … but we’ve got a good menu to be able to pull from. And obviously some of the things that he [Uiagalelei] has been very productive with is where we’re gonna live. The good thing is he’s been really good through this fall camp. So I think that we’ll be able to have a wide variety of things that we can do.”

In other words, it might not be Cheesecake Factory, but it won’t be Waffle House either.

Uiagalelei, who played last season at Oregon State after spending his first three college seasons at Clemson, has already put together a rather large body of work.

He has passed for over 8,300 yards and 57 touchdowns. Over the past two seasons, he has thrown for 43 TDs with just 14 interceptions.

The redshirt senior, who was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, also has proven to be an effective runner. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards in his career and 21 more scores.

So while the 6-foot-4, 252-pound Uiagalelei doesn’t look at all like the 6-1, 200-pound Travis, who ran Florida State’s offense for most of the past three seasons, it won’t be a completely new experience when the Seminoles take the field this fall.

Uiagalelei might not be as shifty or speedy as a runner, but he can move. And his bigger arm might open up different portions of the field that Travis couldn’t reach.

The key, according to Norvell and quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz, is figuring out what makes Uiagalelei most comfortable, while balancing that with the strengths of this particular Florida State roster and determining the best way to attack the Seminoles’ opponents.

“It is give-and-take in the quarterback room,” Tokarz said. “To a degree, you live in the gray a little bit. It’s not always black, it’s not always white. You’ve got to find that middle ground … within how we attack, within what we can do. How do we play to his strengths and the strengths of our personnel.”

When Florida State takes the field in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 24, it will be the culmination of an eight-month process for Uiagalelei.

He committed to FSU and Norvell on Jan. 1 and almost immediately went to work at learning the Seminoles’ offense.

“He prepares at an elite level,” Tokarz said. “His approach is unbelievable. It’s something that we were obviously hoping for bringing him in. But … super mature. Constantly in the film room. Film junkie.”

By the time spring practice rolled around, Uiagalelei had a solid command of the information, but it understandably took time to process information and feel comfortable making decisions at game speed.

Then came building timing and chemistry with Florida State’s wide receivers during the summer months.

Even after all of that work, there have been some very challenging days in practice against a stout Florida State defense. But on Tuesday, with the season opener rapidly approaching, the Seminoles’ passing game might have had its best day of the preseason.

The game plan is being constructed. The menu is being reduced. All with a goal of helping Uiagalelei team with Florida State’s skill players to deliver the best dishes possible.

“We’re starting to see that,” Tokarz said.

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

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