Defense controls the day in Florida State's first post-scrimmage practice
Florida State football’s preseason camp is officially halfway complete.
The Seminoles returned to the practice field Monday morning for a two-hour practice, which took place under partly cloudy, hot and humid weather. It was practice No. 10 for the Seminoles of the 20 they are allotted before game week begins. It was also the team’s first practice since the team’s scrimmage in the Indoor Practice Facility on Saturday night.
Monday begins what will be a busy week for the Seminoles with practices on six straight days from Monday through Saturday’s second preseason scrimmage. Additionally, a two-day trip to Jacksonville for practices at UNF on Thursday and Friday is on the docket this week.
The team was in shells (helmets and shoulder pads). It was the first time this preseason that FSU has remained outside in the sun for the vast majority of the practice. Previously, FSU had spent the first few and last seven or so periods inside the IPF.
The team had two extended segments of 11-on-11 where it worked on red zone offense and defense, a couple of open-field first-and-10 period, along with some third-and-long work. While there were certainly bright spots during the team periods for the offense, the defense controlled the day Monday morning.
The offensive and defensive skill position players got some one-on-one and pass skeleton red zone work while the offensive and defensive lines worked through several periods of inside drill and one-on-one and two-on-two pass protection.
The standouts for the offensive line during the pass pro and inside periods were guards D’Mitri Emmanuel and Bryson Estes. Offensive tackles Bless Harris and Jazston Turnetine also had impressive reps. Defensive linemen Jared Verse, Robert Cooper, Leonard Warner and Josh Farmer also flashed during these periods.
Whether in group or team periods, linebacker Tatum Bethune continues to make plays at or behind the line of scrimmage, flying around the field as FSU coach Mike Norvell has said about him.
In 11-on-11 work, Cooper had probably his best day of the preseason. He had quite a few immediate pressures, a number of forced throwaways and an impressive bear-hug tackle for loss of Rodney Hill. Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Joshua Farmer also had a strong showing in 11-on-11, getting multiple pressures and a physical TFL of Trey Benson.
Monday’s practice was not particularly impactful for the FSU running backs, largely because of how frequently defensive linemen were penetrating the backfield before they could even get runs started.
On the skill-position front, this practice brought more individual goal-line work than has been observed for the majority of the preseason so far. There were multiple periods of 1-on-1 work pitting receivers and tight ends against linebackers and defensive backs and an additional period of 7-on-7 work focusing on the goal line.
Safety Jarques McClellion had probably the flashiest play of the 1-on-1 period, securing an airborne one-handed interception. Wide receiver Deuce Spann had an impressive toe-tapping touchdown catch in the back corner of the end zone, but also dropped an easy pass for a would-be touchdown on a slant route after creating separation.
Wide receiver Kentron Poitier used his size well and put himself in situations to catch a few passes, but twice had them ripped away after he seemingly caught them, once each by Demorie Tate and Azareye’h Thomas.
Kevin Knowles II also had an impressive pass breakup in a 1-on-1 rep against Mycah Pittman, timing his leap into the air to prevent what would have been a touchdown.
In the 7-on-7 period, tight end Wyatt Rector had probably the best catch of the day, going up over Tatum Bethune and making a difficult catch on a hard pass from Jordan Travis for a touchdown.
The FSU quarterbacks didn’t have a productive practice, but much of it was not due to their own struggles. A strong day from each of the defensive line units made it hard for them to operate under frequent pressure.
Travis, who Norvell said was a bit under the weather with a bug that has been going around the team, wasn’t showing any signs of that on the field. He threw the ball around nicely and some defensive backs made strong plays on the ball in 11-on-11 to bring down his completion percentage.
Johnny Wilson was a frequent target of Travis, often creating space and making short and intermediate catches over the middle of the field. Veteran Keyshawn Helton was also frequently targeted at Monday’s practice, securing probably the most catches of the day and bringing in quite a few standout catches near the sideline.
Additionally, it was a busy day for Pittman, who made a tough contested catch in the end zone against Jarrian Jones, emphatically spiking the ball after making the play. Pittman also had a few catches over the middle in 11-on-11 work, making an impact from a few different spots.
Tate Rodemaker was putting quite a bit of power behind his passes, hitting some tight spaces while making some quick and correct reads. His deep shot to Ja’Khi Douglas was probably the single-best throw of the day, hitting him in stride during 11-on-11 work.
Duffy had a few strong throws as well, including a red-zone touchdown pass to Hill, but he also was under frequent pressure when operating the offense.
The Seminoles are back for their second practice of the week Tuesday morning.
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