8/4/2023 football Edit

Florida State football practice No. 2 observations

Keon Coleman used his speed and agility to win 1-on-1 battles in Friday's practice. (Ross Obley)

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

There wasn't much time for the Florida State football team to dwell on Thursday's first practice of fall camp.

The Seminoles were right back on the practice field Friday afternoon for preseason practice No. 2. And after the defense won Day 1 of camp, the FSU offense responded Friday, creating quite a few chunk plays.

However, the defense also had its moments, creating a few takeaways and some pressure from the defensive line.

Here are our Osceola staff observations from Day 2 of FSU preseason camp:

Offense

It seemed like the FSU quarterbacks and their receiving targets never really got on the same page during Thursday's opening practice. Friday was definitely a good bit smoother and more effective from FSU's passing attack.

I'm not saying any of the quarterbacks were at their best Friday, but they all appeared markedly better than in the debut practice. I particularly liked seeing redshirt freshman AJ Duffy studying what Jordan Travis was doing while running the offense and often mimicking his movements, motions and the like.

Duffy did throw an interception in 7-on-7, but he had a few nice plays during 11-on-11 to end practice, including a dart to Joshua Burrell, who made a nice, contested catch through contact on an outside post route. Burrell, who has battled injuries throughout his time at FSU, has stood out through two practices this fall.

Another player who has battled injuries but looked very good Friday was wide receiver Darion Williamson. Williamson won a pair of 1-on-1 reps against defensive backs convincingly. On the first, he used his speed to fly by the DB and make a beautiful in-stride catch for a big gain downfield. On the second, he overcame tight coverage from freshman Ja'Bril Rawls, elevating over him to snag the ball using some ridiculous body control.

With Williamson, it has always been about him staying healthy as he's a consistent practice superstar when he's out there.

Another receiving target who stood out Friday was tight end Markeston Douglas. Douglas has been lost in the hype shuffle in that position group a bit with the transfer additions of Jaheim Bell and Kyle Morlock. Douglas has shown through two practices he's not to be forgotten. He made probably the best catch of the day in 7-on-7, a one-handed snag on a pass down the seam. He then followed that up on another long catch down the seam in 11-on-11 on what was probably the best throw of the day by Tate Rodemaker.

For being 6-foot-4, Keon Coleman continues to demonstrate an improbably high agility level. He cut on a dime to fool a defensive back for an easy short grab during 1-on-1 work and also ran a nice dig route during 7-on-7. He seems to have a solid understanding of how he can use his speed to his advantage in terms of fooling defenders.

Hykeem Williams had a few big catches during the practice as well. I particularly liked one near the end of the day where he ran a stellar outside post route and caught a nice pass from Brock Glenn that was perfectly timed to Williams' route. His slight weight loss seems to have helped him move more easily and that has helped the freshman wideout through two practices this fall.

In terms of the running backs, freshman Sam Singleton had the play of the day that I observed. During 11-on-11, he took the ball on a handoff up the middle, hit the hole created by the left guard with a quickness and was just gone, exploding for a big gain down the sideline. His speed is no joke. He may be one of the faster players on the FSU roster.

In terms of other tight ends, we have also been impressed by what we've seen from Preston Daniel and Jackson West through two practices. Daniel seems to be moving a bit better entering his fourth season and West has made plays in each of the first two practices thanks to a clean bill of health after he missed extended time due to an injury. Perhaps the FSU tight end room is deeper than we gave it credit for being.

On the offensive line, the 25 pounds that redshirt freshman Jaylen Early shed over the summer seem to have helped him move much more easily. He was definitely somebody identified as having a bit of weight to shed when he arrived and, having done so, it's made a noticeable difference for him.

The offensive line spent a few periods early in practice working on different block schemes to take on different fronts the team will face this season.

We should have more details on the FSU offensive line as the shells (pads from the waist up) come on for Saturday's practice and then next week once the full pads are on.

Defense

The early returns on FSU's newest defensive backs continue to be overwhelmingly positive.

After Edwin Joseph stole Day 1 with a pair of athletic pass breakups, junior college transfer Ashlynd Barker stole the day Friday with an interception during 7-on-7 work.

Fellow freshman defensive back Quindarrius Jones had an interception of his own as well during 7-on-7 work. He was challenged by Kentron Poitier running a go route, but stayed with him and made a nice play on the ball. Jones also made one of the more impressive plays during 11-on-11, leaping through the air for a vertical pass breakup on a play where he appeared to be blitzing the quarterback.

While Joseph and fellow freshman safety Conrad Hussey didn't have the same type of highlight plays as the aforementioned newcomers during the second practice, the ease with which each of them move and their impressive respective ranges were on display, particularly during 11-on-11. Pat said "they can fly" and it's hard to argue with him from watching them.

I continue to like what I see from Fentrell Cypress as well. On one particular 1-on-1 rep Friday, in a drill where he has an inherent disadvantage, Cypress was perfectly positioned to break up and shut down a really strong back-shoulder throw from Jordan Travis to a receiver who has a size advantage over him.

Overall, the secondary did a really strong job with downfield coverage, especially during 7-on-7 work. There were a few plays converted by the offense, but there were also a large amount of check-down passes due to very solid coverage.

On the defensive line, it sure must be intimidating to have Patrick Payton and Jared Verse converging on you at once, as they did Travis during one 11-on-11 play. The pair of defensive ends each blew by their opposing offensive lineman and forced Travis to escape the pocket as they each closed on him with surprising speed. Imagine we may see at least a few plays like that this fall.

In the middle, consider me very impressed by what I saw from Braden Fiske today. On one particular 11-on-11 play, three different offensive linemen attempted to stop him or slow him down, but he worked his way through all of them quickly enough to force Travis out of the pocket, hurtling after him with ridiculous closing speed for his size.

Ayobami Tifase also had a play where he singlehandedly blew it up, beating his blocker and blowing his way into the backfield for a solo tackle for loss.

Up Next

FSU's third practice is scheduled for Saturday afternoon and will be the team's first in partial pads (from the waist up).

After that, the team gets Sunday off from practice before returning Monday morning to begin the first full week of practice.