Four takeaways from FSU's first preseason scrimmage

After eight practices in a 10-day span, Florida State took its preseason camp to a new level Saturday night inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

The Seminoles held their first scrimmage of preseason camp Saturday night. And while the scrimmage was closed to the media, we caught up with head coach Mike Norvell immediately after its conclusion.

Here are four takeaways from what Norvell said in his immediate reflections on FSU's first fall scrimmage:

According to the FSU head coach, the Seminoles' defense -- especially the first-team unit -- won the scrimmage Saturday night over the offense.

Even on a night where a number of FSU's prominent players were on a somewhat limited rep count, Norvell had a lot of praise for a defensive performance which he referred to a few times as disruptive.

"I thought they were disruptive and playing in the backfield at times, forcing the quarterback to scramble," Norvell said. "I thought at all three levels, there were some good pass breakups. There were a lot of good things. I saw speed, I saw some smart plays where guys were trusting their eyes, reading their keys, playing fast in it. It was a good overall outing for the defensive side of the ball."

Early in the practice, Norvell said the defense came away with an interception during red-zone work. Throughout the practice, he says the defensive line was as effective as the team needs that unit to be.

"There were some disruptive moments from the defensive line creating push and penetration," Norvell said. "That's what we need from that group. That's what we're accustomed to from that group."

Big plays were a bit of a problem for the defense, which it sounds like also benefitted a bit from offensive mistakes. FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller also said his unit's tackling was "sloppy" at times. But overall, it sounds like Saturday's scrimmage was a net positive for the defense.

"There were a few missed tackles that we've got to continue to clean up on, a few penalties, technique things that we can get better at that extended opportunities," Norvell said. "But I thought they were very active in what they were able to do and disruptive on that side of the ball."

Outside of big plays, it sounds like Saturday was not the most consistent of performances from the FSU offense as a whole.

However, Norvell did make sure to praise one particular drive from the extensive scrimmage, which spanned about 120 total plays.

A solid chunk of those plays came on one single drive where DJ Uiagalelei marched the offense down the field for an incredibly methodical drive, which ended on a touchdown run by Sam Singleton where he broke about three or four tackles, according to Fuller.

"I think (the drive) was 20-something plays, 24 plays. It was very impressive," Norvell said. "I thought DJ did a great job of operating throughout, really taking what the defense was giving him. Anytime you have a drive like that, it's exciting to see the consistency of the plays that showed up, but also making plays in the moment, third and fourth downs."

Overall, Norvell was largely pleased with the job the quarterbacks did in the first fall scrimmage. It sounds like they were particularly effective at creating explosive plays by escaping the pocket and using their legs to extend plays and allow their receivers to get open.

"The quarterbacks, I thought they did a really nice job. I thought they were able to locate the ball well," Norvell said. "When they had to move and evade, I thought they did a good job of keeping their eyes downfield. There were a couple explosive plays, a couple touchdowns from being able to keep plays alive and locate the ball vertically."

For much of this week's practices, we've talked in our practice reports about how the wide receiver unit as a whole has been inconsistent, making some very nice plays but also struggling in moments with self-inflicted mistakes.

It sounds like that was again how the wide receiver group performed in Saturday's scrimmage.

"There were definitely some good moments and we still had a couple of missed opportunities," Norvell said. "A couple guys that got behind the defense, had a chance to go make a play and we didn't finish a handful of them."

With so little in FSU's wide receiver room in terms of known commodities, it leaves opportunities for everyone, from fifth-year seniors to true freshmen, to prove their worth as players capable of contributing right away.

While Norvell is still encouraged about the position group, it doesn't seem like the wideouts maximized those chances during the scrimmage.

"Those are opportunities for guys that are trying to establish themselves as somebody that can be in the rotation," Norvell said. "I feel good about the group that we have. I feel good about the guys that have been performing at a high level. We're trying to get a sense of what our rotation is going to look like, what guys are going to be able to earn more opportunities?"

The only wide receiver that Norvell mentioned by name when reflecting on Saturday's scrimmage? True freshman Elijah Moore. The 6-foot-4 wideout has flashed in moments while learning the offense after arriving on campus over the summer.

In his first scrimmage on the field at Doak, he seemed to rise to the occasion.

"I thought Elijah Moore had some really nice plays tonight. He stood out in that young group..." Norvell said. "He is just finishing plays. He's still got a lot to learn. I think there's a lot that he gets to grow with in his understanding, but he wants to. He had a couple of really nice catches tonight, finishing plays down the field. That's something that we need to see. And definitely, the moment has not been too big for him. Like I said, there's still a lot of things that he's got to grow in, in just overall understanding. But he definitely showed up big in these types of situations here early nine practices into camp and I thought he did it again today."

As is often the case as a protective measure during preseason scrimmages, many of FSU's most established players were held to a limited rep count Saturday night.

Norvell said this included offensive linemen Darius Washington, Maurice Smith, Robert Scott and Jeremiah Byers, defensive linemen Pat Payton, Josh Farmer and Darrell Jackson and defensive backs Azareye'h Thomas, Fentrell Cypress and Shyheim Brown.

While so many of FSU's spots in the starting lineup are likely secured by returning players, there are a number of starting spots and rotational roles in FSU's two-deep that are very much still up for grabs three weeks out from the Seminoles' season opener in Dublin.

Opportunities like Saturday's scrimmage where there are so many plays and many of the top players are restricted in their use are important for Norvell and his staff to evaluate how those younger, less-proven players compare and who is ready to contribute.

"It was really good to get the amount of reps for some new guys. I thought they were active," Norvell said. "We'll get a chance to get a better sense of it as we watch film and get through the weekend."

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