Florida State begins Miami week with a bit of uncertainty at the quarterback position.
Redshirt freshman Brock Glenn made his second straight start in Friday night's 23-16 loss at Duke. But when Glenn had a stretch in the first half when he had turnovers on three straight plays (two interceptions with a fumble between them), FSU turned to true freshman Luke Kromenhoek for a stretch of five drives over the second and third quarters.
Now entering a rivalry week, FSU head coach Mike Norvell is not revealing the state of the quarterback room and if Kromenhoek could play or potentially even start Saturday's 7 p.m. rivalry game at No. 6 Miami.
"We'll evaluate all things as we go into this week on that," Norvell said at his press conference Sunday. "I was pleased with Brock and how he was able to respond coming back in the game and obviously for Luke, what he was able to do. So those guys will continue to work. We're going to continue to push forward. And every single one of us, we're going to go be better."
Neither Glenn nor Kromenhoek was able to bring much of a spark to FSU's offense in its first-ever loss to the Blue Devils. However, both were badly hindered by issues all around them ranging from wide receiver drops to underwhelming offensive line pass-blocking, which resulted in six sacks for Duke.
After Glenn completed 3 of 10 passes for 37 yards in the first half with two interceptions, he played much better in the second half, completing 6 of 9 passes for 73 yards over the final 16:22 of game time. His first drive back into the game resulted in a field goal that cut the deficit to four points and he led a promising fourth-quarter drive with FSU trailing by seven that was derailed by a Kam Davis fumble fairly deep into Duke territory.
Kromenhoek's passing line doesn't grade out as favorably. He completed just 3 of 7 passes for 17 yards over his five drives. However, that stat line looks much better had he not been let down by a few incredibly significant drops. Senior receiver Kentron Poitier dropped a beautiful deep ball that would have been Kromenhoek's first touchdown pass. Then Hykeem Williams dropped another downfield pass, which derailed a one-minute drill drive at the end of the first half.
"Those guys are both going to continue to work, continue to prepare..." Norvell said of the quarterbacks. "They're both so young in their careers, every rep, every opportunity you got a chance for great growth. We expect that here as this week progresses and as we continue to move forward."
It sounds like both quarterbacks could again see action this weekend in Miami Gardens. Kromenhoek could play in as many as three of FSU's final five games while maintaining his redshirt.
However, FSU offensive coordinator Alex Atkins seemed to let on during his press conference Sunday that he expects Glenn to make his third straight start Saturday night.
"We know moving forward that Brock is going to run out there first, but there's also a competition and evaluation part of it," Atkins said. "We trust them."
Follow The Osceola on Facebook
Follow The Osceola on Twitter
Subscribe to the Osceola's YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Osceola's podcasts on Apple
