The Florida State football team is at the midway point of 2021 spring drills, and thanks to head coach Mike Norvell opening the doors to the media for some of those practices, we feel like we've gotten a pretty good feel for how things are trending.
With that in mind, we've asked the Warchant staff to answer five key questions about the Seminoles, based on their observations from practices and last Saturday's scrimmage. Those questions are:
* What are your impressions of the QB competition so far?
* Based on what you've seen and heard so far, who would you pick as a breakout player on offense and defense?
* Which segment group are you more optimistic about after a couple weeks of practice?
* Which segment group are you more concerned about after a couple weeks of practice?
* Should FSU try to find a wide receiver with its final available scholarship if one becomes available in the transfer market, or hold out for an offensive tackle no matter what?
This Roundtable features Warchant founder and administrator Gene Williams, managing editor Ira Schoffel, senior writer Corey Clark and director of digital media Aslan Hajivandi.
Don't miss out on our great sports coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial!
Q: What are your impressions of the QB competition so far?
GENE: It’s clear that this has become a two-player battle between Jordan Travis and McKenzie Milton. Now that Chubba Purdy is sidelined for the rest of spring, the outside shot he had to compete for the position is probably gone. Tate Rodemaker has progressed since last season, but there’s still a significant gap between him and the leading contenders.
It’s also pretty clear that Travis is ahead of Milton “at this stage." He obviously has a better grasp of the offense, and his mobility sets him apart from all the other quarterbacks. The redshirt sophomore signal-caller is also throwing the football with a lot more confidence compared to last season. That being said, you have to consider that Milton hasn’t really played football for 2 1/2 years and is also learning a new offense. And he’s come a long way in just a few practices to narrow the gap. There’s no telling how much better he’ll look by the spring game or by next fall.
COREY: I still think at the end of the day it will be Milton, but Travis is going to push him. And Travis definitely should be a significant part of the offense in 2021 even if he doesn't outright win the starting QB job. He's just too much of a playmaker to be stuck on the sideline for an entire game without contributing. But I also think it's not completely out of the realm of possibilities that he wins the job. I know we've only seen a few practices and one scrimmage, but nothing we've seen or heard so far makes you think it's a runaway for Milton.
If he's going to win this job, he's going to have to actually earn it. I assume he'll look better the more reps he gets in this offense, but for the time being, I don't think it's outlandish to think Travis is right in the thick of this thing. As for Rodemaker and Purdy, I still think they're a year away from realistically competing for the starting spot. And Purdy needs to get right physically, at some point, to have any chance at all to contribute.
ASLAN: Coming into the spring, I thought McKenzie Milton was going to hit the ground running and demonstrate a great feel and grasp for this playmaker-friendly offense, and that the physical and mental hurdles of his injury would be the hindrances to overcome. Well, I guess the good news is that physically he looks totally fine, but I wouldn't say he's performing like a guy who won 23 straight games and amassed nearly 10,000 yards of offense. That said, I still think he has the time to familiarize himself with the playbook and his targets, and earn the start for FSU against Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Jordan Travis continues to show the ability to avoid pressure and pick up huge chunks of yards when things break down … and he’s showing some nice touch on his deep throws. There’s a real competition, and I think it will make the both of them the better for it.
