Now healthy, FSU safeties making big strides this spring
It shouldn't be much of a surprise that Florida State's defensive backs have had an edge on the wide receivers early this spring.
While the secondary obviously endured some struggles in 2020, it's also a group that returns a ton of experience in 2021. And FSU's coaches say several of the players who got on the field last fall -- safeties Travis Jay, Brendan Gant and Sidney Williams, in particular -- were battling through physical ailments that limited their development.
Now that they're at full strength and full speed, they have been among the early spring standouts.
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*ALSO SEE: Complete breakdown of Tuesday interviews with Norvell, others
Gant, for example, missed most of last summer with a non-football-related injury that caused him to be limited physically through the early part of the 2020 season. He didn't see extensive playing time until the final three games, and he delivered his best performance -- by far -- in the season finale against Duke.
According to Pro Football Focus, Gant posted an overall grade of 90.5 in that game. The next highest defensive grade was Hamsah Nasirildeen at 79.5.
"He is a totally different person right now," Norvell said of Gant following Tuesday's practice. "You look at his body weight -- he's up over 205 pounds. I think he played last year in the low 180s. It was a struggle, in a lot of aspects. But he's taken a lot of ownership. He's somebody that is passionate to improve. I love his energy. ... He definitely has the talent, and [we're] excited about his continued growth."
Norvell has seen similar strides from redshirt freshman Sidney Williams.
When Williams signed with Florida State as part of the 2020 recruiting class, he was coming off of an injury-shortened senior season. A torn labrum had forced him to miss most of that year and limited him early last fall.
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