Two weeks out from their Sept. 5 season opener against No. 9 Notre Dame, the Florida State Seminoles held their second scrimmage of the preseason Sunday evening inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

FSU head coach Mike Norvell expressed a desire for a game-like environment during the crucial scrimmage, and several players on each side of the ball were complimented by Norvell and FSU's three coordinators -- each of whom spoke to the media following the scrimmage.

Some of the highest praise went to a young returning starter on the offensive line, redshirt freshman Robert Scott, who Norvell said has enjoyed “a remarkable camp.” Scott played right tackle in 2020, but the coaches wanted to give him a look at left tackle this preseason, and Norvell said the Arkansas product has adapted extremely well.

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With FSU resting some of their more experienced defensive ends for parts or all of Sunday's scrimmage, Scott and FSU's other tackles were tested by some impressive newer faces coming off the edge -- specifically, true freshman Patrick Payton and Alabama A&M transfer Marcus Cushnie.

Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said Payton “showed some flashes,” while Fuller and Norvell each said they are excited about the Miami product's potential.

Defensive ends coach John Papuchis also had very positive things to say about Cushnie's performance.

"I thought Marcus flashed tonight. He made some plays,” Papuchis said. “For him, it's a matter of how quick can we get him prepared. Because he's only been with us for a couple of weeks. Every day he’s learned something. I think he'll be a guy that will be able to make an impact for us this fall."

Another transfer who starred in the scrimmage was running back D.J. Williams. Norvell said Williams has continued to improve this offseason and now is, “definitely playing at a much higher level.”

Williams broke off a few big runs early in the scrimmage and, “set things off with a bang,” according to Norvell.

Offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham is more familiar with the former Auburn Tiger than anyone on the staff, having already coached Williams at Auburn in 2019. When Williams enrolled at FSU in January, he was a little heavier than he had been with the Tigers, but Dillingham said Williams has dropped more than 10 pounds since then and has returned to old form.

"He looks so much faster, so much quicker. He looks like the guy I coached [at Auburn] before he got here,” Dillingham said. “He's just another example of guys buying in. ... That's a guy that I've seen produce at a high level, and I'm very, very pleased with him."

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Among the defensive back group, it was the usual suspects -- another strong outing for the freshman duo of Shyheim Brown and Kevin Knowles.

On Knowles, Norvell named the early enrollee as a defender who flashed and, “did some good things.” Fuller was also high on Knowles, who he said played primarily at cornerback.

"All he's done is play really hard and make the plays that come his way,” Fuller said. “He's done a nice job."

Brown, meanwhile, picked off another pass on Sunday night. He also had an interception in the first scrimmage, and both Fuller and Norvell made sure to mention his progress during the preseason.

Finally at wide receiver, everyone around the program has had their eyes locked on the development of senior Andrew Parchment, who transferred in this summer from Kansas and has been working to learn the offense and gel with his new quarterbacks and teammates.

Norvell said that Parchment dropped a pass early in the scrimmage, but he came back to haul in a touchdown soon after that.

Dillingham noted that Parchment is learning on the fly; adjusting to the challenges that come with picking up a new playbook and understanding the nuances of how different routes are run in this offense.

“As I’ve said before, that’s a kid who’s intelligent. He’s smart, he likes ball, and he cares,” Dillingham said. “When he does do something that’s not how we do it here, as an adjustment, he usually learns from that and he doesn’t make the same mistake twice. That’s the key to playing early, key to playing as a transfer.”

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