Florida State football fall practice Darrell Jackson Joshua Farmer

Posted on by Vaseline

play

The third day of Florida State football’s fall camp wrapped up on Friday, and the Seminoles’ defensive line put on a show.

Led by Darrell Jackson, Joshua Farmer and Patrick Payton, the dynamic defensive line navigated its first practice in protective gear with relative ease.

Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell was pleased with the team’s progress and praised its defensive side.

“First day on pads, I thought today was a very competitive day,” Norvell said. “The defensive line was disruptive and did a good job of getting the ball away. Every position had flashes of showing some physicality.”

While the defensive line performed best, FSU’s running backs seemed up to the physical challenge, with a few players standing out.

Here are six things you need to know about the FSU football team’s third fall practice.

‘Disruptive’ defensive line shines in drills and practice matches

Farmer and Jackson, products of Gadsden County High School, showed the same flashes of dominance they used to show every Friday night in Havana.

Both players quickly ran through defensive line drills and looked strong and fast as they ran around cones, tackle dummies and blockers at the start of practice.

Along with the duo, Payton was impressive working through contact, even getting his hand on a pass while working through contact in a drill, and he directed the defensive line during 7 vs. 7 and 11 vs. 11 drills. He had a sack in scrimmage work, also getting a few stops while creating chaos in both the backfield and the open field.

During 11 vs. 11 work, Farmer blew up a run by Jaylin Lucas, stopping him in the backfield. That got a huge reaction from a handful of coaches, including Norvell. He also fist bumped Jackson after the tackle.

Both Farmer and Payton were All-ACC picks last season, with Farmer making the second team and Payton honorable mention. The duo and Jackson appear poised to be on the all-conference awards lists again this season.

Jackson, who missed last season after the NCAA denied his transfer waiver, looked very strong. Powering through contact and putting pressure on quarterbacks and running backs in both 7v7 and 11v11 work, Jackson has high expectations for himself this season.

“I want to dominate, show everybody I’m back,” Jackson said. “Taking over games, being disruptive, making tackles in the backfield and helping my teammates.”

Wide receiver Malik Benson’s speed is key to another strong drill

After an excellent practice on the second day, senior Alabama transfer Malik Benson also showed a strong performance on the third day.

Benson worked well in point drills and was able to show his speed a few times when breaking through blockers. With speed being a key component to his game, as well as the Seminoles’ offense, Benson says he’s the fastest on the team, which includes freshman state champion sprinter Micahi Danzy, Jalen Brown and Lucas.

“That freshman, he definitely has it,” Benson said. “I’m definitely faster.”

The speed that Benson has shown during passing drills is that he can quickly release and put pressure on defenders with his speed.

He was able to create separation in a variety of ways, using quick cuts and sprints to challenge the defense and test the arms of DJ Uiagalelei and Brock Glenn.

Caziah Holmes and Lawrance Toafili lead running backs

Both Caziah Homes and Lawrance Toafili emerged as standout players during the opening days of training, with Holmes producing impressive performances two days in a row.

Holmes played in a variety of situations during practice, assisting with punt returns, catching passes and making quick tackles.

During the 11-on-11 game, Holmes broke loose for a long touchdown run, cutting between tackles before emerging from the scrum like a train coming out of a tunnel.

The senior, who is still in the team, looks confident and in top form during training, performing the exercises efficiently and positioning himself to make an impact this season alongside a player like Toafili.

Toafili was impressive in drills, but really took center stage with some strong runs and catches in scrimmage work. The redshirt senior was a reliable playmaker for the Seminoles last season, and he’s ready to fill the void left by Trey Benson.

His unpredictability in the open field and ability to function as both a pass catcher and runner were key to his early success in fall camp.

Kyle Morlock, Azareye’h Thomas and Fentrell Cypress continue to shine

The trio of Kyle Morlock, Azareye’h Thomas and Fentrell Cypress have been the camp’s biggest standouts so far.

Morlock’s growth as a route runner and pass catcher has been evident, with the tight end creating problems for defenses in both short and long passing situations. During Friday’s practice, Morlock caught a deep ball from quarterback Brock Glenn, and tied the catch over the back of a defender before running toward the end zone.

Both Thomas and Cypress were virtually untouchable in drills and pass coverage, making impressive deflections and reading the ball well.

Thomas matched Morlock at one point, diving behind the tight end to block Uiagalelei’s pass before it could reach the goal. Cypress was strong in scrimmage work, keeping the ball away from his side of the field and covering well when it came his way.

Another solid day for quarterbacks DJ Uiagalelei and Brock Glenn

Both Uiagalelei and Glenn have been steady during the opening days of training camp, and Friday’s practice was no exception.

Uiagalelei looked sharper in scrimmage work today, even with Toafili on a long, looping pass over two defenders that the running back pinned well on the sideline. The ball left his hand quickly and while there were a few minor timing mishaps early on, the Oregon State transfer worked well and connected in time late in the day.

Glenn was able to showcase two aspects of his game that we haven’t seen much of during the first few days of practice, his deep ball and creativity when running the ball. In a moment of 11 vs. 11 work, Glenn recognized a blitz and pulled the ball from the running back at the last second to beat the pressure and give himself a free run to the endzone.

Both players appear to be making steady progress during the first week of training.

Two days of hard work by special teams in a row

This week saw a strong focus on special teams work, with punt returns and formations taking up a number of sessions during Friday’s practice.

The Seminoles returned several players including Lucas, Toafili, Danzy and many more.

Punter Alex Mastromanno has not seemed to have slowed down for a second since last season, throwing a number of great punts down the field with the precision we expect from the Australian.

In field goal work, kicker Ryan Fitzgerald and freshman Jake Weinberg both kicked field goals from 30 yards out. Both 40-yarders were blocked, with Payton getting a hand on Fitzgerald’s kick and redshirt sophomore defensive back Christian White getting a hand on Weinberg’s kick.

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooneand

Avatar for Vaseline
Vaseline https://newspowergreen.biz.id

You May Also Like

More From Author