FSU Football Practice Report: Rain or shine, it’s almost time

There are only seventeen days until FSU’s season opener against Virginia Tech.

The Seminoles returned home from their trip to IMG, practicing under the roof of the Dunlap Practice Facility on Friday after rain forced them inside.

Former defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews joined Odell Haggins on the way to practice.

Offense

While the starting quarterback position remains uncertain, on Friday, Deondre Francois looked the best out of the three. The knee looks healthy. The arm appears stronger than ever. He took most of the first team reps, although it’s important to note that the media only sees twenty to thirty minutes of practice.

Hockman still brings an incredible arm to the table, and James Blackman has that year of baptism-by-fire experience. The battle is on-going.

Lights, Cam, Action

Cam Aker continues to impress. Jacques Patrick certainly looks like he’s gained some size and power, and fans should expect him to benefit once again from playing behind an all-American-type talent.

Amir Rasul spoke with the media before practice, and says that he’s in a great place in terms of health and conditioning. This backfield is looking more and more lethal every day.

Quite the Duo

After Tre McKitty, Naseir Upshur and Alex Marshall appear to be the next targets at tight end. Marshall is impressive to watch given his size, but still needs to grow into his 6-8 frame. Upshur showed off his superb hands in the limited drills.

Open Space

The wide receivers spent most of the allotted media availability time working on plays with downfield blocking, while one receiver caught the ball in the flat. Tamorrion Terry looked formidable taking on men downfield, while Nyqwan Murray still shows flashes of exceptionally good performance. The question coming into camp was mostly “who will be that third option behind Murray and Gavin?” The may never be just one guy that takes on that roll, but rather, several options that alleviate pressure from just one player.

Big men up front

The offensive line “depth chart” has remained relatively unchanged during almost every practice observation since the start of camp: Williams, Kelly, Eberle, Martinez(in place of Minshew), Dickerson from lefty tackle to right tackle.

Injured/Absent

Cole Minshew was not observed during the allotted media viewing time. No source could confirm if it was due to a serious injury.

Defense

The line

Janarius Robinson looks more fluid with his movements every practice. He said two weeks ago that he’s where he wants to be in terms of his weight. It truly shows during drills.

Marvin Wilson continues to show signs of improvement coming off of a knee injury in spring. He was pushing the sled at what looked to be 100% effort on Friday. I say 100% because even if he wasn’t going all-out, he was pushing that sled with incredible force. Like, wow.

Linebackers

Practice began with one-on-two drills. A defender would have to simultaneously take on a blocker and attempt to tackle a running back. Sophomore Leonard Warner III stood out the most amongst the linebackers that took these reps. He absolutely threw away tight end Gabe Nabers in one drill before tackling Anthony Grant.

The Secondary

The starting secondary remains unchanged. The two cornerbacks are Levonta Taylor and Kyle Meyers. Safeties, respectively, are A.J. Westbrook and Stanford Samuels III.