Florida State fall camp notebook: August 24

Update, 12:30 p.m.

Mike Norvell spoke to the media today about FSU’s Monday morning practice and the offense’s response to a slow scrimmage. He was pleased with the way the offense responded to the defense’s dominant play from Saturday night. He said, “Good day of response for the offense, came out and showed up in challenging situations.”

He continued on to mention that the offense is closer to what it needs to look like than it seems, “We’re not far off. We just allowed too many negative plays. It takes all eleven guys on the same page to be productive.”

The head coach also mentioned that despite some minor injuries in the last couple weeks, FSU is starting to get healthier on both sides of the ball. After some long-term injuries for Cory Durden and Keyshawn Helton, both are back to a full go for Florida State. On Helton, Norvell said, “He did an incredible job with his rehab. When the ball is snapped and he gets his repetitions, it’s impressive.”

One player that hasn’t been seen in a while is Jordan Travis. Norvell addressed that matter today, saying, “He was not able to scrimmage. He’s been working through a couple things, not anything I’m concerned about long term. He’s progressing well, I’m confident in him.”

Update, 1 p.m.

We heard from three defensive veterans in defensive back Cyrus Fagan and linebackers DeCalon Brooks and Leonard Warner.

The three each touched on what it means to be in a leadership position, what they’ve seen so far from the coaching staff and team that’ve struck them as different and Fagan spoke about the importance of special teams in regards to his position and overall team success.

“There is way more depth now,” Fagan said of the secondary. :If somebody messes up, they are going to be accountable. We are trying to be the best team in the nation. As the secondary, we know everything falls on us.”

“We are honestly just ready to win. It’s as simple as that,” Warner said. “We believe in this staff.”

“This biggest difference with the team is the leadership and the accountability. It’s beautiful to watch.”

“[Linebackers coach Chris] Marve is a very smart, very intense coach and he brings a lot of energy to the group,” Brooks said. “He wants to make sure we get better each and every day and uphold a standard when we step on the field.”

After Florida State Seminoles football’s scrimmage on Saturday, head coach Mike Norvell and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham had one common theme: the offense needs to step up its game.

Neither coach placed specific blame on any particular position group, but it would be hard pressed to imagine its anything we haven’t been expecting. Growing pains are standard in year one, especially with an offensive unit that hasn’t had cohesive coaching since (insert year here), so the fact that the defense is further ahead shouldn’t come as a shock to anybody (that isn’t to say, however, that there’s nothing to worry about.)

The search continues for the right combination of five offensive linemen, while on the defensive side of the ball, the trenches runneth over. We’ve seen defensive tackles shifting all over the field — Marvin Wilson and Fabien Lovett at end, for example — while the defensive back unit is as deep as its been in a minute. Linebacker remains a question, though we’ve heard good things about DeCalon Brooks, Stephen Dix Jr. and Leonard Warner, amongst others.

We expect to hear from Norvell and other members of the team starting around 11 a.m., and you can follow along in the comments throughout the day, as well as on our Twitter and Instagram.