Florida State fall camp notebook: August 25

Update, 11:45 PM

Mike Norvell met with the media today to speak on Tuesday morning’s practice and giving scholarships to former walk-on’s Deonte Sheffield and Wyatt Rector. On Sheffield and Rector, Norvell said, “Got to visit with both those guys and met with them individually. I believe both of them have put themselves in position to help this team this year.” He also mentioned that he’s given a scholarship to a walk-on every year since he was a head coach.

Norvell was very pleased with the offense’s production today. He mentioned it was a second good day of response since Saturday’s scrimmage on Bobby Bowden field. He said, “Good practice today. Physical day, full workload. Thought it was the best day the offense had collectively.”

All of camp, he’s been pleased with the running back group, and that continued today. He said, “I’m excited about that group. Really seeing some growth. There were plays from the scrimmage that really jumped out to me.” He also singled out freshman Lawrence Toafili for his play this week. “Lawrence Toafili has been remarkable in this last week.”

Norvell closed out by confirming that freshman offensive lineman Zane Herring will be out for the year with a shoulder injury. “Zane got banged up towards end of last week. We decided with him and his family he would have surgery. He will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder surgery.”

Update, 12:00 PM

We heard from wide receivers coach Ron Dugans for the first time this fall today. Dugans spoke about the expectations of his group and what he’s seen from his group so far. With a new group and a new coaching staff around him, he’s been focused on the little things. “The first thing you try to do is bring everyone together. Then you try to focus on the little things, the details, the assignments. Route depth, catching the football, perimeter blocking.”

Saturday’s scrimmage was a rough one for FSU’s offense. Since then, they’ve received praise from Norvell. Dugans said he wants to see more consistency and more focus on details after Saturday’s scrimmage from his wide receiver group.

Yesterday, Norvell praised Keyshawn Helton’s hard work in rehab. We heard the same from Dugans today. On Helton, he said, “This offseason he was a machine. Now its just the mental part of it, not being afraid of being hit”

With this being his first year working under Coach Norvell, he’s enjoyed what he’s brought to his alma mater. He said, “The entire staff, there are no egos, we just want to coach ball and help kids. Coach Norvell, he’s been demanding. To be honest with you, I love it. It’s been a breath of fresh air.”

Update, 12:10 PM

Keyshawn Helton spoke to the media for the first time this fall today. He opened up by talking about how blessed he is just to be back in the normal white practice jersey. He said, “I am blessed, to say the least. To get back in the white jersey, I’m blessed.”

He’s been praised for two days in a row for how he approached rehab. On his mindset during rehab, he said, “It’s just the drive, and the passion and love for the game. I want to be the best. I wanted to prove to myself I can still play this game at a high level.”

During quarantine, Helton stayed in Tallahassee to continue his rehab with Florida State’s athletic training staff. He mentioned how he had to sacrifice seeing his family, but it was worth it for where he’s at now. He said, “Being back with the guys whether I take the field or not, that’s the best thing. My number one goal is to inspire others.”

Update, 12:15 PM

The wide receiver theme continued today as we also heard from wide out Jordan Young for the first time this fall this morning. He spoke on the new system he’s in and the importance of explosiveness from the WRs. He said, “The offense doesn’t really go without the WR’s. We try to be the most explosive players that we can.” He also mentioned that the biggest difference with this offense is the attention to detail.

Young spoke a bit on Helton and what he means to the team and how he went through his rehab. He mentioned how he is “the hardest working player he has ever met” and how he inspires other guys on the team to be their best.

Consistency, consistency, consistency.

That’s something we’ve heard from Florida State Seminoles football head coach Mike Norvell and others emphasize nonstop, especially in the aftermath in a less-than-impressive offensive output in the second scrimmage of fall camp.

“There were some positives that came off the film but once again,” he said to the media during availability on Monday, adding that “if you have negative plays, if you put yourself behind the chains with penalties and things like that, it’s just hard to be a consistent offense.”

Norvell said he and the team reviewed plays from the scrimmage, repeating what he had said Saturday — that there were bright spots and flashes, but small errors and self-inflicted wounds kept killing drives.

“There were some really good plays offensively and some guys that played at their highest level since we’ve been here, but collectively, as a group, it wasn’t where it needed to be to sustain success,” Norvell said. “We show them 12 plays where it might have been one person that [if they] would have done their job to the level of what they are being asked to do, it would have been a huge success.”

“And then we go back and we show basically two drives where there was positive, positive, positive, positive, then one play that’s a setback and what that did to our drive.”

He mentioned that there won’t be a third scrimmage — rather, this week and weekend will serve as an opportunity for tweeners sitting between second and third on the depth chart to earn more reps and make their final case for getting on the field when the season rolls around.

We expect to hear from Norvell and other members of the team starting around 10:50 a.m., and you can follow along in the comments throughout the day, as well as on our Twitter and Instagram.