Florida State Football

FSU head coach Mike Norvell, quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz speak ahead of Seminoles’ trip to Jacksonville

Florida State gets set to make the drive to Duval

By Tomahawk Nation News Aug 9, 2023, 6:12pm EDT

Wednesday, August 9 marked the Florida State Seminoles’ sixth day of fall camp, with the clock ticking down to the squad’s season opener against the LSU Tigers in Orlando.

The two teams, who met last season in New Orleans, were both ranked in the top ten of the USA Today Coaches’ Poll preseason Top 25.

FSU head coach Mike Norvell has his team honed in on the importance of putting in the right work this offseason as the Seminoles look to match the lofty expectations placed upon them heading into the 2023 season.

“Thought we got good work in today,” Norvell said. “Little bit shorter practice, big special teams emphasis, got some two-minute situations in to try to accelerate our installation and I thought guys did good — offensively and defensively, I thought that showed up.”

The reason for the shorter practice? A drive down to Duval.

For the last two years under Norvell, Florida State has hit the road down I-10 to Jacksonville, an effort on the coaching staff’s part to not just add a switch-up to the monotony of August days but also give the team its first feel of the year for maintaining the standard outside of the confines of Tallahassee.

“Even though it’s a little bit lesser on the overall workload, the intensity had to be the same and I thought you saw that, some really good competitiveness.”

Along with Norvell, quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz spoke with the media, offering his thoughts on the performance of the Seminoles’ gunslingers so far including praise for starting quarterback and Heisman contender Jordan Travis, who he called “the total package.”

“It’s fun watching those guys come along,” he said of Travis, Tate Rodemaker, AJ Duffy, Brock Glenn. “Once you put the pads on, it’s a little bit different — we’re getting up to speed, everything’s coming together and just gotta keep getting better every day.”

You can watch both interviews, along with full transcripts, below: