“It’s the Little Things:” Notes, observations from Wednesday’s Florida State practice

“It’s the little things.”

A theme repeated by Florida State’s coaches all during Wednesday’s practice, defensive coordinator Adamam Fuller echoed that statement during his media availability, saying, “Little things do make big changes.”

The coaching staff, following the Seminoles’ major win over LSU in primetime, is emphasizing a focused mindset to help avoid a sense of complacency. According to head coach Mike Norvell, Florida State produced another “up and down” practice but did say, “It was not because of focus or want to.”

If a rep did not fit the Seminole standard on Wednesday, the coaching staff made them go again until they did. The spotlight has been turned on FSU with a newly-earned No. 4 ranking in the AP poll, and the coaching staff is doing all they can to keep the team’s focus on Saturday night. A few themes and players stood out in Wednesday’s practice above the rest.

Situational Football

One of the reasons that Florida State left Orlando with a win Sunday night was their situational play. The Seminoles on 3rd and 4th down finished 10/15, while LSU finished 3/13 in the same category. Norvell wanted to continue to build on this success by instituting 2-minute and third-down drills today during practice. The Florida State defense turned up the heat on its counterparts and won the day during the two-minute drill. Norvell said this morning that he “wanted to get guys in different situations” when dealing with situational football. Trying to improve in situational football continues to be an emphasis for Norvell, as he had multiple days during fall camp focused on putting his team in unique gameplay situations.

Tatum Bethune

The senior leader clinched the win for the defense in the two-minute drill Wednesday morning during 11 on 11 work, intercepting a Jordan Travis pass off a deflection from Shyeim Brown. Later in practice, he used his excellent instincts to snuff out a tight-end shuffle pass, which drew high praise from the coaching staff. Bethune attributed his improvement in play to fixing his eating habits, saying that he and fellow linebacker DJ Lundy started to “go on a little diet, watch what we eat, and fix our bodies a little bit.” Fuller lauded the Miami native when he spoke to the media, saying he is “a leader and a true Seminole.”

Lawrance Toafili

Lawrance Toafili has worked through the ups and downs of the Florida State program. Now, in his fourth season with the team, he continues to be a model of consistency and work ethic that few can match. It should not be surprising that on a crucial fourth down in the third quarter, Toafili made a highlight reel play, catching the ball out in the flat and running for forty yards after that. The St. Pete native has seen his role increase with the team as Treshaun Ward transferred from the program. The new responsibility does not make a difference in his habits, and he made a few eye-opening plays during practice Wednesday. LT caught a difficult over-the-shoulder pass from Jordan Travis during 7 on 7 work and was extremely fluid when the running backs practiced their route running.

Head Coach Mike Norvell

Defensive Coordinator Adam Fuller

LB Tatum Bethune

Video Courtesy Noles247

DB Kevin Knowles

Video Courtesy Noles247