FSU football practice notebook: End of camp, start of game week

Today marked the last day of media coverage for the Florida State Seminoles fall camp.

The plan for tomorrow is a mock game, simulated in a sense to prepare for unknown circumstances that may arise in the upcoming game vs. Notre Dame on September 5th.

“I want everything to be organized, I want everything to be sharp. If you can go out there and have a great sense of what to do it just builds in the confidence for when we show up on Sunday night and what it needs to look like,” head coach Mike Norvell said Saturday.

With that, here’s some news and notes from today’s practice.

11 on 11’s

The first play ends in a sack by defensive end Quashon Fuller. The second, quarterback Jordan Travis is forced to roll out from pressure and defensive end Jermaine Johnson logs a sack by touch, but Travis was already jumping to get over Johnson and finds wide receiver Andrew Parchment in the middle for a would-be first down. With some much-needed time in the pocket, Jordan Travis throws a missile downfield to wide receiver Malik McClain in a soft spot of the secondary who then takes it to the endzone for a touchdown.

• There was only one play in the red zone at this portion of practice and it was an overthrow by Travis to Malik McClain in the back corner of the endzone with defensive back Travis Jay following closely behind.
• On quarterback Chubba Purdy's turn, he feels immediate pressure in the form of defensive end Marcus Cushnie forcing an early pass that falls incomplete. Following a low snap that throws off the rhythm of the play, wide receiver Kentron Poitier tries to grab the pass thrown behind him, and it goes incomplete. On the next play, running back Lawrence Toafili breaks a tackle in the backfield, cuts it around the pile for a good gain, and gets the first down.
• Freshman defensive back Kevin Knowles II had a nice pass breakup on freshman wide receiver Joshua Burrell

One-on-ones with the defensive backs

• Malik McClain had a great contested catch from quarterback Chubba Purdy.
• An absolute laser was thrown (and caught) to Andrew Parchment which sent a loud thud across the indoor practice facility.
• Wide receivers Kentron Poitier, Ontaria Wilson, and Darion Williamson all had nice catches and Wilson brought one down for a touchdown.

Red zone 11 on 11’s

Inside there were a few plays to note, most specifically the two turnovers.

• Veteran defensive back Meiko Dotson drops his coverage and blitzes towards the quarterback catching Chubba Purdy off guard. Purdy tries to throw it without even seeing Dotson it seemed, Dotson leapt into the air arms outstretched for a pick-six that got attending athletic director David Coburn to exclaim, (paraphrasing) “That’s going to the house!”
• The second turnover was a fumble recovery by defensive tackle Malcolm Ray who then after the whistle was blown, proceeded to run it down the field to the endzone with teammates chasing him with praise. You gotta love it when the big guy gets one.

Entering the game preparation week, a mock game, and a day off, Mike Norvell had this to say about the atmosphere in Doak Cambell Stadium for the upcoming game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish:

“To say excited would probably be the biggest understatement of my life. Seeing a packed house, running out of that tunnel, our fans have been ready for this, we have been ready for it, we absolutely need them [the fans] to make an incredible impact on this game.”

Catch the game Sunday, September 5th at 7:30 pm on ABC.

VIDEO: Mike Norvell talks about the identity of his team headed into game week