Watch: FSU head coach Mike Norvell talks first scrimmage

Florida State Seminoles football held its first scrimmage Saturday, returning to Doak Cambell Stadium for the first time since beating Miami last November. It was a chance for FSU to evaluate where the team stands after seven days of practice, from player reps and rotations to conditioning to tempo and communication.

Head coach Mike Norvell spoke after the scrimmage, detailing his observations from the day and offering some insight into the development and progress of the team so far in spring.

Here are some excerpts from the interview — you can watch the full video below.

Opening statement

“Good day — good first scrimmage. Ebb and flows of what you want to see competitively...throwing them into particular situations. I really like where we are after 7 days of practice.”

On Jordan Travis

“I expected Jordan to play with a lot of confidence, and he’s doing that — great ownership of the offense...doing a great job of owning the ball, taking what the defense is giving him.”

On tempo

“We know what to do, now we need to do it fast and efficiently.”

“We need to play faster. There’s no doubt about it. Unless you push yourself to that max, you’re eliminating where you can get to.”

More scrimmage observations

“It’s great seeing those newcomers get that first opportunity — they’ve got the game to slow down a little bit more for them.”

“Trey Benson had a couple few big runs — RB CJ Campbell came out and had a good day...WR Mycah Pittman scored a TD.”

On Trey Benson

“It’s been impressive watching him — this last week coming off spring break, you see the confidence.”

“Today he had a couple of plays near the goal line, you feel his power. He had a couple of big runs, you feel his speed.”

On AJ Duffy

“For his first scrimmage was really impressive. He probably had one of the best throws of the day. On a little boot-action he threw it 45 yards deep to his left that was impressive. It was a great throw. But he doesn’t act like a freshman...this is somebody that should be in the spring semester of his senior year. He just has a different mentality and he’s prepared for the moment. He’s come in and he’s competing. He still has a lot of things to clean up. I like his presence in the ownership of what he’s doing.”