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Football
Florida State football has officially entered game week for this Saturday’s contest against Jacksonville State with the Seminoles returning to the practice field for the first time since their overtime loss to Notre Dame.
The start of the new week coming with plenty of interviews from the program after a couple days to review the game film and get a better perspective on what went right and what went wrong on Sunday night.
- For head coach Mike Norvell, that meant giving his take on the performance of his quarterbacks — including why he’s not blaming Jordan Travis for two of his interceptions — plus the rationale of going for it on 4th down in his own territory in the third.
- Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller felt the physicality from his unit was a big plus but there are plenty of negatives he wants to see cleaned up as well.
- One of the biggest standout groups from Sunday was the defensive line who had four sacks in the opener after only having 6.5 all of last season. They explain the attitude adjustments that made it possible and defensive back Sidney Williams said that carried over to the secondary.
- The defense’s top star was defensive end Jermaine Johnson whose 2.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks earned him ACC defensive lineman of the week.
- A new week also means a new depth chart. No, there were no changes to the QB position — though you can see weigh in on that raging debate and see Juan Montalvo and I’s takes on the situation here, but there were some other new alternate starters added to some key positions including one that plagued FSU on Sunday night.
Recruiting coordinator and running backs coach David “YAC” Johnson shared what I’m sure the messaging inside the program over the quarterback position is on Twitter with a snippet of the game broadcast.
TOGETHER TRUST THE PROCESS!!! pic.twitter.com/rj1bgl4FNr
— DAVID JOHNSON (@CoachYACJohnson) September 7, 2021
Though ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit seems to have his own favorite after he named McKenzie Milton his top performing player in the country after Week 1.
My top performing players from WEEK 1!
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 7, 2021
McKenzie Milton, @FSUFootball
Bryce Young, @AlabamaFTBL
Corral/Drummond, @OleMissFB
Riley Moss, @HawkeyeFootball
Nakobe Dean, @GeorgiaFootball
Tagovailoa/Demus Jr., @TerpsFootball
Kenneth Walker III, @MSU_Football
Jack Coan, @NDFootball pic.twitter.com/aihJ57aAXH
As I mentioned yesterday, Milton’s story was one of a few heartwarming moments from the Seminoles this weekend. Another was the reunion of Dillan Gibbons and Timothy Donovan. Timothy getting a look all around the FSU facility and some personal time with Coach Norvell who made a meaningful bond with the Donovan family as well.
And I also want to add that @Coach_Norvell is genuinely kind, and cares about people. What you see is what you get! We are so grateful he took the time out of his day to spend a few moments with us. This is one of my favorite pictures of the day. pic.twitter.com/9yUkzUc5dB
— Paula Donovan (@pdonovanp23) September 8, 2021
Tuesday, special teams coordinator and defensive end coach John Papuchis launched a non-profit with an eye toward helping the community as well. More details still to come through their Instagram page so be sure to give that a follow. We’re excited to see the great work their able to do as well.
Today our family launched the 7 Hearts Project. It is our family run, non-profit designed to give back to this community that we love and invest in helping those that need a hand. Please follow our IG page: the7heartsproject - we will have updates and announcements very soon. pic.twitter.com/p5VZgSjnnX
— John Papuchis (@FSUCoachJP) September 7, 2021
Recruiting
The fallout from Sunday’s overtime thriller is continuing in the recruiting landscape as potential future Seminoles got their first taste of what a true Doak atmosphere looks and feels like. So how has that impacted the Florida State of Recruiting? Our three stars break it all down for you.
Soccer/Volleyball
It’s not just football to look forward to this week as both the soccer and volleyball teams have a handful of games still ahead.
Take a at this weeks schedule ⬇️@FSU_Volleyball
— FSU Seminoles (@Seminoles) September 7, 2021
Georgia
UCF
FGCU@FSUSoccer
FGCU
Auburn@FSUFootball
Jacksonville State#OneTribe pic.twitter.com/RldPOA7UQ0
Softball
The spring sports are waiting for their turn to take the field and sharing some really nice views in the process.
Sending morning smiles from the plex pic.twitter.com/nOE5BJ6qbg
— Lonni Alameda (@Coach_Alameda) September 7, 2021