FSU Practice Report: Seminoles Enter Last Week of Camp

Florida State was back on the practice field again on Monday as the Seminoles kick off the final week of Fall camp. With just a handful of practices between now and when FSU breaks camp at the end of the week, every single rep counts more than ever for the handful of guys jockeying for playing time.

Here’s some of the highlights from today’s practice:

• Cam Erving started the pre-practice session working on his shotgun snaps. He was not dressed in pads, but this was being done as a precaution. Josue Matias was also not dressed in full pads.
• As for Erving’s (light) work at center, this has been happening throughout camp, but it shouldn’t send fans into a panic about whether Erving is going to move inside. Barring something unforeseen, Erving is the day one starter at left tackle. It’s common for Jimbo Fisher to have players cross-train to ensure continuity on the line in the case of injury. But in Erving’s case, he is one of the top LT prospects in the country and chose to return to FSU for his senior season to improve his stock at that position. Fisher is the first to tell his players that football is also a business. It wouldn’t make much business sense for Erving to slide outside — and I doubt Fisher asks him to once the games start.
• Freshman Roderick Johnson — all 6-7, 330 lbs of him — was standing in at left tackle while Erving practiced his snaps. Johnson already looks like a D1 left tackle and should provide some good depth this season as he learns the scheme and gets used to the college game. Kareem Are was spelling Matias at guard.
• Matthew Thomas is still sidelined with an ankle injury. With an already-crowded group at linebacker, missing reps could hurt his chances to see the field early this season.
• Jimbo Fisher and Rick Trickett were both in mid-season form early on today. Both could be heard yelling at players to ‘remove their heads from their posteriors.’ It was a bit more colorful than that. You can use your imagination.
• DE coach Sal Sunseri seemed to be focusing on freshman DE Rick Leonard as the team headed outside of the indoor practice facility at the start of practice. Sunseri told a trainer to make sure the 6-7, 268 lb freshman was loose because he was about to put in work.
• Rashad Greene was working with some of the freshman WR’s and backup QB Sean Maguire early in practice. Greene’s brand of leadership isn’t especially vocal, but you could tell he was getting on a couple of the young receivers about the crispness of their routes.
• Scouts from the Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks were present on Monday. They seemed to be especially interested in the running backs, hovering just a few yards from Karlos Williams as he did his early drills.
• Dalvin Cook was in a blue no-contact jersey.
• And, finally, John Franklin III continues to work with the wide receivers — but still wears his green QB jersey. Franklin could crack the rotation at receiver this season, he is purportedly one of the most athletic players on the team, but so far he has not committed to make the position switch full-time.

We’ll be back after practice — when Jimbo Fisher speaks with reporters — with a few more updates for you.