FSU football: What we learned from second fall scrimmage

FSU football held its second fall scrimmage Sunday morning. It was a scrimmage that resembles an actual game, with FSU coaches practicing smart.

They had the starters in briefly to get some work before allowing many of the younger players to get valuable reps to continue building depth and settling some position battles.

It sounds like the offense was sharp, with Jordan Travis and the usual receiver targets making plays. There were no major injuries to report, according to Norvell.

That’s huge, because several teams FSU will play this year have already lost players for the year due to injury. Here’s some of what we learned from the press conferences:

• Maurice Smith and Casey Roddick may have locked down two spots on the offensive line. Norvell mentioned they only played about 20 snaps before taking them out. I’d guess Smith will play center and Roddick at one of the guard spots.
• The coaches feel good about the depth on OL and DL. They have eight OL they trust to win games withand and two more they feel can play at a high level.
• Caziah Holmes continues to make plays, and Rodney Hill is nursing an injury and hopes to return soon.
• Justin Cryer and Blake Nichelson look to have positioned themselves in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots at linebacker. They will likely play a big role on special teams.
• Tatum Bethune and Kalen DeLoach made plays in the scrimmage.
• Adam Fuller said DJ Lundy was the most improved linebacker on the team.
• Greedy Vance had an interception in the scrimmage, and the defense forced a few fumbles(didn’t recover any), but the physicality from the defense has been ratched up.
• Adam Fuller feels this is the best defense they’ve had and believes they can be among the best in the country. He likes their overall depth.
• Mike Norvell wants the teams to improve their ability to play with tempo on both sides of the ball.
• Adam Fuller gushed about the defensive backs from the 2023 recruiting class and believes they are all FSU quality players, with some playing this year.
• Kickers made game-winning field goal in two-minute drill and they feel good about both guys.

It sounds like they have a great idea of where this team is at going into the 2023 season. Now, it’s about fine-tuning things, recovering physically over the next couple of days and then began preparing for LSU.