FSU returned to the practice field on Tuesday after Saturday’s scrimmage and head coach Mike Norvell met with the media to discuss their seventh spring practice.
He was able to have a chance to watch the film from the scrimmage and singled out running back Sam Singelton and wide receiver Elijah Moore as players who stood out after breaking down the film.
“Sam Singleton ran really, really hard. He had some good runs, a couple of really nice cuts. He’s a guy that I’m excited about, and just what he’s doing and, and the capabilities, that are ahead. I mentioned him afterwards, you know, I thought Elijah Moore wasn’t an elite day, but it was a really good day for him,” Norvell said.
Norvell also provided an injury update, talked about the quarterbacks, what Elijah Herring has done, and more. Read everything he said after the practice below.
Opening Statement
Good practice for us, coming off the scrimmage, you know, wanted to see a day of response and whether guys performed well in a scrimmage, guys that had an opportunity to go back and learn and see areas that need, you know, whether it’s drastic improvement or, you know, just a fundamental focus, situational awareness, you know, the different elements that you get, you know, coming out of a scrimmage that will show up, especially for a lot of newcomers. And I think we’re pushing, you know, 35, 40 guys and, you know, first time going through some guys, you know, first scrimmage, you know, situations here or spring ball. So, you know, it’s a good, it was a good test to see, you know, just the mindset and response.
I thought guys came out, I thought it was an energetic practice. You know, we tried to create some situations, you had some, you know, competitive, you know, portions, you know, of it to where, you know, it was defined, you know, winner, loser, you know, on the, you know, different situations, you know, coming off the goal line, you know, you’re working, you know, second, third down, you know, we’re trying to force still the mental application of the sequencing of plays, game, you know, just to build off some of those, those things that we saw on Saturday. But, I thought guys handled it well.
You know, it was some good physicality. I thought there was, there was good speed, you know, we’ve got some guys that are given a great opportunity and, you know, we’re getting a great perspective of exactly where they are. And just I think some guys are taking advantage of it and really, you know, you’re pushing for more opportunity, more reps, you know, with, you know, just elevated groups.
And then, you know, some guys, you know, they’re, they’ve got to push, they got to rise up, they got to respond. And, you know, obviously I’m excited to see how it plays out throughout the course of the rest of this week. Got to have a great day Thursday, and then obviously our second scrimmage and opportunity come Saturday.
On if anything stood out to him after rewatching Saturday’s scrimmage
You know, it was, I think these, some of the football awareness, you know, some of the application within the, within the course of the scrimmage, you know, you will, we’ll introduce some of that, you know, just in practice, you know, situations of, of what we’re doing. But, you know, obviously when you’re in a scrimmage, it plays, it plays out. And, you know, that’s what the entire scrimmage is, is ownership of down the, you know, area of the field, you know, what is it, you know, you don’t put yourself in the best position to expect what’s coming.
And I thought, you know, some of the newcomers, young guys, you know, there were some, some times where we didn’t probably show the best awareness. And so, but, you know, I thought it was, I thought it was a good work day. You know, so that’s, you know, Sam Singleton ran, ran really, really hard.
He had some, some good runs, a couple of really nice cuts. He’s a guy that I’m excited about, you know, and just what he’s, what he’s doing and, and the capabilities that are, that are ahead. You know, I thought, and I mentioned him afterwards, you know, I thought Elijah Moore, you know, wasn’t, you know, wasn’t an elite day, but it was a really good day for him.
There were some, there’s still some opportunities where, where he can, you know, take a big step, you know, as we were, we’re pushing him, we need him to do that. You know, but I did like what I saw there, you know, I thought Earl (Little Jr.), I might’ve mentioned it afterwards, but going back and watching it, you know, probably one of his more complete days of, of, you know, what we’re asking him to do, you know, Omar Graham’s continuing to, I think, elevate himself, you know, just through this, through the, probably the last week, you know, it’s continual improvement. And, you know, I thought the scrimmage definitely capped it off.
I thought the linebackers, you really did a nice job of flying around. You had some, had some good plays and, you know, obviously it was, it was a good back and forth, but, you know, all in all, a lot of things I thought I saw were confirmed, but, you know, also you get a little bit more details of areas of focus for improvement for guys.
On if the offensive line injuries are affecting their ability to move forward
Not affecting the ability to move forward, you just, you know, as you’re, as you’re working through it, you know, some of that is, is part of the game that, you know, you’ve got to, you got to be prepared for.
So we’re, we’re approaching it now of, hey, if there’s, if there’s times where a guy’s unavailable for, for a day, for a game, for, you know, a week or a couple of weeks, I mean, you know, it’s going to be an opportunity for, for the next, for the next guy or, you know, trying to find and put the best, you know, combination without, one thing we don’t want to do is we don’t want to be extreme in our movement. And so, you know, we do have some veteran guys and guys that, you know, (Adrian) Medley’s done an outstanding job of, you know, being able to showcase what she’s familiar with the offense, you know, he’s got great versatility. You know, I think he’s looked really good.
You know, I think Andre Otto is a young guy that, you know, also, you know, is really coming along. I’m proud of his, for his progression in what he’s doing. You know, you see, you, you, for guys that, you know, that are getting, you know, a lot of quality reps, you know, and just trying to be able to establish, you know, where they are, what it looks like, you know, I’ve been, been really pleased with a lot of elements of it.
And then the guys that are getting every rep that they, that they hope and desire to show, you know, where they are and, you know, the, the improvement, I’m seeing that. I think Jonathan Daniels, you’re seeing some, some real progression, you know, you know, challenging Lucas (Simmons) just to continue to take steps. He’s had some flash moments, some, some really good.
And that’s some, obviously there’s a, you know, some areas where he’s got to continue to get better. And, you know, he owns that and, you know, like the, like the work I’m seeing, you know, just is a big picture for my group.
On linebacker Elijah Herring
He’s a guy that’s, you know, shown, shown up really well. Yeah, throughout the spring.
And, you know, I think there’s still some, some, some elements of, you know, just, you know, one more step of just that, of that continued confidence in the calls and the things of what to do. But when it’s time to go out there and play football, I mean, he plays fast and, you know, I think that, you know, he’s, he’s definitely been a guy that’s, that’s shown himself, that’s earned the respect of the guys that are, that are on this team for how he’s played. And that was, in particular, that, that one play was, you know, those are the plays that you need to, you need to be able to put on display.
And, you know, I tell, tell guys that, you know, you never know when your effort is going to be the deciding factor in a game. And that was an effort play that ended up springing a game-changing play. And so, you know, he’s, he’s someone I’m really pleased with.
And, you know, as I mentioned, linebackers, he’s definitely in that, in that group of, you know, helping push that group.
On Sam Singelton
Just continue to get better.
I mean, he’s, he’s a guy that has a lot of talent, ability. You know, when you sit there and you look at Roydell (Williams) was able to get more, even more today, you know, in the work and, you know, Roydell’s a guy that has great experience, a great wisdom. You know, I think that, you know, Sam is, you know, embracing, the opportunities that he’s getting to get better.
And, you know, with Roydell being limited, it really put a lot more on him, Kam (Davis), you know, Jalen Lucas, I mean, and all those guys had really, you know, bright spots in it. You know, I just, Sam has, Sam has great speed. We’ve seen that, you know, been put on, put on display.
But I thought one of the things was just his interior running, you know, throughout the course of the scrimmage. I mean, he has a couple of patient runs where, you know, he put himself right where he needed to be, you know, show toughness and, you know, just, he’s got to just continue to, to get the reps, continue to trust what he sees, continue to, you know, push himself to what he’s capable of.
An injury update
Yeah, I mean, we, nothing, nothing extreme, you know, a couple, a couple of guys that’ll be limited for, you know, maybe short term, but nothing, nothing big picture that’s gonna, gonna affect us.
And, you know, we’ll see how it goes here this, this next, next few days. I actually, you know, Shyheim Brown, who I said at the beginning of spring ball, you know, I was anticipating him being out, you know, for all of it. And he actually got some work in today.
You know, he’s done a great job in his, in his rehab and, you know, he felt good, looked good. So, it was great to get him back out there, you know, getting some work in the secondary. So, I think we’ll have a, you know, a few guys, you know, a few guys that will, hopefully in the next week, get back out there and continue to get, get their reps and improvement.
On watching the film after the scrimmage with the quarterbacks
No, it’s been, it’s been really good. And, you know, I think, you know, there’s still, still learning that’s going on.
And, you know, we’re being, you know, trying to be somewhat aggressive in the, in the looks, the operation. There were a few operational things where we can be, be cleaner, but, you know, it’s teaching those things in the moment. And, you know, the great thing about Tommy (Castellanos) is he’s played, he has game experience and, you know, but all things are different compared to, you know, maybe place or coach.
He’s had a couple different coaches, you know, throughout this, his journey. And so, just understanding what our expectation is, what it is that we want it to look like, you know, he’s got a great presence, you know, in it, you know, but, you know, seeing him take control and then on the bad plays, you know, just, this is what it is, this is where it needs to be better and, you know, go take the step to make that happen. And, you know, I think he does, I think he embraces that and, you know, but he’s a spark and, you know, guys, they feel, they feel that presence.
I think Kevin (Sperry), you know, I mean, for the entire quarterback room, because Brock has, you know, Brock (Glenn) has been remarkable just in his continued progression, you know, and just ownership into players, helping teammates, you know, his performance, you know, things that he’s doing. And for Kevin to go out there, you know, he had a couple of, I mean, big time plays, like stepping into, stepping into throws, whether it wasn’t always just ideally clean, he had two, two huge, you know, touchdown passes. And then, you know, had a, you know, did have a freshman moment where, you know, obviously had an interception that we can’t have.
And, you know, for him, it’s just, hey, let’s learn from it, let’s grow from it, let’s be better. And, you know, he takes that in stride. So I think he does a really nice job in that.
On if any returning wide receivers have taken the next step
Yeah, I mean, you know, a guy I’m really proud of, you know, for the last week, plus I’m seeing some positive strides is Jalen Brown. And, you know, he’s got, you know, he’s got great ability. You know, it’s just the consistency of that performance and that push and strain.
And, you know, he’s growing up, man. You know, I thought it was, you know, for the things he did when he got the ball in his hands were great. But, you know, for the things that he was doing without the ball in his hand too was, you know, that’s what he needs to show.
And, you know, I thought that he’s, you know, he had a good day in that, you know, and, you know, guys like, you know, Elijah that, you know, Hykeem (Williams) is continuing to work and push. I mean, so the guys that have been here, you know, there is, there’s progression and there’s improvement. And, you know, we’re challenging them every day to go be more.
And, you know, I think they’re responding to it
Follow us @FSUWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: What FSU head coach Mike Norvell said after Tuesday’s practice
Reporting by JD McCarthy, FSU Wire / FSU Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
