FSU football adjusting to heightened physicality after adding pads to practices | The NoleBook

Jack Williams, Tallahassee Democrat

There were plenty of dropped passes during Florida State football's Saturday spring practice.

But head coach Mike Norvell said the issue was part of an adjustment after adding pads to practice and continuing to install its playbook.

After two days of no-contact practice on Tuesday and Thursday, players practiced in shoulder pads Saturday.

The heightened intensity exposed a few areas of FSU's game that needed to be cleaned up before its scrimmage Friday.

"We're continuing with our installation and we're trying to be very aggressive here early on," Norvell said.

"There are a few things where we need to continue to get better. Sometimes when you put more in, the fundamental element is what you need to continue to stress and emphasize."

"We had too many drops today. That was something I was disappointed in watching today's practice."

Norvell said he was impressed by the passes quarterbacks DJ Uiagalelei, Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek were able throw and the effort by receivers to get open.

However, there was a bit of a struggle to finish with the drops.

Credit was given where it was due as the defense continued to impress, adding a physical element to its game.

While the defensive backs earned praise from Norvell earlier in the week the d-line had a chance to shine against the offensive line during trench battle drills and 11-on-11.

"The guys on the defensive side were really flying around today," Norvell said. "They're working to be aggressive. I thought it was a good day.

"We saw some good physicality, especially in some of our competitive drills that we're doing and we're just continuing to build off that."

Norvell said that the drops in Saturday's practice are mainly just a part of adding contact to practice and needing to be more aware of a defender hitting you.

"When you add a physical element and a DB that's in a good position, it's aggression and man on man and you've got to go get the ball," Norvell said.

Observations from FSU football's 3rd spring practice

  • Brock Glenn's handoff to Caziah Holmes is smothered by the defense to start early period 11-on-11.

  • Patrick Payton's QB hurry forces Brock Glenn to throw it away.

  • Ryan Fitzgerald is good from 44 yards out.

  • Kam Davis takes back-to-back handoffs. He's smothered by the defense on both but gets a first down on the second attempt.

  • DJ Uiagalelei finds Jerrale Powers under heavy pressure.

  • Norvell was all over KJ Sampson after failing to block in the defensive line vs. offensive line drills.

  • Darrell Jackson had an impressive double block on two offensive linemen at once.

  • DJ Uiagalelei great pass to Kentron Poitier on the far sideline to beat out Shyheim Brown to start some 11-on-11 work. Uiagalelei really loves that long ball down the sidelines.

  • Caziah Holmes had some nice movement through traffic to get a near first down.

  • Jaylin Lucas got some good running room and nearly broke away down the sideline, but slipped on the grass.

  • Earl Little Jr. easily picked off Brock Glenn. Would’ve been a sack either way.

  • Luke Kromenhoek had a decent pass to Lawayne McCoy along the sideline.

  • 1-v-1 indoor drills start with Mike Norvell picking off a pass deflected by Greedy Vance Jr. Norvell made a leaping grab and took off with it into the end zone.

  • Great grab by Vandrevius Jacobs over Ja’Bril Rawls and better ball placement by DJ Uiagalelei into Jacobs' hands.

  • Luke Kromenhoek great pass to Jalen Brown over Harold Stubbs IV. Aired it out the ball with nice placement.

  • Ja'Khi Douglas made a nice adjustment to grab a Brock Glenn pass-off pressure from Shyheim Brown.

  • Ja’Bril Rawls nice PBU on the receiver.

  • Three straight incompletions to end the 1-v-1 drill. Brock Glenn threw back-to-back incompletions to start 7-on-7.

  • DJ Uiagalelei found Lawrance Toafili for the first completion of 7-on-7.

  • DJ Uiagalelei threw a great ball targeted for Landen Thomas inside the 5-yard line, but Thomas dropped it.

  • Nice adjustment by DJ Uiagalelei to find Destyn Hill for a touchdown pass after the original target was locked down by a defensive back.

  • Brock Glenn had a nice, long pass to Vandrevius Jacobs for the touchdown. Really aired it out.

  • Nice leaping grab by Lawayne McCoy from a Luke Kromenhoek pass.

  • Great move by Lawrance Toafili on the cut to get through traffic to start 11-on-11.

  • Camdon Frier was smothered on the sidelines after catching a pass

  • Brock Glenn with a keep and runs to about the 20-yard line before Shyheim Brown taps. Really good run for Glenn.

  • Hykeem Williams drops a pass and is visibly frustrated.

  • Samuel Singleton Jr. with a nice run to the end zone. Made a great move around the Ja’Bril Rawls to open up the field.

  • We keep seeing these great flashes of Jaylin Lucas. He had a great run after making a spin move and almost falling over, but stayed on his feet and took off.

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams. 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football making adjustments on offense after 1st practice with pads

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