FSU football: Mike Norvell speaks on second day of spring practice

Florida State continued its spring camp journey on Thursday, hitting the field for the second of 15 practices aimed at laying the foundation for this year’s edition of FSU football.

It was another helmets-only day for the Seminoles as acclimation to on-field action continued, offering an opportunity for the squad to refine the finer details ahead of the first padded practice of the spring on Saturday.

“[It was a] great opportunity to clean up on some of the finer details of what we put in yesterday. You had a little bit of new installation, but really with a lot of new faces, also some new terminology, new alignments, different things that we’re looking at on both sides of the ball,” head coach Mike Norvell said Thursday evening.

“Day one, it’s about: ‘Can you get communication? Can you get aligned?’ You go back and watch the film, the communication was good, but we’re off on some of the alignments. You want to see guys be able to take the coaching, be able to apply it, and be better today, and I thought that was the case.”

Defensive linemen Darrell Jackson Jr. and James Williams, who also spoke with the media following practice, earned praise from Norvell for the way they’ve carried themselves through the early days of spring.

“You feel their ownership. ... Those are two guys that you challenge in the room because they both do have experience and high ceilings. [Jackson Jr.] made the choice to come back and I told him, ‘You better not even think about coming back unless you plan on being a top 10 pick,’ that’s the expectation now.”

Norvell also complimented receivers Jalen Brown and Hykeem Williams, saying they have risen to the occasion after being challenged this offseason.

“[They’re] two guys that made the choice that they want to fight for it. And I’m grateful for that and I’m trying to push them on a play-to-play basis for them to continue to elevate to what I believe that they can be. I’ve seen both of them in the first two days make plays that get me excited.”

Defensively, Norvell discussed what he’s seen early from Earl Little, Ashlynd Barker, Max Redmond and the unit as a whole, saying, “Obviously not a whole lot of contact ... but you felt the burst, you felt the guys taking better angles to the ball. Excited about Saturday being the first padded day to start to showcase some of the physicality that these guys have been working to develop.”

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