FSU football: Mike Norvell, Gus Malzahn and Tony White offer insight into FSU’s first scrimmage of spring

As Florida State football continues to increase its workload, the Seminoles took the field Saturday for their first spring scrimmage. Mike Norvell told reporters in Tallahassee on Thursday that today’s practice would be mostly situational, with a heavy emphasis on the red zone on third down.

Norvell opened his statement by giving specifics for the day’s proceedings. He said the team went “roughly 110-120 plays” with some special-teams work at the beginning of practice. After, he highlighted players who stepped up during the scrimmage.

“I thought Sam Singleton had a couple of big plays, and Roydell has gotten back in the swing, Jaylin Lucas had a TD run. Defensively, we were able to create a couple of takeaways. Earl had an INT, and Ethan Pritchard had a pick-six.”

Norvell also touched on the quarterback room and the moxie from Tommy Castellanos, Brock Glenn, and true freshman Kevin Sperry, who all receive substantial reps.

“QBs, I’ll have a chance to go back and watch. We mixed the three pretty good, Tommy, Brock, and Kevin. For the first scrimmage, I was really impressed with what I saw from Kevin.”

Norvell said he watched the scrimmage from the middle of the field, letting his coordinators run the sidelines and call all the plays. He seemed content with how the day went, and reading between the lines, the defense took the upper hand, although it is almost impossible to tell.

Gus Malzahn took the podium next and, in his head coaching style, provided an opening statement of the day and his side of the ball through six spring practices.

“60 runs, 40 passes, by design. All three QBs played, pretty much equal reps. I learned a lot about our guys individually. It was good to see them respond to success and adversity. Overall, I like our guys’ attitude.”

Malzahn stated that the first part of practice is heavy installation with some more specifics coming later in camp. He mentioned they rotate constantly at all positions, but Luke Petitbon “is off to a great start.” The former UCF head coach singled out QB Kevin Sperry for his work throughout March practice.

“Kevin has got a skill set. He can really run. He’s growing, the moment has never been too big for him, which is unusual for a true freshman. You have to have QBs that are desperate to be all they can be, and I think all three of them are.”

FSU’s first-year defensive coordinator, Tony White, rounded out the day and focused on the group’s mentality more than anything. He repeatedly reiterated that he only cares about what the product on the field looks like over physical measurables and that responding after giving up a play matters more to him than allowing the massive gain.

“We’re trying to create a mindset where you give up a play, ‘so what?’ Play football.”

“We gave up a big play, and Elijah (Herring) chases a guy down 30 or 40 yards, and gets him down at the ten. On the very next play, we get an interception. So, we’ve had a lot of teaching moments.”

Two returners continue to flash on the field, DB Earl Little Jr., and DT Darrell Jackson Jr., and White touched on two moments today where they rose to the occasion.

“D-Jax can literally be the top defensive lineman in the country. He had a great play today. In the red zone period last practice, he missed a call today. Today, I saw him make the corrections and create a tackle for -4 or -5. I said that’s it right there.”

“Earl has had some of the biggest hits and the best plays. Earl is him. He is truly him back there. It is fun to watch him play.”

All coaches mentioned that rewatching the film would be critical to creating a firm takeaway on the outing, but being around their players in the game setting taught them more about their characters than they knew before today.

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