It was the first day of full pad practice for Florida State football on Tuesday morning as day six of fall camp turned up the intensity.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei had a strong day of practice, capping of a solid opening week of camp for the Oregon State transfer. Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell has been happy with the progression Uiagalelei has been making within the offense throughout the fall.
“I think DJ has been remarkable,” Norvell said. “I really love the ownership that he has in the offense. He’s been very consistent in what he’s doing and I think the explosiveness he brings is impressive.”
It wasn’t just Uiagalelei as both Brock Glenn and freshman Luke Kromenhoek had strong moments, with Glenn making some big throws that impressed both Norvell and Uiagalelei.
Here are five things to know from day six of fall camp.
Strong day from Uiagalelei, quarterback room
It has been a solid start to camp for Uiagalelei. While there was room for improvement after the first few days of practice, the Oregon State transfer has grown in confidence and he put together one of his best practices on Tuesday.
Uiagalelei’s passes came out quick and his decision-making was good throughout the day, finding receivers in good spots across the field.
He made some impressive passes in drills and team competition, including one deep touchdown pass to Kentron Poitier that was placed right into his hands. Uiagalelei also found Ja’Khi Douglas for a touchdown on a lofted throw to the end zone that a leaping Douglas brought down in bounds for the score.
The connection between Uiagaleleli and tight-end Kyle Morlock continues to grow and the duo made a couple of nice plays Tuesday in team competition.
“Kyle Morlock is good,” Uiagalelei said. “He is a really good tight end. He has strong hands and can catch everything. He runs really good routes and gets separation. He’s a big body that runs downfield.”
Glenn followed up an impressive day on Monday with another strong showing. He connected with wide receiver Hykeem Williams on a long deep pass down the field in drills against the defensive back, and in team competition he made good reads, running away from pressure and connecting well with wide receiver Jalen Brown.
“Brock is an unbelievable guy and an unbelievable quarterback,” Uiagalelei said. “He had a couple of throws today that were amazing, and throughout this fall camp.”
While Norvell said Kromenhoek is still making some “freshman” mistakes, he’s been very impressed with the development of the first-year signal caller. He made some tight window throws and has not been afraid to take a deep shot if it’s open.
An up and down day for the wide receivers
While the quarterbacks had a good day, the wide receivers were inconsistent at times in maintaining possession and following through on catches.
There were some drops on some passes you would expect to be caught, and the defense was quick to try and jar the ball loose on catches, and they were successful on a handful of occasions. It was an improvement over day five, but there is still a lot of room to grow in the receiving corps ahead of kickoff against Georgia Tech.
Malik Benson continues to impress and make a case for being the top target, and despite one or two mistakes, he was arguably the best receiver during Tuesday’s practice. Douglas and Poitier both made an impact in team competition, with Douglas bouncing back after a few tough days of camp.
There are glimpses of promise within the receiving corps, but they still need to find consistency to take the next step.
Cam Riley leads an impressive showing from the linebackers
While both the defensive line and the secondary have stolen the show in the early portion of fall camp, the linebacker room stepped up for its moment in the spotlight on Tuesday.
Auburn transfer Cam Riley continues to make a quick impression on the field, working through drills with the confidence of a player who has been with the program for a few seasons, not a few months. He made a couple of nice stops in team competition, including a good read on a pass out of the backfield.
“I’ve really been pleased with the linebacking crew,” Norvell said. “I’ve been pleased with how those guys have worked, they are all playing faster. Cam Riley, I’m very, very excited about what he’s shown in the first six days here.”
In 1 vs. 1 drills against wide receivers and running backs, there was a stretch of about five reps where defensive coordinator Adam Fuller couldn’t stop jumping around in celebration as the linebackers got consecutive stops on the skill position players.
Alabama transfer Shawn Murphy was impressive in the drills, and his performance carried over into the team competition, making some good stops in both run stopping and coverage.
Offensive line, running backs consistently performing
One of the strengths of last season’s Seminoles team was the offensive line and running backs, and it looks to be more of the same this year.
Robert Scott Jr. had a strong showing in…
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