One of the sneakier developments of Florida State’s preseason camp is the physical growth made by second-year quarterback Brock Glenn.
Reading practice reports about Glenn routinely finding ways to make plays with his legs might feel ho-hum without proper context or the ability to see it for yourself.
So having a way to quantify his speed might be helpful. On Tuesday, Practice No. 9, Glenn took off on the right side of the line to get outside the tackle box and find some space. A well-executed block by WR Hykeem Williams allowed Glenn to turn downfield and truly open up as a runner.
“He went over 20 miles-per-hour on that run so it was speed, athleticism,” said coach Mike Norvell. “You can see it in his strength. That’s something that we tend to forget for guys as they go through the process of their career, you see them get stronger, you see the agility improve, the confidence in movements.
“He was flying.”
Below are some more notes from FSU’s spring camp, including details on a breakout offensive lineman, Tomiwa Durojaiye’s transition to a new defensive front, and more. …
The last couple of practices have probably been the best so far for DJ Uiagalelei. FSU’s transfer QB took an exceptional scrimmage and built on it with another sharp day as he blended big-time throws with strong game management on Tuesday. Norvell stated that Uiagalelei has had better consistency over the last three practices or so.
“You’re eliminating the uncertainty at times,” Norvell said. “And it’s only going to continue to improve as we move closer to the end of spring ball, but also to the start of spring camp.”
Is it a matter of more reps in the system?
That seems to be part of it. OC Alex Atkins noted that Uiagalelei is taking more ownership of the offense – you can see it even in small moments as he’s beginning to show more comfort in pulling receivers to the side to let them know what he’s seeing or where he wants them to be on certain routes – but there’s also an element of the offense starting to open up and fit his strengths more comfortably.
“He’s been waiting for us to advance the install,” Atkins said. “He’s a vet. So we’ve been keeping it simple just to learn the basics. Now we’ve given him a little more control, he’s making the checks, and is getting to the stuff that he likes so he’s looking more comfortable.”
The offense had perhaps its most consistently strong rushing attack as well on Tuesday, with Norvell praising how the quarterbacks were getting the offense into the right looks with pre-play checks. This is another sign that Uiagalelei (and Glenn, too) is settling in and starting to command the offense.
West Virginia transfer Tomiwa Durojaiye was lauded by coaches for his versatility entering spring practice, and we’ve seen that show up during camp with DC Adam Fuller noting that the third-year defender has split reps between defensive end and defensive tackle.
Size (6-4, 280), strength, and explosiveness are traits that play anywhere along the defensive line. Now it’s about sharpening those tools from a development standpoint as well as finding out the best ways to utilize them in various fronts/alignments.
One aspect to keep in mind is that Durojiaye showed flashes of being a dominant defender in a 3-man front at WVU. At FSU, the Seminoles are typically going to line up in a 4-man front although they’ll play some games with alignment.
“It’s definitely a big challenge because a 3-4 and a 4-3 are played totally different,” Durojaiye said. “In a 3-4, you’re reacting more than attacking. A 4-3 you’re definitely attacking. So it’s all football, all the same things, but it’s more challenging in the classroom learning D-End and D-Tackle. Once on the field it comes pretty easy, you just need to know assignment and alignment.”
So that means he’ll go from being shaded barely inside of an offensive tackle (4i alignment) in a 3-man front to being more of a 3-tech or even 2i in a 4-man front when FSU asks him to work at defensive tackle. The biggest difference between the two, for Durojauye, is technique when it comes to playing leverage.
“Pad level just has to be lower because centers and guards aren’t as tall as tackles,” he said. “…It’s not really a challenge, it’s just fixing my technique. And once I fix my technique, I know I’ll be unstoppable.”
Senior receiver Ja’Khi Douglas had his top day of spring camp to date on Tuesday, making several acrobatic catches while closely guarded to demonstrate an excellent combination of physicality, coordination, and explosiveness.
Douglas is your most seasoned receiver and the most productive among a deep yet relatively untested group, so the expectation is for him to lead from the front this camp.
But that hasn’t always happened, spurring on Norvell to let Douglas know that he needed more from the veteran.
Message sent, and message received, with Douglas stepping up some in Saturday’s scrimmage and then following it up with a really strong day on Tuesday.
“Today, I thought you felt him,” Douglas said. “There’s been a few days when you haven’t in this spring ball. And that was well received and the point got across, because he was definitely really good today.”
Norvell showed some love to Bryson Estes, a fourth-year offensive lineman who’s primarily been on field-goal units during his FSU career.
But Estes has taken a step forward this spring, starting to translate some of his weight-room strength to the gridiron as he’s getting more comfortable in processing what defenders are going to do, which is allowing him to play fast. Some of his work on the move Tuesday stood out as Estes helped spring multiple big runs.
“An older guy who I think has had a hell of a spring is Bryson Estes,” Norvell said. “I think he’s playing the best football he’s played since he’s been here, I’m proud of him.”
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