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3 keys to a successful FSU offense in 2022 -- Noles Quality Control Aug 12, 2022

Show notes

TALLAHASSEE FL- This season will be pivotal for Mike Norvell and the Seminoles, while they have improved their offense and raised the floor for this team there are still some major concerns heading into the season.

They have had an extremely efficient running game with Jordan Travis creating magic scrambling and throwing downfield. But this team still needs to overcome some major questions this season. These three keys are the biggest factors that will make this offense thrive or crash.

Keeping quarterback Jordan Travis on the field

I am not a fan of referring to a QBs win-loss record. But given the drop-off in the quality of play without Travis under Norvell, the win-loss record is concerning given that Travis has missed time due to injury or other concerns — with Travis playing, the team is 7-. Without him, they’re 1-7.

Last season Travis was responsible for 45% of the team's yards from scrimmage and more than 50% of the team's touchdowns while playing around 60% of the dropbacks. They need him to stay on the field.

In 2021, no other quarterback could get in a rhythm and put together consistent enough play.

This season the only new quarterback in the building is AJ Duffy, a true freshman who may have a bright future but is still learning how to play at the collegiate level. Travis needs to be healthy for this team and offense to be successful and without him, it will be a struggle to get to make a bowl.

Production from the receiver position

Under Mike Norvell, the Seminoles haven’t had a receiver finish a season with more than 30 catches or 400 yards.

No receiver in the 2021 season had a 100-yard game.

Last season the struggles at that position were clearly a talent deficit with players being unable to win one on one and create separation.

But this offseason the team brought in four different receivers via the transfer portal, and some of their young receivers should continue to improve.

Mycah Pittman will work well in Norvell’s system that focuses so much on production out of the slot. While Johnny Wilson offers a skillset that is lacking, at 6’7 he will be a possession, contested catch monster as long as he can keep up the consistency he’s shown in fall camp.

While the other two transfers are harder to project, with Winston Wright still making his way back from a leg injury sustained in a car accident and Deuce Spann still mastering the position, this influx of talent should improve the receiving room along with the returning players like Malik McClain, Ja’Khi Douglas, and Ontaria Wilson who have all shown flashes and have been key parts of the offense in year’s past.

Improving the quality of the offensive line

In 2021 the offensive line was wildly inconsistent, with the Seminoles’ seeing 21 different starting offensive line combinations in 12 games. No matter how much talent you have, that kind of inconsistency is too much to overcome.

But Alex Atkins and the staff have been hard at work, bringing in ten new offensive linemen with four coming via the transfer portal. All of the transfers they brought have starting experience at multiple positions.

While Kayden Lyles went down with a season-ending injury, the team is returning four of their five most experienced starters and with the influx of talent, they should be able to improve the line.

They need to improve and stay healthy enough to keep Travis on his feet and be able to dominate the line of scrimmage to allow the Seminoles to have a consistent rushing attack.

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FSU football in Jacksonville -- head coach Mike Norvell interview after Florida State Seminoles practice Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

Florida State held its first practice at UNF this morning. The Seminoles will participate in practice and team activities in Jacksonville today and tomorrow.

After playing in their first scrimmage of the fall camp last weekend, the coaching staff and players will be back on the field on Saturday for the Noles’ second scrimmage.

In the offseason, the Seminoles have focused on physical improvement throughout the team, but the focal point in these final weeks will be the players’ mental toughness and knowledge of the playbook. FSU added veterans throughout the lineup that are ready for plenty of snaps on the field, and if they can get quality play from their transfers and some of their freshmen, the depth on this team should be a definite strength.

Head coach spoke with FSU’s media after practice today to talk about the Seminoles’ road trip and his takeaways from his squad’s day of work, mentioning that the team emphasized short yard and red zone situations to amp up the intensity as camp begins to wind down.

On today's practice

“I thought today was a good physical practice, back in full pads. You had some short yardage situations, opportunity to see guys get after it. I thought it was good competitive work.”

“Our offense started off fast, defense did a good job of responding and I thought the back and forth were really good.”

On last night's team event

“Last night we had a team event, guys were able to relax just a little bit, before they hit the dorm rooms, but it was fun, I love this team, I love the guys I get to coach. Such great young men, they have wonderful personalities.”

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FSU OL Kayden Lyles out for season, HC Mike Norvell announces -- post-practice interview with Seminoles head coach Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

As Florida State continues to grind through the preseason, head coach Mike Norvell knows that this week is a crucial one for his squad.

He said as much after practice Monday, discussing that with the season opener vs. the Duquesne Dukes coming closer and closer, the time for the Seminoles to separate themselves is now.

He touched on other major topics, including offensive linemen Kayden Lyles’ season-ending injury.

“I hate it for him with the work that he has put in. He has done a great job since he has gotten here. He’s an incredible person, the relationships that he has built. We will explore all options here moving forward... he is actively going to be a part of what we’re doing but just, unfortunately, won’t be able to be on the field this year.”

Here are some other excerpts from his availability — you can find the full interview below.

On Jordan Travis’s performance in fall camp

“I don’t know if he has had a bad day throughout fall camp. There has been decisions and things he has grown from. I like what I have seen from his continued growth and development as well as all the quarterbacks.”

On Johnny Wilson and his performance at practice.

“He is definitely a weapon with his size, speed, and ability to bend ... to watch him run routes and the work he has put in it is really impressive. I am excited about that group. That whole receiver core is elevating themselves through competition.”

On the upcoming practices in Jacksonville

“It’s about team, going to a place that is different than you are used too. We will be on a single field. This week we have to come together through the challenge.”

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FSU wide receiver room looks good, baseball makes hire official, basketball gets preseason work in Canada -- latest in Florida State Seminoles sports Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

Hello and welcome to Noles News Now, the latest in Florida State Seminoles sports presented by Tomahawk Nation. I’m your host Perry Kostidakis — let’s hop right in.

FSU football has been grinding away on the practice field — after last Saturday’s scrimmage, the Seminoles have amped up the intensity in a week that head coach Mike Norvell has designated as a major one. He said they’ve turned up the notch a bit, saying this week’s upcoming scrimmage on Saturday will help truly identify where and who this team is in its progress.

Florida State heads out to UNF for an away-from-home two-day camp session in Jacksonville starting Thursday. The excursion is a chance for the team to bond a bit through both travel and planned experiences, as well as get the team used to practice out of its element ahead of the season.

So far in camp, the team has showcased a different level of depth and talent -- notably, the wide receiver group has looked like a step above what we’ve seen in camp over the last few years, with the staff’s investment in the position over the offseason seemingly paying off. Across the board, good, productive reps are being had, and there isn’t a noticeable drop-off when changing out starters -- a major indicator of progress for Norvell’s squad.

In basketball news, FSU continues its Canadian exhibition tour, having faced off against Carleton University on Monday. They took down the Ravens 98-64 — an impressive feat given that the bulk of FSU players receiving minutes were fresh faces, either in the form of newbies or walk-ins.

FSU baseball made another hire official — the Seminoles announced the addition of Brad Vanderglas as an assistant coach. He’ll work with the Seminole outfielders, manage practices, and lead all instructional camps and clinics.

If you’ve missed some of the latest episodes that have dropped on our TomahawkNation.com podcast network, do yourselves a favor and scroll back a bit on the feed. We have a great interview with Bryant McFadden breaking down the 2022 season for FSU, an insider look at everything Seminoles basketball and a breakdown of 2023 blue-chip running back commit Samuel Singleton.

On the website, we’ve got live coverage of today’s FSU football practice action, as well as a preseason update on how Seminoles recruiting is shaking out for the class of 2023.

Thank you for subscribing and listening — please leave us 5 stars and review if you haven’t yet, and we’ll catch you next time.

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2022 FSU season preview with Bryant McFadden -- Defense, Jordan Travis, importance of victory against LSU Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

The Florida State Seminoles are less than 3 weeks away from taking the field on August 27th for their season opener against Duquesne.

As the anticipation builds, the Seminole Wrap crew - Brian Pellerin and Max Escarpio - turned to former FSU star, two-time Super Bowl champion and CBS Sports football analyst Bryant McFadden to discuss a wide range of topics on the year ahead. He shares his experience as the winning defensive coordinator in FSU’s Garnet and Gold Spring Game.

The crew also discuss:

What should be the expectations for Florida State be this season? Is a bowl game the hope or the minimum?
What growth has he seen from Jordan Travis and what still needs to happen now that he’s the leader of this team?
Why does Bryant view the Labor Day weekend matchup against the LSU Tigers as a must-win? And what needs to happen for Florida State to earn that primetime punch?
Which players are most crucial to ensuring Florida State has a successful campaign, and
Who were his funniest and most serious teammates and which coach was the toughest on him during his time at Florida State?

Bryant also discusses his newest venture into the NIL space with Champions Collective helping nearly a dozen Florida State athletes take ownership of their brand.

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Noles News Now: FSU football first scrimmage, Seminoles hoops in Canada for exhibition games, other Florida State Seminoles sports updates Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

Happy Monday and welcome in to Noles News Now, your podcast home for all things Florida State. I’m Brian Pellerin and I’ll be guiding you through the weekend that was.

And the big ticket item was the first scrimmage of fall camp. We have plenty of notes, takeaways, and full press conferences posted on TomahawkNation.com, but I'll bring you the SparkNotes version of it. The biggest overall notes — largely positive vibes from the coaching staff. Mike Norvell said he was plenty happy with his team's effort across the board. He marked the improvement he’s seen in Illinois transfer wide receiver Deuce Spann and linebacker Tatum Bethune. He also mentioned his team’s grit and grind heading into week two. Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller specifically mentioned his group’s speed getting to the ball. Offensive coordinator Alex Atkins was thrilled with his younger guys and other new faces living up to the standard in their first go around in the scrimmage. Again, all that content and more is available now on TomahawkNation.com.

Also available there and wherever you’re listening to this is a new episode of the Seminole Wrap podcast, where myself and Max Escarpio talk with former FSU star and two-time Super Bowl champion Bryant McFadden about a wide range of topics, including the need for Jordan Travis to answer the bell now to take the next step, why the LSU game is the biggest game on the entire schedule, the direction, and expectations of this program, fun tales of his teammates during his time at FSU and more. If you are looking to get excited for the year, listen to that pod because Bryant will have you ready to put on a helmet and run through a wall. Really interesting stuff and he’s making ventures into the NIL space to help the Seminoles in recruiting as well. Definitely worth your time.

Speaking of recruiting, the Noles just hit a home run on the trail this weekend with the commitment from 4-star running back Samuel Singleton on Friday. The 5-foot-11180 running back is from Fleming Island Florida. Our Three Stars of recruiting guys looked into what the Seminoles are getting from this tough runner. You can get that information in their latest episode available now.

The men’s basketball team is north of the border this month for some scrimmages. They knocked off the Ottawa Gee-Gees, real name I’m told, over the weekend by 20 so it’s a good sign there. For a deeper look into the trip this preseason, Tomahawk Nation’s Michael Rogner dropped a podcast also available now on this feed.

Football, not the only team holding their first scrimmage of the fall, as soccer was back on the pitch this weekend as they look to reload from last year’s championship team in Brian Pensky’s first season. For more on the team plus observations on men’s and women’s hoops as well as softball, take a look at Prince Akeem Jaffar’snotebook: Burning Questions Edition.

Fall sports are also most here and we’re doing what we can to deliver all the content you can desire. Lots of pods and articles are available for you to pick and choose how you get your content. As always, we appreciate you listening, reading, and weighing in yourself. Until Wednesday, I’m Brian Pellerin. Thanks for listening.

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FSU hoops: Conference re-alignment, Canada ehh, and Taylor Bowen Aug 07, 2022

Show notes

Hey! A hoops pod. No. 49 to be exact - we were hoping to save No. 50 for a national title recap but we'll try and squeeze some in between here and there. Maybe you've heard that some weird rumblings in the college football world are taking place. It's like LIV Golf only it matters. Looking forward, conference matchups like UCLA-Rutgers are gonna be lit. But we take a look from a basketball perspective (really, an all sports besides football perspective) which will hopefully come to fruition. Let football do its thing, and let the other sports maintain some sort of regional focus.

After some conference talk (and yes, Minnesota really is a cool place to go see a game) we talk about the sport that matters: college basketball. Florida State is currently touring Canada which is full of nice people and maple syrup, and playing some games along the way. When you have so many new faces, having trips like this are priceless - just don't pay too much attention to the box scores. Oh, and four guys are out: Matthew Cleveland, De'Ante Green, Baba Miller, and Jeremiah Bembry. So one fake game into the season and we already have a walk-on in the starting lineup. Some things never change. Like Canada.

After a break where we advertise something that is very important but I'm not sure what it is, we spend a few minutes gushing over FSU's sole 2023 recruit Taylor Bowen. It's hard to predict a class size because technically no one has to leave (assuming Gainey is awarded a Covid year), but we know it is at least one. And he's a good one.

And that's that. Enjoy!

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Interviews: Mike Norvell, Alex Atkins, John Papuchis, Adam Fuller talk first FSU football scrimmage Aug 07, 2022

Show notes

FLORIDA STATE — Florida State Seminoles football took the field for its first scrimmage of the fall on Saturday, using the night to gauge the progress the Seminoles have made since spring camp concluded.

Through the first week of practice, an elevated level of intensity, physicality, and depth was on display — leading to an increase in quality and competition across the board.

Just throwing on full pads (as the Seminoles did for the first time on Tuesday) helps separate significant progress from incremental, going scrimmage speed helps give a benchmark on where the team stands and further begins the acclimation process as FSU ramps up to its season opener vs. the Duquesne Dukes on August 27.

Head coach Mike Norvell, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins, special teams coordinator and defense ends coach John Papuchis and defensive coordinator Adam Fuller all spoke with the media following Saturday’s scrimmage, offering takeaways, thoughts, and insight on the team’s performance.

Norvell was pleased by effort from the team. He mentioned the improvement from guys like receiver Deuce Spann and linebacker Tatum Bethune, also the grit and grind from all the players.

“I thought tonight was a good first scrimmage. We got in a little over a hundred plays...we got some live special teams to work which is something we wanted to be able to introduce more. I thought there was some really good work that was shown there.”

“It was a good back and forth — I thought our first defense really flew around to the ball. Made some good plays. I thought it was a good balance.”

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4-star running back commits to FSU -- what are the Seminoles getting in blue-chip Samuel Singleton? Aug 06, 2022

Show notes

Four-star RB Samuel Singleton has committed to Florida State.

Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles 2023 recruiting class has added another nice bluechip recruit on the rec trail with his commitment. Running back is a big position of need for FSU and the ‘Noles got one of the best the state has to offer.

Singleton hails from Fleming Island, Florida, and attends Fleming Island High School. He stands 5’11 180 pounds and has a 90 rating (4-star) from the 247 Sports Composite List. The sites consider him the 287th best player in the country (15th best RB and 58th best player in Florida).

The talented back chose Florida State over offers from the LSU Tigers, Miami Hurricanes, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Penn State Nittany Lions, Tennessee Volunteers, and UCF Knights, among many others.

Before his recent official visit, Tomahawk Nation recruiting analyst NoleThruandThru had this to say about Singleton:

Singleton is a tough runner and doesn’t shy away from contact. He’s a track and field star with nice speed, as evidenced by his 10.86 100-meter dash last spring. He’s a threat to break off a huge play every time he touches the ball, and averaged 6.4 yards/carry last season. Singleton would be a welcome addition to the running back room.

Florida State Recruiting Class of 2023

Class of 2023 football commits

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Samuel Singleton Jr. (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 3 star Darren “Goldie” Lawrence (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 3 star Vandrevius Jacobs (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Lucas Simmons (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Roderick Kearney (FL)

DEFENSIVE END: 4 star Lamont “Boots” Green, Jr. (FL)

DEFENSIVE END: JUCO Jaden Jones (AL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Keldric Faulk (AL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Keith Sampson, Jr. (NC)

LINEBACKER: 3 star DeMarco Ward (GA)

DEFENSIVE BACK/ATHLETE: 3 star Quindarrius Jones (MS)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star Ja’Bril Rawls (FL)

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HC Mike Norvell recaps practice week, previews FSU football scrimmage Aug 05, 2022

Show notes

Florida State Seminoles football is one day out from its first scrimmage of the 2022 preseason.

FSU threw on pads for the first time Tuesday, working its way towards getting game ready for its August 27 season opener vs. the Duquesne Dukes. On Friday, it lightened the workload a bit by rolling with just lowers but still kept the intensity high.

It’s been a pretty decent start to camp, with the Seminoles showcasing depth across the board that they haven’t had the privilege of enjoying for a few years now. Competition has been consistent throughout the first week and change, with head coach Mike Norvell happy — but not satisfied — with the Seminoles’ progress so far.

“I thought it was a good day for us to continue to grow. Today we just had helmets on, obviously scrimmage tomorrow night, you know hoping guys understand the intensity in all reps, whether you're in helmets, whether you're in full pads, whatever we’re doing we have a purpose for what we’re trying to accomplish... Human nature wants you to be comfortable, the mind will always tell you that you’re hot, you’re tired, sore, all of it... but have to be able to push with the mentality of giving everything I have, being in control and maybe not being as physical on a day that you don’t have shoulder pads, you have to be able to still get that quality of work.”

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