OTB Live: What we've learned a week into FSU's preseason camp

should be all right we are live Chris you're about your business right now huh you ain't got time got time to to mess around all right welcome everyone who's here right now and Welcome to our podcast listeners as well to on the bench I'm your host for this episode Brenan sonone I'm making sure that I'm do not disturb so we don't get any phone calls all right we're good this is OTB I'm joined by Chris NE D Draper I almost said black Zack Bloss oh boy this a hell of a start huh um I almost said it by habit but anyways three of us here are going to be talking about FSU a week into preseason camp uh the seals are six practices in figur this would be a really good place for us to kind of check in see what we think about the team see what we've learned things we still want to see so as we get going here a shout out to our sponsors first off Chattanooga whiskey killing it in the craft Distillery game uh they're bottled just came out in the last I guess earlier this month here in July we're 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all their stuff their 111 proof is great their Ry their standard bourbon everything Chattanooga whiskey does is exquisite and then I also want to give a shout out to the Turner group uh Colin Amy Turner they do an amazing job with the home buying or selling process make sure you're in really good hands and uh they're going to to assure hard work communication no pressure no it's not an easy process to think about buying or selling a home but Turner group is going to help you make it as painless as possible think it's a good place to start fellas buyers known uh 20 mjj questions in this chat I also known that I'll take the under basically all right oh optimistically soone I guess okay 20 was probably a little bit ambitious okay guys so six practices in today was a first full day of pads uh we got to see two sheld practices which for people aren't familiar with that that just means shoulder pads helmet uh but shorts so today a little bit more contact but once you get the shoulder pads on the last two days before today so three practices start getting a pretty good idea of physicality and whatnot a kind of a big picture question to start off here I'll go with you first Chris what stands out about this team positively like what's something that you're very confident in what this team is and will be in the season with the pretty short window that we've had to see them so far uh two things for me come to mind one is I think they'll be an effective running team I think D Line's built to be that I also think that stable of running backs brings a lot of Versatility different abilities uh love what Roy Dell Williams is love what Lawrence to to Philly has become Mike dany's got a little freshman juice in there I don't know how much he'll give to him but you know if they want to call his number once in a while he can do something for him kaziah Holmes has really impressed me uh I think he's in great shape he's done a really good job s you got have as you have transform in that body and he's an explosive dude and then on defense it's a secondary for me but it starts with those Corners a you know had a phenomenal spring we all think very highly of him what he's capable of I think within the program they think he's a first round capable Talent he's lived up to that consistently but it's fentrell Cyprus um I probably liked fentrell more than most last year I was probably more comfortable with him more than most last year he was kind of Johnny on the spot but he did allow a lot of receptions but he didn't allow a lot of yards after receptions things like that the difference this year is he's more explosive just simply looks more comfortable I don't know if he got in a little bit better shape or it's just a matter of you know being more comfortable in the system or just kind of you know watching this film of last year and thinking I could have done better here but he's been really really good uh lived in The Hip Pocket of guys which is a staple of what he's been but the difference is making more plays on the ball showing more explosiveness and that's been really exciting they've got plenty of safety options I think they're going to figure it out there so I feel really good about those two units Dan what about you what's the Feelgood that you have through six practices I think well I mean one of them was the secondary to and I didn't think Chris would would touch on that completely but yeah fentral Cypress has been kind of a monster and I think um I think think even the younger guys too have really like added to how well the secondary is played I think there's just generally just a ton of talent back there which is something we know but seeing that all kind of work together in a in a way that I mean that does work it's not just a ton of athletic guys kind of back there it's like it's a Well coach unit and even the younger guys are kind of putting it together I feel like faster than you might expect in in some ways you know when it's a all freshman out there all you know twos or threes or whatever with some of the guys that aren't the the Bonafide starters they're still working well together in a pretty I mean a pretty complex scheme um and that's that's nice to see but then beyond that it's I feel like just you know the general impressive thing is just how talented and fast and this team is you know it's in a conference without a ton of Top Flight competition necessarily it's like like they're probably just gon to kind of run over a lot of these teams which is what you you want um and you might expect but it's I feel like after watching what we've watched the last few days that's kind of you know you can be even more confident going in in some in some ways like the skills positions and secondary is so fast and athletic and up front they they just move people and you're confident in your dline even if they are getting moved um by this offensive line it's it's just good to see all around it's a lot of competitive reps between talented players and you know at every position on the field what about you Brandon to Dane's Point real quick like I find the speed element like kind of jarring sometimes because we've heard how fast this team is we had to see it in the spring but the summer time is when they focus on maybe losing some of the the bulk they put on in Spring and start trying to turn that into explosive movements and it was the very first day of of Camp uh no pads right uh but you can see in sense like when we say fast like yeah there there's like mikai Dani is is an absolute like track star and you see that and like he's really fast and Malik Benson super fluid and so the skill guys have have this the speed but even guys who aren't like going to be 44 40 yard dash uh athletes have this explosiveness to the way they move and it feels like a little hyperbolic but across the board like there is a ton of just high-end athletes at multiple like levels it's not just the skill guys or or the secondary your defensive EV Like Pat pton moving with the power and element that he has is really impressive Darius Washington moving uh and playing with power it's like there's explosiveness to them that we just hadn't really seen uh to this extent I think from the collective group so when they talk about like the depth of the team and the power being at alltime highs like I think that's what they mean you kind of start seeing that in person now um obviously ways to go so that that to me but I I think like what I feel really good about what this team is going to be uh going to what you guys said about the secondary just to to expound out a little bit more I think going be awesome in obvious passing situations I think that's going to be a calling card if you can get this if you can consistently get teams to Third and long because of the cornerbacks you have outside with fentrell Cypress and isaria Thomas we think AZ is a first round pick or top 40 pick like he's going to be a guy who gets draft really early this upcoming season hard to imagine like any other way that doesn't happen like he's playing with the level of confidence and speed then ventro Cyprus is playing like an NFL draft pick as well which he he didn't last year that's why he returned was to go go ahead and get a stock right uh in the level of of Chris mentioned like confidence in in improving like playmaking skills but there's like more like Mike Nell told Chris this when he asked him is like there's this element of speed to his game well you did you got the good answer because when we talk about guys improving like you think about them understanding the scheme better getting more confidence and that all like leads to being faster right and and playing faster but there's just actual like built by storms like they are moving faster fentrell Cypress looks like a different athlete so those guys outside shyen Brown's been really like mature in the right spot he's been good that's kind of your nucleus in the secondary but then the pass rush like if you're able to get in third and long with that coverage group and then Patrick pyton Marvin Jones Jr rushing the passer like yeah you're cooking with something like that might be really good for you so that's going to be I think a calling card if you're good on early downs and you get into to pass rush Downs like I think you can be pretty dominant in that aspect of the game which is huge right you need to get off the field so um yeah yeah and and just to add to that like I mean the pass rush on on on passing down should be great and everything and then your nucleus in the defensive back field is great but like I think this secondary and maybe what I was trying to touch on on my point Point um was like I think you're you're definitely Deeper Than People probably expect because the young Talent is at least a decent percent percentage of it will be like ready um to a higher extent I feel like than a lot of people realize you know between like the guys we've talked about in the past like um you know jbril RS and Edwin Joseph and and karius Jones at corner and nickel and stuff um and then even like a freshman like Kai Bates or Charles Les or whoever that is like these guys have all impressed I mean Ricky Knight just came in and he's had four practices and he's he's making plays I mean I keep forgetting to mention him in the practice reports and I should it like his I haven't I've mentioned him once in the last three days and he deserve to be talked about all three days his greatest quality's always been that he's a competitor and it shots through he always competes whether he wins or loses he's going to compete at a really high level yeah to Dane's Point like Edwin Joseph I think he had a pick today if I recall correctly AES increase of he's had an increase of good moments uh we all know Conrad hussy fan club president sitting here um Devonte Brown fan club president sitting to the other corner there and Sone just because I'm the only one who defends him does it mean that I'm the fan club President we all like somebody's very defensive about that um the point is they have a lot of ability bodies capability quindarius Jones is someone that everybody in program likes super competitive little handsy at times in the sense of he'll get some piis but you know you'd rather that than him be soft and not doing it Charles ler big jump spring to Summer just in the sense of seeming more technique fundamentally sound uh you Kai Bates who I think danne mentioned is guy he just kind of grabs your attention he's got good size KJ Kirkland's another one those Reserve safeties ashin Barker does his job very well which is kind of like a box safety linebacker the point is a lot of guys fairly feel pretty confident about reliability of a upper tear of them that's pretty deep they should be really good in that back half but it starts with those two corners when you can have two guys live on an island and get away with it it changes the Dynamics of everything else and I don't think we mentioned Earl Little's name and Earl's been really good another guy who made a huge play today on practice number six and we all know the staff absolutely loved Earl out of high school and I don't think he's disappointed as a transfer I want to see Earl what he did today I had a really nice press coverage and and turn and just find the ball like making more plays so you don't really notice him being out of position or getting picked on which has been really good uh but you know can he be a playmaker for you at that nickel spot because Darian Jones was so Dynamic there last season and it's a position that allows you to be really creative and be around the ball more than you your average cornerback so anyways that's going to be a Dynamics like what what does he do to to kind of Ascend yeah they're really deep in the secondary in terms of athleticism uh the experience kind of lacking outside of the first wave of of guys who we've discussed but I think that is kind of emblematic of the entire roster for the most part because there is a lot of pure talent to Dan's Point earlier about the speed of this team and the athleticism right like I think it's across the board Chris mentioned running backs like that's a a group that has a handful of players who do something extremely unique and are really explosive Mike Norvell talked today about the the offense still developing consistency but they know they're explosive like they they feel good about that and that that's by Design like they've built it that way uh but but I think like what there's unknown still there's aspects of this team that were're going to try to kind of sift through and figure out as we try to put the like parameters of what they can be what they are what they're most likely to be I just I find secondary is kind of like like shows that that's your upside that's what you can be with with these high-end athletes but like is Edwin Joseph does he he's been kind of quiet this Camp until today and I guess yesterday he started to kind of show a little bit to me but you know it's someone like that going to be trustworthy and someone that you can throw in for know 15 20 snaps a game in a rotational capacity so anyways I I think that secondary I'm glad we talked about that to start off here because that's been a really really Dynamic part uh of preseason camp so far it's been a good group now that'll transition us into the other side of the coin which is what's something that gives us pause and I'm going to lead us instead of keep an open open-ended I'm going to pull up a user question here as is from Danny C in the chat concern level with receiver room before Camp started versus now on a scale of one to 10 uh a common question in Camp and we do the practice reports and we're covering things is well is so and so winning or so and so losing right and it's often kind of somewhere between so the defensive backs looking so dynamic because the wide receiver group isn't fantastic so far so let's talk about the confidence level at wide receiver it's a position group that we had a lot of questions about going in I pulled up my position preview ahead of camp and called it a position of ifs and I think my confidence rating on a one tenance scale was a 4.5 out of 10 and that's at a what a power four program should be I think it's like a below average wide receiver group in terms of confidence what I think it is right now with a lot of upside Chris if you had to kind of put it in that one to 10 scale 10 being a potentially Elite unit five being very mediocre fine one being maybe what 2021 wide receiver roster was for the for the P4 level bunch of dudes who couldn't get open well fourth and 14 did happen so happened when it when it mattered um what would you give this wide receiver room based what we've seen so far probably feeling like a six right now uh I feel good about Malik Benson I've been betting on Benson since the spring I had to get in there jaai Douglas has had a good camp overall had one shaky day but in general over to six has been good the long ball dju to Tron today where he you know ran straight through the door back into the ipf that that's the way it's supposed to look overall I think tron's been good over the six days uh there's some younger pieces like L McCoy somebody asked if he reminds me of Kenny Shaw I I don't love player comparisons but smoothness yes he looks like he's skating on ice out there when he's running routes he just very naturally fluid and athletic it's impressive he does some things he he makes you take a an awareness to him Elijah more capable freshman hasn't been here very long so there's plenty of good plenty of bad that comes with that but there's moments where like man that's a large human who's really athletic who can be a massive threat for them eventually I don't think it happens out of coming out of the summer but he's one of those guys I'm hoping maybe as the year moves on he gets a little PT in games a little bit of a taste of the you know enjoyment of playing the actual game he's going to take another another step so point I'm getting at is a lot of guys in that room capable guys the thing for me is still sort of like who who's G to be like I feel confident in what jakai is but who's gonna be the robin to mik Benson's Batman and I think the hope is that Tron or hem and H's had some really good moments there's also moments where what someone in the chat just was going directive instead of a question um I think that the thing with hem is still consistency uh for every big play he's made he's had one where it just didn't come in like it hit the fingertips didn't happen there's still too much of that um it was practice number five so not today but yesterday I thought the receivers had a very up and down day I didn't love it um I think I was probably more pessimistic on it than the group as a whole but it was sort of one of those days where I felt like that's the kind of thing where you put up a boatload of yards in a game but you don't put up a boatload of points because you sabotage yourself with Miss cues and it wasn't solely on the receivers but there were moments that were on the receivers so stuff like that so that group still causes me pause but it's capable of being very good do I think it gets there I do actually think it gets there I think that group is one that's going to be pushed very hard via the scrimmage is first scrimmage for FSU is this coming Saturday evening and I think that will be area where guys will elevate my concern is there's a few guys who are older who for whatever reason I just don't expect it to come from Darion Williamson pretty much relayed to H consistently throughout his career du span I just kind of have lost hope in it Tron we shall see I have more optimism with Tron than I do with prior to I mentioned Dan what about you I I'm more confident of what I've seen in campon with the score I gave it going into it but not a ton more I don't feel like I'm scared about it so what about you what are your thoughts I think I would have given it like pre-amp I think I would have said like maybe a five I mean like dead average for a power five team which is definitely less than what you would want if you're competing for a playoff spot but um I think I'm at like a like a six I mean it's definitely more um but I don't think you can make it significantly more considering that like the biggest concern is that you don't have a a Bonafide like dude you know I mean that's the real issue it's it's not that you don't have even like depth that can produce um it's not that you don't have talent that sort of stuff because I think you definitely do have both of those things I think that's I mean that's part of the big takeaway um so far from Camp is that you have so much speed and so much talent um like these young guys like Elijah Moore has really stood out which I mean certainly I expected I think a lot of people expected um lne McCoy has stood out that guy has him and Elijah Moore probably have you know top five for I don't know they have some of the best ball skills on the team basically to some of the best natural Talent natural like football playing ability they get open um they they catch the ball consistently and they are very competitive um Jaylen Brown has surprised me I think he's a guy that can contribute More Than People expected or more than I expected at least um I mean hen Williams is another young guy but that's that's more the expectation and I think hae's been solid but who will step up and be you know a real number one that can take on like a a really good you know if FSU plays Virginia Tech and like Dorian strong or something and you know who's gonna land line up against that guy and win 10one like they probably don't have that um so I'm not going to say they're they're much better than average but um they're deep with talent that other teams in the conference don't really have and they have a lot of speed and mikee nille knows how to use that speed and um it's probably a group that can produce but I don't I don't think them just by themselves is anything special I guess it seems clear to me and hearing you guys talk about it we had someone in the chat ask about Kyle Morlock or or mention Kyle Morlock to the rescue and Mike nll sung his praises and has been consistently doing so in Camp but talked about I forget the exact way he phrased it today but it's a phenomenal camp or like went out of his way to really highlight what Kyle Morlock has done and as I think about what the passing game is going to look like we the quarterback soon I can't believe we're 20 minutes in we barely talked about quarterbacks I don't think even at all um but I think a lot of the passing game is Gonna Be supplemented by players who aren't wide receivers right so that's gonna be tight end Kyle Morlock who is actually your leading wide receiver or leader in receiving yards from last season leading return easy for you to say leading you know what I'm leading returning receiving yards for FSU on the roster that who was on the roster last season is yeah beautiful yeah um Lawrence to Philly has been really good as a receiving option and it's not like I'm not speaking out a school here to say is that a camper school I'm not speaking at on a turn here to say that like you can move Lords to a Philly all around we've seen it throughout his career like that's going to be in the plans like that you could put him in the slot you can put him at wide receiver TOA wheelie like you put him in the back field and he's Dynamic there just ask Clemson Sans 2021 yeah you have guys that's not even getting into like Jaylen Lucas and cuai Holmes is like a decent receiver out of the back field you have you have options to kind of supplement you the passing game I think the wide receivers to an extent if you're able to figure out whether it's Tron or hem as that number two wide receiver that complimentary piece to Malik B that' be huge I just I don't know so like someone like hakee I think it would have to like I think we would see it coming along kind of like how we did last year and it'll start just kind of once it clicks it'll start building on itself I don't think we're quite there yet but he is further along in Camp than he was in Spring yeah I think hae's primed to be really good in several games I think the concern with hem is how consistently will he be reliable and I'm I know is not great I that's that's a question that's a question that we don't know yet the answer to um or we might know the answer right now he's probably not reliable but that doesn't mean he can't get there he also has a long ways to go that's kind of a well-known thing is that he had further to go to reach his upside than most uh in the program but the upside is also extremely high would you say it's a star development trait Dane doing the college football 25 I would you might might even be an elite development trait that's like crazy but but he's a he's a long way off though I would definitely say I mean I'm sure he will be way better than he is now in two years but that's two years away so yeah and you need him to be a part of the solution this year um we'll see the passing game though is g to go as the quarterback goes as always right and I think through six practices and also taking into context what we had in the spr to measure it by what we heard in the off seon in the summertime djal has been impressive to me like I feel really confident with what you have there and it's in the context of you know my expectation isn't for him to be a day two draft pick my expectation isn't for him to be a Heisman Trophy candidate uh but is he someone who could be in the conversation as an all ACC quarterback I don't think that's crazy and what you need from him to be in that conversation is to kind of like a lot of other parts of this roster is be consistent you know he has an amazing deep ball that's in Arsenal we've seen it throughout his career we've seen it at times here already at Florida Stan practices how does he do with the mid-range game how does he do while he's on the Run how does he do with short game I think Dane like he's been really solid with those aspects through camp like I think that's what's encouraging him is the quick release being pretty accurate uh with some of the layups that he doesn't always hit in his career what are your thoughts on what dju has done as Camp U are you seeing like progression in in those areas Beyond just like yes he has he has a strong arm yeah I mean the consistency is what stands out to me that's something I've I think I've pointed out like every day um and and today today especially I think I made a note of that um just like he's been consistent and I feel like he's kind of like progression isn't linear but like he's been somewhat linearly Progressive so far um so you have to point that out he's which is good good yeah of course keep getting better consistently that's awesome yeah yeah um and consistency if that's his biggest question mark because we know the the talent's there then and that's great I mean he's just been he's been decisive he always has kind of the um I want to say Aura but that's such a weird word um you know like someone who is like a veteran leader he has that energy to him and uh and that's that's that's not a surprise coming from him but that is very much there he's just very comfortable and it's showing in his play I think I think the biggest thing with DJ and with FSU being DJ's team is basically understanding playing to his strengths and when you do something that maybe isn't a comfort zone item for him how do you put yourself in the highest probability of it being achievable I think that's where they've learned a lot both parties about one another since the spring and uh yeah the the vertical ability to throw is unbelievable uh you know he hit one of Tron today threw it on the pylon it was just awesome like it's not defendable unless the safety's cheating very deep and gets over there but even in that case it's perfect um he had another one where he just you know receiver one to the middle going vertical put over top very easy football he's done that a few times with jakai and they've had mixed results on it actually being complet but it's consistently there so the point is like the vertical game is going to be awesome the ability to hit explosive plays is wholeheartedly going to exist in the passing game for this team I think the biggest thing with him is the the short and intermediate but especially the short um you know using a guy like Morlock who has had a very good camp using those running backs that we talked about dlts at or mik Dan kazol so on so forth um you know and that that's an area where he's been pretty good through six days of camp and the only knock I guess I have in that regard is he tends to always go fast ball and I think there's some examples where like you know he could he could throw a little bit different Ball but he's a guy who's played football for a really long time and played at this level for a really long time he's played what 40 games I think it now is in his CL 40 starts for sure don't expect a ton to change like yeah I just kind of accept that he is what he is but he will improve within the system the system will ultimately fit with him but I'm comfortable with it I think they're going to be good offensively um somebody asked earlier if I think this will be Mike norval's best running team I do I actually asked Mike norval that question before preseason even started he didn't want to forecast that but I think they're fully capable of being that and I think that sets up for what I kind of expected them to be after watching the spring version of them which is run and be able to hit the vertical passing attack but also be consistent enough to control the ball move it up and down the field and be a good offense and not turn it over you know they've had a few probably more turnovers than they would have liked through six practices but that usually gets cleaned up as time goes by but like DJ not a lot on DJ yeah you're right yeah I was gonna say I I counted one interception from him maybe yeah I've got one through six practices so and and they're not they're not they're not shy with what they've thrown on their quarterbacks so far the installation's been pretty can I talk about Brock for a second and even Luke let ask we could talk about Brock all the time I think Brock's been awesome I think he's been really and not in the sense of like he's trying to take the job or anything of that sort I'm not trying this is DJ's team we weren't sure going into for sure we thought that prop but we know now BR for a guy who basically lost the contest in the spring because he got hurt and it was over I feel like he's done a phenomenal job of just coming out and competing and throwing High Lev throws showing more and more confidence just being more confident and knowing the offense and like being willing to take that shot to the middle of the field and making mostly really good decisions I just think he's been excellent there's not been a day where I've been like you know Brock had an up down day I really liked what he did I thought Luke's day today was the best day he's had Luke Luke had a stretch outside today where he was excellent um and he's actually had two pretty good days in a row and Luke is C capable of doing a lot like for a guy who is in his first year in the offense and you know fully buried and going to learn it and hopefully never plays this year unless they're winning by about 48 points you know I I like what we've seen from Luke and Camp I just feel like that room's really healthy and fertile and I I think DJ was a great addition in the sense of buying time for a guy like Brock and putting Luke into a situation where there's no pressure there's no expectation of play so I think it's good for both parties even know I'm sure he would love to play I want to gush over some of the things we've seen from from Brock lyx it's been cool to see growth from Spring wasn't fantastic for him and he's handled he's responded really well and I want talk about that but but Dan real quick you've spent a lot of time watching some of the younger you the younger group of of players so you've seen a lot of Luke Roman hul the true freshman quarterback what does stand out you nodded your head like Adam mle when Chris said he's been good the last few days like what what stands up out his game he's yeah I mean okay so another thing if you're going to talk about Luke everyone already knows the armed Talent is obviously there he used a borderline festar recruit and a lot of that's almost entirely that is based on his ceiling as a passer and as an athlete whatever it is he has a ton of armed Talent like yeah that's that shows up immediately we know that but he's also very very raw um he's been playing quarterback for like two years pretty much um or playing he played high school he played quarterback for his high school for like two years started because he was behind Griner whatever the guy's name is that's yeah um he was a safety before that I mean we know like FSU knows how how raw Luke is kind of going into the season and stuff he's not a guy that like Chris said you don't want him to to see the field if he needs to or something like that that's not good but he has been decisive in a lot of time a lot of moments he seems confident he delivers a good ball when he is decisive like he's already you know he's he's doing multiple good things at once which is cool to see it's not just oh he made that right read and he he threw to the right guy it's like damn that was a great ball and that was thrown with great timing and it was to the right guy and or even when he takes off or something it's like that was the right thing to do you know that was clearly a high low here whatever and that was covered up and blanketed over like and he took off and there was a hole there because of course there is because that's for spaces like he's he's very impressive in a lot of ways but um for how raw he is I think he doesn't maybe he's developing ahead of schedule is what I'm getting at um and that's awesome to see for a guy who's like so talented when he throws with good technique and good fundamentals basically doesn't open up his arms and solely rely upon his throwing arm he throws great balls and it's one of those things where I think as he gets more comfortable with they're doing technique fundamental just working with him repping it I think that's going to shine through there's times where he just so because he does have such a live arm where he'll get himself in trouble because he'll throw a little off balance or kind of open chested and it's all arm and it's just not working and it's like we saw more of that day one and less of that day six and one thing I like prior quarterbacks have here in recent years who were buried on the depth chart I didn't feel like they always took advantage of practice reps that they just kind of went through the motions and it irritated me I feel like Luke takes advantage of every rep before him and I think that's a great quality and that's something that Brock wholeheartedly is doing currently because I think Brock understands he's not gonna start you know but he needs to be prepared if something were to happen to DJ and I think both of those young men behind DJ have done a phenomenal job of just taking advantage of rep so like there's been miscommunication bad moments through six days but in general those guys have just been after it each day they come out and I I like that that that speaks to a room that is going to presumably continue to progress in a really positive manner and set yourself up really well for the long-term future we had reported like when we were doing the tseries uh a couple weeks ago that they really liked the health of the quarterback room and just where it was from a just a pecking order everyone kind of know knowing their role knowing how they had to support each other knowing what the expectation was in your role and I know that sounds kind of you know cliche and just it doesn't always work that way and especially you had an interesting like going back further into the the offseason winter time when you decided to explore the transfer portal and take a quarterback uh you had to find the right guy right you had to find a good fit and you had to be delicate with it because you had someone in brockland who ended up starting late last season and no it didn't go particularly well but that was someone who wanted to that was PR understatement but we all know the circumstances around it um and it was it just it strikes me as extremely encouraging that we've seen this room take shape with a new addition with some with a player having to understand a role of kind of taking a step back and then a true freshman coming in and like Luke croman hul was struggling with just processing things in that that early on in in the spring what you expect a guy who was supposed to be a high school senior to to struggle with and now he just R all they don't one thing FSU does and they do it with everybody but it stands out with quarterbacks because they have to consume so much is they don't training wheels guys like yeah what DJ's being asked to do Luke is being asked to do and so that you know that can put a strain on a guy mentally and physically and there's just moments where you know I remember one time in the spring I think Luke had a moment where I want to say threw a pick and I asked him and you're like yeah he he never seen what we threw at and that's just what it is but now when he sees it he has seen it before so yeah I I just that room like there have been days where I've been very excited not just because DJ performed well but because the other two guys showed up and worked really hard and turned in a really good day and gave a lot of offensive skill a lot of opportunities to make big plays and also to challenge defense and get them better and that's how a football team gets really good it's you know we care a great deal about the starting 22 but you're only as good as you're 44 and your future is only as good as the guys after that and that's how that gets turned into something and that that is a very noticeable trait of this team that I don't think has really existed at this level for any other Mike norell team in his time in FSU three aspects about Brock Len real quick the athleticism we talked about it in the spring like it looked better than it did at any time in as a true freshman uh and that's just it's gotten better there was a moment today where he had to things got muddied around him he had to step up in the pocket saw a crease and took off and ran scrambled norval loved it like it was just the right decision he didn't try to like loop around get around outside the pocket didn't force a bad throw saw free yards took it but man he gets downfield in a hurry like there's some legit athleticism there and that wasn't something that was like in his recruiting profile though Andrew Ivans did compare him to Jordan Travis in some way so there's some some Wheels there that we didn't know existed it's been fun to watch his athletic ISM number two Brock's body language I really do enjoy watching him get coached how receptive he is M called him over a couple days ago did not like something that he did from a decision-making process the hand gestures were kind of adamant and what were you seeing whatnot Brock's by the language he just leaning into Mike the entire time arm around the shoulder like legitimately just wanting to learn absorb it and is able to to seemingly like explain what he's seen and explain why he saw it doesn't mean the answer is going to be right but you have to be able to process and explain you know what what you're seeing and it just he gets it in that regard and that's really encouraging number three the man loves keeping up a tradition and that's pushing the button to the sad Cemetery which starts about a three minute cqu uh every every single time it's hit he does it before every single practice there's construction ongoing obviously around Florida State these days you have to take kind of a roundabout way now it's not right just as he walks by has a a little out of his way has done it every single day so far Camp until today what happened Chris Adam Fuller played defense he did he did so we'll see how Brock Len responds on day seven on Thursday uh okay so we're going to transition a little bit uh to to defense some we talked about the secondary um before we do that just a big picture question for you guys and I'm gonna start off and ask myself just because I don't want you two to take it uh who is the most who's been the most impressive player this preseason and it could be with expectations that you had exceeding it it could just be someone who's just been a badass and I'm gonna take Darius Washington because that's been my dude since day one he's been awesome Mike Norvell was talk about being an All-American type of offensive tackle even as someone who's been like the president of the Darius Washington fan club The All-American was ambitious when Mike was saying that back in May I get it now like he's been really good good things happen around him uh you see him like frustrating some of the better Defenders on the team of how well he's blocking I mean he's perfect but the level of of competitiveness that he brings on every single rep the movement skills Chris mentioned he had a a pass rush rep uh yesterday where he just took a it was I think it was Byron Turner it was it was a a solid like sort of caught him and then he moved him and I'm like hey that's a new piece of the repertoire like the catching and moving the feet and staying in front he's he's been good at that for a couple years now the literally lifting a human and displacing them while doing it with direct purpose yeah and that's a big time thing for o line and yeah he he did that and I was like yeah Darius has been excellent um one I asked Mike Norville today sort of a question directly pertaining to this I've Loved how many guys that we expect to be guys for them you know that should be because they've been in the system for years that are just really talented and how good they've been through six uh Darius is one of those I'll with Lawrence to Philly uh we always known he's been a gadget guy that could do some things for them but I think he's been a more consistent runner in the sense of you can run him just more give him more carries in the game he's also just a more natural receiver than he's ever been in his career he's made two to three catches that have just been phenomenal over six days and he's made a lot of you know relatively routine to somewhat difficult ones with simple but he's had a few where it's like he went and gut it and or he like bursted to finish the play to get to a spot where only he could catch him was well placed and he got I think lt's been phenomenal and like you know I I used to joke that we talked to LT too much I think two years ago and you know for the production that he was having he now feels like that dude but yeah DH is another one there's a couple more so I'm wondering if danne has somebody else he can throw at us I got two go ahead well you know I think both of them probably I think one I I'll let you have ob one because AZ is one of them no actually Pat pton Pat no okay I'll take I'll take PT was almost my other one because he has started practices with Fi go Blocks he's just been super Pat PT's absolutely fing that'ss also really impressed me I've noticed him like and it's not for show he is coaching younger guys and he is talk like Aaron Hester had a moment today where he didn't basically clean a guy off him the right way and pton got right in and he immediately told him what you need to do with your hands to your secondary move to go I just saw like yeah that's awesome and Pat Payton's a guy that like Brendan thinks he has what photographic memory oh yeah yeah and it shows like watching him do that stuff it shows a little bit so all right go ahead Dane who's your I yeah I'll say two okay so honestly I just kind of forgot about Pat but he absolutely is that he's been an absolute Alpha Dog um out there but my two you know I tend to think about the secondary I'll would go fentrell Cyprus because he's been again just a monster so far like exceeded expectation he's been as good as anyone I think um through six and then shahim Brown Shah sh's been shahim is a dude but again all guys that should be guys and they have for sure for sure that's a guy you was going to take the next step and I I mean I've feel pretty confident saying he is like he he comes off as someone who absolutely knows he's supposed to take that step and it's not just that he's supposed to but that he is that guy um you know that's that's the kind of energy he gives off I guess uh I roll my eyes on myself but um yeah uh but he's I mean he shows it though like it's it's not just the the comfortability and the kind of the leadership role he's taken which I think he absolutely has but it's I mean he's he's bigger and I think more explosive than he was last season too I mean he looks like I think I said this to to one of yall um a few days ago but it's looks like final form you know like final form shahen Brown kind of like this is this is what he's gonna look like when he goes to the league and stuff the Blastoise version Pokemon reference there's other guys though nice thing about the exercise Kyle Morlock who we talked about earlier has had a phenomenal Camp yeah um look like a true tight one yeah he's a expectation he's not what we're talking about I think but yeah Mo Smith's been really good and consistent the boxer you can't knock him down important both those DTS I think have been very good in Daryl and Josh so yeah yeah it's just it's refreshing that like of the 22 you expect to be like your primary guys you you feel pretty good about a lot of them showing up like there hasn't been like man he's just been disappointing I don't feel like I've said that about a guy who I truly think is somebody they got to rely upon there was well yeah yeah I I don't I don't think there's been anyone that that you expected like trying I'm trying to think because I have to I probably should have thought of that before starting quarterback no running back no I just know I know if I say something anywhere remotely close to negative like it gets blown out of proportion it gets magnified so I don't know like I think there's still ongoing competition at right tackle between Scott yeah I was gonna say buyers buyers has one that you you more buyers still has those moments where they're bad and they're not better than we thought he would be I think that's probably a bigger part of it in my opinion that's what I would have said yeah that's when I land on when I think about this exercise it is buyers so real quick I just aside know un shahim Brown fun play today where Tamir Hickman Collins freshman linebacker gets outside and there's a there's a play that bounces like to the field uh and he basically blows up a blocker to make sure that the play gets like kind of rerouted back inside if he doesn't blow up the blocker that's probably a touchdown because he gets sealed he hles he shows good power as well but it's like the effort to go ahead and do that shyen brown probably comes from like 20 yards away and just gives him like a a pat on the head like yep that that that's what you do and just that's the kind of stuff what Chris talking about Pat pton earlier with Aaron Hester like Jared verse was so great at that Fabian love it was great at that and that's stuff you have to kind of keep passing along for this to to keep working at the level that it's been working at the last few years so U okay we talk about like things that expectations maybe things that we've been looking for that we um I want say don't feel great about but the questions right like the questions that still are unanswered the uncertainties the things that maybe don't give us the warm and fuzzies still we talked about wide receiver well I think it's better than where it was in the spring still things to be determined there on defense I think going into the I think going into the summer the two position groups that really had question marks one was a depth perspective defensive tackle behind darl Jackson and Josh farmer I want to talk about that and then linebacker right with with DJ Lundy you know what you have with him Mike Nel said he's been been somewhat Limited in spring or excuse me in Fall Camp here it's hard to say fall Camp too because it's gonna be5 heat index for the next like week but WEA humidity it ain't the heat it's the humidity it's all of it it's not particularly Pleasant um but that's allowed other guys to get reps and app bats uh and so I want to get both of your thoughts on those two position groups those unknowns and kind of how those are clearing up Dane do you have one that you feel more particularly um comfortable or confident talking about defensive tackle depth is what I wanted to talk about before he even brought that up um so I'll talk about that obviously you know your two guys up front uh two starting guys Josh farmer and Joe Jackson studs we know that but behind them and that's a position that depth matters as much as any of them especially with OD Hain because he likes to rotate like eight guys if he could so you know that matters a lot there and there aren't a surplus of guys that position room to begin with uh of guys you want to rely on there's really Grady Kelly Daniel lions and KJ Samson and KJ Samson's a seconde guy but I think going in we fully expected Daniel Lions to be kind of the third D tackle and like last year they had a third D tackle in Fabian love it which is not ever gonna happen again where you have a guy probably that good um as like your first guy off the bench also darl Jackson would have been your fourth guy last year oh my god I didn't even think he would have been your fourth guy last year anyways anyway um but I think um like Daryl Lions hasn't I wouldn't say he's taken that spot um I don't think he's I don't think he's shined or like uh he hasn't been a guy we've highlighted a ton um as someone who's been consistent by any means he's had good moments for sure he flashes his talent he's a very talented guy I think of those three depth guys I just named he's the highest ceiling guy in that room um or of that group but I think KJ Samson is someone who has like really kind of uh shined and been consistent and been a a consistent competitor and I'm I'm sure that's what Chris would want to talk about too um and then grd Kelly's been another guy who's who's had a lot of you know great effort and consistency so I don't know how we feel about that room um from like a talent perspect perspective outside of them um but let me see KJ Samson's been a a standout yeah norval talked about KJ Samson after practice number five so on Monday and KJ had turned in four really good days prior to that I think the biggest thing with KJ is that the effort's just really consistent I've actually commented sometimes I wish because I think Daniel Lions is little bit more naturally blessed big body and all of that I wish like Samson's effort and Lion's body were one it would be a phenomenal player Lion's biggest issue truthfully is just he plays too high sometimes and it gets swallowed up because of that people get their hands on him kind of take him out he is fully capable but again guy that's got to show more consistency with doing the right way tell me why durl J's worked a lot in that room I think he's kind of a wild card of the bunch Grady Kelly I think is sort of your confident third you know I think you know what you're getting from Grady Kelly it will be good it will be serviceable it won't be special that room will take a step back from what it was last year one two is going to be excellent with farmer and Jackson and I think they play a little bit more significant rep wise um maybe than last year where the rotation was a little bit deeper and more quickly going to because you did have a guy in Fabian love it who's now in Chief's camp for example so um don't love the depth don't hate the depth I don't think it's a weakness but it is room where like we need Daniel Lions to become the best version of himself or KJ Samson to be even further ahead of schedule than it kind of looks like or Tomy wuro J to come along one of those happens you're probably fine a couple of those happens you're sitting pretty in my opinion I had a seven out of 10 confidence grade on the position P4 level I feel I feel that way about it yeah still I mean I think you have and and even like Debo white and to a lesser degree Jam Mo flake have had some decent moments they're your seven eight basically so the goal there to me is get to like a really good five and you're currently at a great three with Samson line being you're four and five to me in either order line Samson or Samson lines so like it's a good group I just need somebody to take a next step I I would love for Daniel Lions to ascend and make Grady Kelly feel more like a four I think is where it would be great for me that's where KJ Samson's Ascension I think is going to help as if he can push Daniel Lions to kind of get some urgency to to his game that would be positive all right Chris let's talk about linebackers then and kind of the the dynamic of of that group what's been good what's juice CER has been good uh he he looks like a better version than he was last year and he was a good player he's an excellent I've always viewed him as an excellent guy from like a floor of depth for you um like a two deep deep guy that is great for you Blake has been good I don't know if great enters of vocabulary there but like I also don't think he's had bad moments I just can't remember a ton of like flashy moments it's been I guess consistently good I you're welcome to chime in if you think that's a fierce statement on that Lundy as we mentioned Norville spoke about today hasn't done much uh so he's not in the mix but we know what DJ Lundy is when healthy so we expect him to be the one um Shawn Murphy had flashes actually the last two days which was a big positive um you know he had one he immediately out of the gate today and thought like yeah that's a good thing like that hasn't happened enough consistently since his arrival at FSU cim Riley's been a godsend for that room um still sort of trying to figure out is he an every down guy is he a specialist guy exactly how is FSU going to use him but he's a dude he's a large human very athletic he's done an excellent job taken to the system you know he's not out of position he seems very comfortable he spoke about previously being under four different DCS in his time at Auburn so having to learn a new language and things very quickly is sort of something he's grown a custom to so that's probably helped in the transition I think Kar Riley is an excellent example of FSU doing self scouting and raising the floor of a room by going and getting a guy who would help him in a you know short time period because I I think they probably came out of spring not loving who and what Shawn Murphy was for them in the spring and I think the addition of Cam Riley makes you more confident there if Shawn Murphy comes along and that that's an excellent added bonus but the guy who's probably impressed me most truthfully is CER like I feel like CER has really just ramped it up kind of like fent trro where it just feels like he's a guy playing faster more confident and just flashing more often and that that's fantastic yeah I still think Blake's the the dude like if that room's going to be great it's going to be because Blake Nicholson becomes the dude he's capable of being because athletically he's different than anybody else they have at the disposal but Justin CER if he's your third or your fourth guy you're really good spot okay let's take a few listener questions then I have one more and then we'll get out of here uh this one is from our chat Sam S is Haron Aaron Hester could start Brendan better than last year's Byron Turner uh let's see who wants to answer that should I as the I'll go with a yes it's a good question like a I think it's a really good question because it's go ahead there's some new Hester's power is better than Turner's power has ever been his pass rush I think is and the power's part of it is he's a little over dependent on bull rushes that's but he sued long and he uses leverage and technique well because he's old and he knows how to do it by now he's like so it's an interesting yeah yeah he really long arms compact midsection or whatever than long arms I'll put it this way I think he'll be more impactful as a pass rusher than what Byron Turner was last year Byron is actually good like against the Run especially like some space stuff like he was actually solid there I think he's just have a a pass rush move to really help you a ton and and get washed out a little bit too when uh when there was bigger offensive lineman and tight ends like double teaming him and stuff but um anyways Aron Hester is gonna help you out this season we didn't have that on our bingo card going into spring practice it's been a pretty steady Ascension uh for him that's you know Dane mentioned with with dju like just kind of gradual progression practice after practice I feel like that's been that the case for Aaron Hester for for a few months now uh T bra 57 on Twitter or X now can you guys talk about Fitz Mastro and special teams in general Chris let's let's talk about the the Aussie uh the the local place kicker and some speed at at the return positions um masro has been very good uh looks very comfortable punting it I noticed he's doing some short leg punting um I don't know all sorts of crazy but like I don't remember him last year doing a little like quick lower leg Flinch kick where he just Skies it and tries to drop it inside the 10 he's done that a couple times the last couple days uh a couple field goals have been blocked I don't think they've all belonged to Fitz I think it's been a mix of him and Weinberg on instances Pat Payton's been wanting to get a couple of those um so that's a little concerning but that's I don't think the kicker as much as maybe the protection Fitz and Weinberg have both kicked it fairly well um Weinberg still obviously getting a feel for for the college game and the speed of what's coming at them return game wise yeah uh they got a ton of options I mean when your team's centerpieces sort of speed and we hear that consistently talked about like it gives you a few things to do uh you know Jaylen Luc is clearly a guy that's going to factor into that in some form or fashion probably certainly on punt returns kick returns I think I've seen Ry Dell back there Camden frier juice ban uh I know there's been a few others one of the best kickoff J Lucas Jaylen brown jayen brown yeah so yeah tons of options yeah they'll do that at some point I can't remember if that as is a scrimmage one or a scrimmage two thing for them traditionally I think it's two but uh that's when you'll kind of get a feel for like yeah they got but I I do think they believe special teams as far as the ability to score points in the return game that this team is best position to do it I mean hell we trying to figure out who the punt returner was going to be and then you know Keon Coleman's this time of year we didn't know and not only we not know because it happened during the Jacksonville trip yeah uh we did not we didn't not only not know who it was going to be you know a weekend to Camp it looked like a unated disaster it looked awful last they they had no idea M Dan is an un name I forgot to throw out there in that conversation yeah for sure they got dudes but they and just like the punt return aspect and Yak who in addition to being the running back coach also works with the punt returners mentioned jayen Lucas mentioned Malik Benson L McCoy D's mentioned how natural he looks there I think like I don't know about this year but like that's probably gonna be your dude in the future there's one other two but like no alarming not to say there's Perfection but there's no red flags there like in terms of being able to field it's not we're not counting Ms no which we had a moment last year where I think we had a healthy streak last year was was a concern deep concern there um all right question from Briley this is gonna be kind of an an adage of of every camp in practice are the chunk runs and and rushing success in general a knock on the defensive front seven or more kudos to the o line are we be good against the run as we were last year the first question is is like it's hard to to tell it is I I I'll put this way I'm going to go with it's a credit to the o line through six practices because when I'm notice them happening it's either because of a back that's doing an exceptional job of like getting to the edge for example or a phenomenal second level block I think there was one where Jackson West Seal a guy great sprung it there was another one where I want to say a guard shot in the hole and got to the second level and spr like it's guys putting hats on hats and doing it the correct way and it's not like defense feeling to do an effective job of trying to get off the Block it's just the timing is there like the track is good the timing is is good and the blocks are good and when a plan comes together there's a chunk on because you have dudes who are really fast and explosive in that backfield royell Williams Jaylen Lucas kaziah Holmes Sam Singleton even has had a couple moments in a couple of these practices where he's turned into play um yeah I I I don't I'm not concerned about the D Line's ability against the run I think they're going to be a good run stopping D they do a very good job of mashing things up but when there are good explosive running plays it is because the offense is executing at a high level uh let's see there's a couple of questions in the nlls 247 thread in which we announced that we were doing OTB uh this evening do we have a promo starting Chris that we need to talk about speaking yeah actually uh I believe we're doing a 60% off again it technically started today I will get that promo on the front page tomorrow life's just been really busy the last couple days with preseason practices and women's lacrosse coaches and soccer season starting and yeah so um but yeah we'll have it on the front page I believe it's 60% off I want to say it goes for roughly a week it's basically the start of Camp because obviously FSU and George Tech are two of the few teams that have started Ultra early most teams are kicking off Camp here in the next two three days uh you guys came through huge for us at our last promo the start of July with commit season and we were top two or three in the network so thank you for everyone giving us a try uh this is the time here where football content is is Keen and take a lot of Pride like the practice report Sports we do and guys like Chris and Dane and Brett myself when when F's back in town like we pay a lot of attention at practice we care about that process and and having eyes out there so that's where you can go to go ahead and and consume FSU football content uh daily and that's specifically the practice report stuffs for VIP subscribers so if you want to give us a try it's a good time of year to do so um all right so a couple of the questions here are going to kind of lead to basically what I wanted to to ask is kind of the the finishing off point for this um this podcast Spaceman spiff 3 wants to know what Dany is like in person it's Makai Dany true freshman running back he said he was watching clips of Quincy Wilson and was a great track star and is there like a different level of of like Dany speed versus say you know Malik Benson or or Jaylen Lucas you know really fast track guys and then uh ELO or a illo I think it's like Illinois but no uh make sure to talk about his recent season the Mari Williams fan club presidency he's been keeping track of how many times we've mentioned Amari Williams in the practice reports I think we're five out of six days amar's been mentioned on the bingo card there so it's another true freshman so with both those questions in mind fellas who's a true freshman that has captured your imagination here in preseason camp I I think Dan's I view it in the version of who do I think can contribute the most this year I think Dany finds some form or fash of contributing whether it's returns or just a few plays here and there once in a blue moon I like him a lot I also think Charles ler is a DB that's going to work into that quindarius Jones mix of last year where he gets some burn and gets some opportunity I've been very impressed by the leap Lester has made from Spring to summer spring he was just a great athlete that he is and he you know thrived in the high school game off of his athleticism now he looks more like a DB there there's more technique that's showing through and what doing but D say he was like the most improved player or something kind of like he said he yeah I think Mike did mention that he had improved really well someone that had made a big spring the summer jump basically um so yeah I'm just paring Mike norvo that's really all I ever did cash check um hey he knows what he's talking about it's worked out all right but uh no Dany is like he's fast fast like he had one down the sideline the other day where it just he peeled away from people it's kind of like Jaylen Lucas where it's like man when he gets it he's kind of a cheek code you know what weird though Chris like Jaylen Lucas looks fast maai Dani doesn't look fast until M foot and a half taller and stretched out well Lucas is his little tucked in there I mean moving at a different speed that's true I I was watching Lucas in motion the other day behind the o line from The End Zone like from the back angle and he's crouched and the O Line's playing a little high pre- snap and I'm like the defense can't see him he's just hiding back there He's listed at 5 foot n as someone who I'm list at 5 foot n and that's on our license I'm 5'9 and like 250 pounds on my license I am neither of those things I just want to let that what do you guys what do you guys think Jaylen how tall do you think Jaylen Lucas is if you had a guess he walked by Lucas Simmons today which by the way pat on the back for myself been getting names wrong all the time lately I have not confused Jaylen Lucas and Lucas Simmons once and I'm going to talk about them both in the same context in completely derail all of it they walked by each other today you want to talk about the contrast of the human body holy crap yeah LC is ultra stretched out really long Wings spin that goes on for days and then here's Jaylen Lucas a little pocket sized hero he is a cheat code though it's fun as H to watch um he's probably five six yeah that's where I'm landing just fine man he's he's he is a football player he is fun touchdowns come in all sizes um all right so you went with Charles Lester and maai Dany that that's good Adan since Chris took an offensive and defensive player I'll I'll let you go ahead and and get one of each as well okay oh damn it the one of each I would I would rather just go two offense I had two off that's fine I was wondering like you had time to actually Mar Williams it's like a poor thing on the ACC ballot you can use them for both if he's if that didn't count you know the question or whatever but but okay the two guys I'll go I'll say lne McCoy and Elijah Moore um are I think one of the two at least will get like a pretty decent amount of burn this year I feel like um like that's a pretty decent bet if you could make it like they play a they play a similar position I think I can say um wide receiver sure wide receiver brenon hate you um yeah so uh what would you say nine wide receiver does I can oh God here we go can I say that I mean they move people all over the place I don't think it's crazy to say that Elijah Moore the the six foot4 like like hands they're both oneon-one winners and that's entails but it's Elijah is more playing in the air while L Wayne's a little bit more skating on the ice I don't know a lot L's got some vertical ohne has the length of someone who's like 65 so that's he he jumps and stays in the air but the way he gets the way he jumps it's so springy and like rapid fire um he's been your best freshman wide receiver like Elijah Moore's good moments have been freaky but like I wholeheartedly get why some people thought lne could be a high Lev DB like I'm watching his movement skills it 100% makes sense yeah I think he would have been a similarly ranked Prospect if he was like sold as a corner you know I think they would have been like a top 150ish guy either way he's just he has he's a very good athlete with awesome ball skills he's a competitor and he's really long and that's all things that project well to the NFL or rankings or whatever so yeah I he's a good football player a really good football player um Brandon talk about Amari Williams yeah Amari Williams has been I talk about like a surprise the fact that he's 17 years old he was a tight end slash wide receiver defensive end at a small private school Benjamin school which is where Jordan Travis went um didn't have a ton of expectations came here thought he'd be a defensive end you just kind of you stashed him away for a year we find out late in the summer that there's a chance he's going to play a tight end didn't know exactly what it looked like he basically revealed that announced it or didn't announce it and Chris had asked him about it at the newcomer availability uh right before camp that yeah I'm going to get some looks there and he's gotten looks there and damn it like he is going to be a good player in time there are legitimate receiving skills and just movement ability right now at 17 years old that are going to give him a chance to contribute in some capacity think you have to be very specialized but like he belongs and as like the pads have come on he hasn't really disappeared I thought yesterday was a little bit more quiet but like today he was really good again um so that's been really encouraging hat tip to press and Brady member of the support staff at FSU he's kind of been a Mar's like Shadow buddy yeah um he talks to him on a way into practice he's around him a decent amount of impa he's done a good job I think of kind of helping him understand this is what you messed up here don't do it again and then goes and has good rep I think that speaks to how they view Amari in terms of like that there is a coach who is spending that much time with him each day I think that pends to like again he's someone who can help you this year they they're they're preparing him for something is based on just the way they talk about him the way they use him we see and just how he moves like yeah there do you agree with that Dane yeah it's I think it's like a recognized importance like it reminds me kind of of how H's been um he was like that last year I feel like a good deal like Mike had kind of a special focus on him and I think that's still true to a at least a degree um but yeah it's like you know you really want of this kid you know he can be really good um and if he's really good sooner than later which is very possible than that you know that's an impactful thing for you so yeah Mari Williams is is definitely a bit of a freak my other guy yeah definitely um my other freshman I guess would be Kai Bates I'll go with and I didn't have I really liked his high school film has amazing ball skills for the quarterback position but seeing him in the spring I thought he was a little thin I was like just didn't know exactly how quickly that would he would have a chance to help he's made really big strides in the off season he's had I think about three really good days in a row and those been three days with with pads on and he's been physical he's been super competitive when he allows a reception I feel like he's in good position and um seeing that this early makes me think like he'll be able to help you I don't know about the like the the defensive back rotation but special teams and who knows like by the end of the season what it looks like so he's been good so we we've what we just talked about six different true freshman oh yeah Luke croman hul's really good and we kind of he's not a newcomer he was in the spring but he's been awesome Cam Davis has been really good John Daniels had one day with a couple reps where it jumped out at you when they got chippy that was a day in shoulder pads not in full pads today manasse T's light feet long arms once in a while making appearance like yeah all in all the Freshman group you you watch and you're pretty confident a nice thing about this football team is the exercise of who doesn't belong is a very short exercise and that wasn't true a couple years ago uh denas White is another guy who's I think further along than I'd expected he's got FL large human for sure he is he is he's someone who's GNA really benefit from the next I don't know what I missed but we keep going uh he someone's going to really benefit from being in the strength program but like they like his effort he is huge um yeah there's something there Landon Thomas they he will help you this season like he's a guy who's in the plans DD Holmes is a unique frame with good athleticism uh learning second moves and the repertoire the position is kind of the key for him moving forward but like yeah there he stands out in that room because of the physical traits I think he's adding weight too right now and I feel like if like in a year he might might look like really good physically his frame is defin like exactly what you want at that spot I think like 80% of the Freshman Class you think like y nailed it like the clear path to being a 2d player within a year yeah and there's there's a decent amount of guys from last year's class where you feel really good about the jump they've made yeah CER who we talked about is one Andre aut is another one yeah there there's several and and so you know there guys we haven't mention like a Camden frier uh BJ Gibson um like who knows what they'll like what kind of movement like what kind of strides they'll make in the next year or so too but but the names that we've mentioned in that top six and then a few after like all have potential to help you at some capacity or another this season it's cool it was a really good high school recruiting class the best this staff has put together and it looks like that so as we get out of here uh FSU is off on Wednesday they return to practice on Thursday got Thursday Friday scrimmage on Saturday and then the next week you got Jacksonville yeah Jacks was late next week so I believe they're off Sunday after the scrimmage here I'm pulling it up real quick yeah so Sunday they are off and then Monday is practice 9 and then 10 on Tuesday 11 on Wednesday at Jacksonville 12 in Jacksonville 13 or I'm sorry no Friday they're all Friday because they prepare for the second scrimmage on the 10 next which will be Frid next next Saturday Friday yes we made we did F but yes Jack next week and Jack is always sort of a interesting pivot point of the preseason because I think it's where you go from so much install it's just a little bit more let's be H it's miserably freaking hot it's dialed up it's usually buggy you're on one field and it's not near as comfortable as your home even with the construction going on around do right now um and it's just sort of like one of those places where like guys have emerged moments have happened Jacksonville does something with that team I it's why Mike does it and so we have to look forward to scrimmage Jacksonville scrimmage yeah and somebody asked you to coaches meet with us after a scrimmage we have a ver we don't get to see scrimmages that's one thing that's closed uh we have virtual with Mike norell and a coordinator after the scrimmage and then we speak to the other coordinator the next practice that's how it set up this preseason and we'll try to hustle and talk to different sources and be respectful to their process as well to not do not spill everything but want to know who who performs well and what not the scrimmages it's important uh for for you guys I know I care about it listeners and and subscribers so we will hustle but they also do a really good job of like Mike's very forthcoming about what happens in scrimmages when he shares it like that's checked out over the years so like when he talks on Saturday evening over Zoom like we'll be listening closely because because he'll paint a pretty good picture of of what the day entailed so anyways it's going to be a really fun week coming up in the next few days here so it's been a really good introduction to what this team is we have a lot more to learn about them in the next week or so it's gonna be a lot of make or break type of stuff occurring here so with that in mind uh we'll get out of here we'll talk to you guys next week for Chris Nee for Dane Draper I'm Brendon Sone this has been on the bench talk to you later