Springing ahead — ’Noles better prepared in ’21
Players confident, well-conditioned at start of camp
As Florida State wrapped up the first practice of its spring football camp Tuesday evening, coach Mike Norvell liked what he saw.
A year ago, many of these same Seminoles players couldn’t finish practice without needing frequent breaks. This time around, however, it was a different story.
“I thought the guys came out [and] looked good,” Norvell said following the team practice. “They were in much better shape than what we’ve been. I thought they were able to push through practice and not necessarily take too many breaks or any of that.”
Norvell and his staff have seen a noticeable change among the players this offseason, starting with buy-in to offseason conditioning drills and Tour of Duty workouts. That, in turn, has led to an increased level of confidence on display throughout the program.
“Our conditioning level isn’t even comparable,” offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham said. “Last year, we couldn’t even finish this practice. I mean, we were dragging our players along as a coaching staff.”
One area of significant growth is the quarterback position.
Redshirt sophomore Jordan Travis and redshirt freshmen Chubba Purdy and Tate Rodemaker saw substantial playing time last season, with each having at least one start in 2020. The addition of graduate transfer McKenzie Milton, who started 33 games while at UCF, gives the group a significant upgrade.
“It’s one of the things that is a challenge, but our guys know they are in a true competition,” Norvell said of making sure each quarterback gets enough reps in practice. “The importance, the emphasis of every individual rep we have, those guys are competing in all aspects.
“That group is going to be fun to watch. The diversity and talents, but also the approach all these guys bring to it and the competitors they are, it’s a good group at that position.
“We’re going to continue to get better and those guys are going to push each other. But it was fun even today to see how they interacted and encourage each other.”
Familiarity with the offense has been a major advantage for players this time around. This is
the first time since 2016-17 the Seminoles have had the same offensive coordinator in back-toback seasons. That consistency has led to a new level of comfort among the quarterbacks.
“Obviously being in the system for a year, all those guys have played college football and they played a lot of snaps in college football,” Dillingham said. “So those guys’ comfort level back there is significantly higher than it was a year ago at this time.
“They know it. It’s now just, ‘I’m looking at the defenders and I’m getting the ball to where my read dictates.’ All the other thinking — I shouldn’t say all of it; a lot of it — is done.
“We still have a way to go. And now we can truly focus on the decisions that we’re making.”
Added Travis: “This year, I think all the guys feel way more comfortable. We know what we’re doing and it’s not new to us. Last year, everyone was trying to learn new stuff.
“I feel like this year everyone has a good idea of everything, so they can go out there and focus on the little parts of the game instead of trying to get the game plan down or the installs down.”
The eclectic mix of talents among quarterbacks can also help even amid a competition.
“We met about it yesterday in the quarterback room and we said, ‘You know, four guys with starting experience. Everybody has their strengths, everybody has their weaknesses, but what if we come together as one unit and we all help each other?’ ” said Dillingham, who expects the competition to run into fall.
Travis said it’s been a collaborative effort among himself and the other quarterbacks.
“We’re out here trying to get each other better,” he said. “We all have game experience, so we’re trying to pick each other’s minds and find those little things that a certain guy does best and try to pick their brains.”