Norvell, FSU football grateful after Hurricane Idalia spares Tallahassee | The NoleBook
Tallahassee was spared the worst of Hurricane Idalia when it made landfall Wednesday on the coast of Florida's Big Bend near Keaton Beach with sustained winds at 125 mph.
This allowed the Florida State football team to get on the field Wednesday afternoon for practice, as the No. 8 Seminoles ramp it up to get ready to host No. 5 LSU at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
"Once everything got clear, we came out around, 4, 5 o'clock and got what we needed to get done," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said following Thursday's practice.
"I am grateful that everything here was minimal. Thoughts are going out to everyone in Perry and some places that got really hard hit by the storm. We are definitely praying for all the families and the people who lost everything."
Redshirt sophomore safety Shyheim Brown, who attended Columbia High and is from Lake City, said his family was sparred by the storm.
"I talked to my mom a little bit yesterday and she said they didn't have power," Brown said. "But growing up, that's how it was. The wind could be blowing and the power goes out. But everyone is straight at home."
Brown added growing up in Florida, he's used to hurricanes, so getting ready to get back to work was easier for him.
Meanwhile, offensive lineman Casey Roddick, a transfer from Colorado, said the experience was his first hurricane, adding he had been through some snowstorms before. Roddick attended St. Bonaventure in Ventura, California for college.
"The work stays the work. Regardless of the scenarios, you have to adapt to it," Roddick said of how he made sure not to be distracted by a hurricane during game week. "I think that's what this team does a really good job of, adapting to whatever happens.
"... It doesn't matter what the outside noise is, we understand as a team what we have to do to ensure success."
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Norvell disappointed with consistency in practice Thursday
With just three days left until the opener against the Tigers, Norvell wanted to see his team locked in ahead of the opener.
However, he was not thrilled with what he said during Thursday's practice, saying he needed to see more consistency from his team.
"Today there were some moments where we weren't as consistent as we needed to be," Norvell said. "In the middle of practice, we had some missed opportunities with some dropped balls, a couple of mistakes and just missed some opportunities there defensively.
"All-in-all, it got sloppy at some points today. I did think the guys responded better towards the end of practice. But ultimately the consistency we're looking for, it has to show up."
Here are observations from the Democrat writers in attendance for Thursday's practice ahead of the LSU game on Sunday.
Observations from FSU's Thursday practice
Renardo Green with good coverage to break up a pass from Jordan Travis to Johnny Wilson during inside 11v11 drills. A little underthrown but jump ball Wilson can win.
Jared Verse gets into the backfield to put pressure on Travis and get him out of pocket. He overthrows WR.
Tate Rodemaker to Hykeem Williams for a decent gain on an out route.
Jones breaks up a deep pass from Brock to Hykeem. Good anticipation to not hit early.
Patrick Payton gets inside for pressure but Travis hits Wilson in stride during a third-down drill. Fentrell strips Wilson and scoops the ball up. Could have been a chance to score in a game.
Travis overthrows the ball intended for Williams. Kalen DeLoach may have gotten a hand on it. Vance almost comes down with the pick.
Travis has an open Wilson on an out-route but Braden Fiske bats the ball down to prevent the chance of a big play. He has a high motor and will have a lot of deflections this season, in addition to sacks.
Glenn hits Deuce Spann on a well-placed ball to his outside. Spann comes back for the ball. Spann has shown a lot of flashes in the last few practices.
Travis hits Keon Coleman in the corner of the end zone for a TD during third down red zone drills. Travis had to go through all his progressions and scramble to the right due to good coverage from the secondary. Verse was closing in on him when he fired the ball to Coleman who worked open.
Jared Verse and Shyheim Brown gain leverage and put pressure inside to get a “blocked” field goal by Rya Fitzgerald from 31 yards. Brown said the ball went off a lineman’s head, but the unit will take the “block.”
Fitzgerald knocked his kick in from 45 yards out on the next attempt.
Tyler Keltner connects on his kicks from 31 and 45 yards out.
During 1vs1 drills, Travis delivers a great back-shoulder throw to Wilson. Good adjustment from Wilson on a well-thrown ball. Cypress Fentrell was in coverage and had zero shot.
Travis hits Destyn Hills with a deep ball. Hill used his speed to get open against Vance and broke open on the left sideline. He is going to be a nuisance for defenses.
Tate Rodemaker throws a dime to Markeston Douglas down the right sideline. Hits Douglas in the bread basket, but Douglas drops it.
Keon Coleman runs a great route, gets open and comes back to the ball to catch a pass from Rodemaker. Coleman has shown a good ability to get open with his route running and always makes the pass easier for his QB by coming back for the ball.
During red zone 1vs 1 drills, Bell runs a great route to get open for an easy pitch and catch from Glenn for the TD. Next play Gelnn hits Jacobs for an easy TD on an in-route.
Another great catch from Coleman for a TD from Glenn. Coleman went above his head while jumping to catch the ball. Cypress again with good coverage but better play by the offense.
During 7vs7 drills indoors, Fentrell jumps route on a pass from Glenn for an interception. A few plays later, he jumps another route on a pass from Travis and neatly gets a pick 6 if he catches the ball. He also had a pick during 1vs1 action. Norvell called it Fentrell’s best practice.
Vendravius Jacobs goes up for a leaping grab over two defenders on a throw from Duffy. Great play from him. Continues to make a late fall surge.
Travis with a pair of dimes. One goes for a long TD to Wilson. Wilson bounced back from earlier drops. The next throw was a perfect throw down the sideline to Bell to get the ball over tight coverage.
GAME INFORMATION
Who: AP No. 8 FSU (0-0) vs. No. 5 LSU (0-0)
When/where: Sunday, Sept. 3, 7:30 p.m.; Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM
Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @JackGWilliams on Twitter; @Ehsan_Kassim on Twitter; @JimHenryTALLY on Twitter
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football: Mike Norvell, Seminoles grateful after Hurricane Idalia
