Tuesday Scout Team: Notes and observations from Florida State's GT-focused day

Mike Norvell kept his word and brought out the black jerseys on Tuesday as the scout team helped Florida State prepare for Georgia Tech.

Instead of the extended team periods FSU endured during fall camp, the offense and defense were separated for most of the morning, working through what to expect from the Yellow Jackets.

When the teams reconvened, a tug-of-war ensued as the Seminoles ran a balanced practice with changing game situations for the second day in a row.

The defense started the day with a lead, not allowing a single yard in the first four offensive plays. The pass rush and secondary were perfectly coordinated and the linebackers tied up all the loose ends.

But DJ Uiagalelei led the way from the front as his group fought back. After Roydell Williams cut back and found open space during the middle portion of team drills, the QB became the lead blocker, putting his body on the line to fuel the offense and get the RB extra yards. Later, his improvisation turned a dead play into a two-point conversation as he kept his composure and jogged into the end zone. He threw the deep ball just as well as he did during fall camp when the wide receivers and cornerbacks tangled in one-on-one situations. Coach Tony Tokarz met with the media after practice and explained the evolution in Uiagalelei’s game.

“He prepares at an elite level and his approach is incredible. We were obviously hoping to get him… I’ve said it before, he knows football well, but it’s just a matter of finding out what we do, how we do it and why we do it.”

In addition to Uiagalelei, three themes stood out on the second of four consecutive days of practice.

Marvin Jones Jr.

The Georgia transfer missed the first part of fall practice, Norvell announced last week, but since his return, Jones Jr. has looked like the perfect running back alongside Patrick Payton.

He started his day with a sack of Uiagalelei on the first snap of the morning. He took a fast approach to Jeremiah Byers, forcing the quarterback to swallow the ball and the coaches to blow the whistle. He later used his 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame to force offensive linemen back by extending his arms and locking in during blocking drills in the running game. When they practiced against the scout team, the defense slipped a young running back in at transfer defensive end.

Crunch.

Last week in Jacksonville, Jones Jr. talked about his fall camp and the defensive line room.

“There’s a lot of knowledge. There are a lot of questions being asked, questions being answered, and new things being discovered every day. We’re just trying to figure out how we can play together. It’s been a lot of fun.”

The question about Jones’ year is about who he plays with, not how often he’s on the field. With a defensive philosophy that loves to rotate defensive linemen throughout the game, will Norvell put the dominant duo of Patrick and Jones on the field, or will he stagger the two?

Thunder and lightning

While the receivers are still in the development phase, the running backs became the straw that broke the camel’s back in the offense and are once again the catalyst today.

After Roydell Williams initially faltered, his 11-on-11 runs took their toll on the defense as his agility allowed him to cut back and find green grass. Facing the backfield, Norvell focused the plays and Uiagalelei sent a bombing run wide down the field. The ball fell not into the hands of a receiver but into the hands of Lawrance Toafili, who caught it and sprinted into the end zone to the delight of his offensive players, lifting a heavy weight off their shoulders. Toafili’s flexibility allows him to play different positions and gives his head coach the ability to put two running backs on the field at once. Norvell used Williams throughout the day and his hard running produced extra yards instead of negative plays. He also led the team cheer to rally the offense before a team practice began, an impressive feat considering he only joined the team in January.

Running back balance has been the offense’s strength so far in fall camp, and Norvell and Coach Yac have a tough time utilizing them all to their full potential. But these two should be the ones involved the most.

Andre’ Otto

One of the standout and surprising stars in camp was the multi-talented Andre’ Otto, who received a lot of praise from Norvell and Alex Atkins last week.

Otto spent last season on the scout team after joining the team in June as a three-star prospect out of Key West. Norvell stresses the importance of learning on the job as a scout team player and not sulking. On the first day of black jerseys, Otto proved that a player can soar to new heights if he takes advantage of every rep.

In 2024, he slowly rose through the ranks and earned some first-team appearances today, transforming his body and mind into a positionless player who can play center or guard and add depth to spots where more players are increasingly needed.

During practice, he held his own against Tomiwa Durojaiye in two consecutive running block drills. Before the second rep, he raised his fist at the transfer D-lineman, a surprising move given the competitive nature of the drill.

After practice, he met with the media and talked about how he had quickly transformed into a potentially influential player.

“I’ve really tried hard this season. I’m much more comfortable on offense. So I’ve taken a bigger step in the program itself… It was nice that I’ve already done tackle and guard, so now I know what’s expected of me.”

Florida State returns to the practice field tomorrow for a shorter day. Below is the media availability of QB coach Tony Tokarz, DB coach Patrick Surtain and OL Andre’ Otto.