TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State’s first scrimmage of spring came at the right time, just in time for the Seminoles to spend their final two weeks continuing to work on execution on both sides of the ball. The Seminoles ran through a 130 plus play situational scrimmage Monday afternoon inside Doak Campbell Stadium.
"There were some good and bad signs for both sides (of the ball)," FSU head football coach Jimbo Fisher said. "I think plays were made on each side because the other side didn’t execute. That’s kind of typical for this time in the spring. We did some good things. All of the quarterbacks rotated in evenly. Each had their chances with the 1’s and 2’s in different situations. Guys did some nice things, but we have a long way to go."
FSU rotated its first, second and third team offenses and defenses for the first half of the scrimmage, before spending the second half working on third down, redzone, goal line, two-minute and other situations. No statistics are scheduled to be released.
FSU returns to the practice field Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday for three more practices. The next closed scrimmage is slated for next Monday. All practices are closed to the public. Fans are just now 12 days away from the spring football weekend which will be capped off with the annual Garnet and Gold Spring football game at 2 p.m. at Doak Campbell Stadium on Apr. 13. The game will be carried on ESPN3 and replayed on ESPNU.
MORE FROM JIMBO FISHER AFTER FIRST SCRIMMAGE
Some of the young backs did okay. Defensively, we had some really good moments at times. Other times, we gave up some really big plays… but that’s from both sides making plays. (Both sides) were very competitive. We’ll look at the film to judge – it’s hard to when you are going that fast. One thing that really stood out to me – I thought Roberto (Aguayo) really kicked the ball unbelievably well today. I mean he was killin’ those field goals … long distances…ranges...I was very proud of him. I thought Cason Beatty and our punt team did a really nice job today on our assignments and Cason hitting the ball where he needed to. I’m very pleased with those two guys. The rest of them, we’ll wait till we see the film before we make the judgment."
On giving more weight to the scrimmage format when grading quarterbacks
"It’s because you aren’t out there with the coach. You have to be out there doing it on your own. It’s still live in the stadium. I can’t say if there is much more (of a difference), but it kind of confirms things I’ve been seeing at practice. I’m not unhappy at all. We’ve made a lot of progress. We made some really great plays. We need to be more consistent. I kind of imagined that right now. We had some nice plays in the game."
On any standout players that jumped out at him
"Not really. I thought (Lamarcus) Joyner flashed a couple of times in the nickel situations playing corner. He made a nice stop on a short yardage. It’s hard to see unless they really flash. Nobody in particular. We’ll watch the film and maybe somebody did more than what we saw. Offensively, I didn’t think anybody jumped out at me either. But great competition, you have both sides making plays."
On the offensive line
"Short-yardage, goal line offense played well. I thought we did well in those opportunities. We put them in some tough things. We didn’t move the pocket a lot. We wanted to see pass blocking and we wanted to see the quarterback set in the pocket versus a lot of blitzes…put them in some tough scenarios…third-and-long, people are coming at them…making them stay in the pocket and making the line have to block."
On junior offensive lineman Austin Barron
"He’s fine. He’ll be back. He just has a strained back. He didn’t do anything today. In another day he’ll be fine."
On junior offensive lineman Bobby Hart
"I thought Bobby had a nice day. I will look at film and see. I know there had to have been some protections he missed. He didn’t jump out at me as doing something glaringly wrong. You notice that with offensive linemen first."
On the new defensive scheme
"There are many more looks to develop your offense and your quarterbacks because of blitzes and other scenarios, and fronts and coverages, which is very good because that allows you to prepare and see them every day and get comfortable with them. The defense did some really nice things. You move 2’s and 1’s around, trying to experiment with different people. I thought they had a nice day."
THOMAS RHETT To Kickoff Spring Football Weekend: Florida State Athletics in conjunction with IMG College have announced Thomas Rhett as its headline for the "Friday Night Block Party" in Kleman Plaza on Friday, April 12, 2013 to kickoff Spring Football Weekend in Tallahassee sponsored by SunTrust. This concert event will serve as the official kickoff to what ESPN has tabbed as the "Best Spring Weekend in College Football". More details on the spring weekend will be released in the coming weeks. On Saturday, Seminole fans will get a chance to enjoy the annual barbeque cook-off on Langford Green before heading inside Doak Campbell Stadium for the 2013 Spring Football game scheduled to kickoff at 2 p.m.