Monday FSU Practice Report

Seminoles practiced for 22 periods in shells on a chilly and windy Monday afternoon.

Tallahassee, FL - The Seminoles ditched the full pads for shells on Monday but the players probably would have appreciated the long pants as the team practiced in 60 degree temperatures. With strong wind gusts the weather felt much cooler yet that didn't stop FSU from going 22 periods. The shells didn't stop the team from hitting either as there were plenty of thuds heard around the practice fields.


PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

Senior quarterback Drew Weatherford did not participate Monday due to a sore right knee from Saturday's scrimmage.

For the second straight practice, the Seminoles opened up working on punt and punt block. After some work in position groups and in scout, the practice moved to 3-on-3 in period 13. During 3-on-3 drills Budd Thacker was the only lineman to make multiple tackles at the first level. Everette Brown, Justin Mincey and Emmanuel Dunbar all made tackles as well. Aaron Gresham was the only linebacker to make two tackles at the second level while Dekoda Watson, Vince Williams and Kendall Smith all recorded a tackle as well. Patrick Robinson had two tackles at the third level and Rod Roberts and Darius McClure each pulled down a back.

D'Vontrey Richardson had a couple nice runs during inside drills and both Antone Smith and Brandon Paul scored TDs. Rodney Hudson had the block of the day as he put his defensive lineman on his back.

While inside was going on, the receivers and DB's faced off. Christian Ponder connected on passes with Rod Owens and Richard Goodman. Tony Carter and Terrance Parks broke up passes. Skeleton was run exclusively from the red zone so there were a lot of TDs. Richardson scored on passes to Owens and Richard Goodman while Ponder connected on TDs with Taiwan Easterling, Bert Reed and Jonathan Hannah. Jamie Robinson had two interceptions and Kenny Ingram broke up a pass. In pass rush the offensive linemen had a nice drill. Hudson, A.J. Ganguzza, Evan Bellamy and Daron Rose won multiple match-ups. Brandon Davis, Ryan McMahon and Will Furlong also had wins. For the defense Brown got to the QB three times and Dunbar, Kevin McNeil and Justin Mincey each beat their man twice. Jamar Jackson also had a sack.

After the offense broke off to work on no-huddle, practice finished with 11-on-11 and the defense had a great day, especially up front. Jackson, Dumaka Atkins and Paul Griffin all applied pressure to the QB's. Griffin's pressure resulted in a tipped ball that was picked off by Myron Rolle. Neefy Moffett had a tackle for loss and a sack. Dunbar also chipped in with a sack. Both Derek Nicholson and Recardo Wright generated pressure on the QB's as well. For the offense Paul had the biggest play of the day scoring on a run of 30+ yards. Richardson made a nice play with his feet when a play broke down and he scrambled out of danger and picked up a big chunk of yards. Richardson connected with Reed on a pass later in the drill. While Richardson was doing a good job with his feet, Ponder got the job done with his arm hitting Easterling and Owens on another play in which the defensive pressure caused him to break the pocket and improvise.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden:

On Drew Weatherford's injury:

"(Drew) Weatherford was out today because he has a slight knee sprain. I don't think it's very serious, but we feel like the other guys need to work anyways. A lot of the receivers have groin strains and stuff like that holding them out. But that's what happens when you go through spring training."

On how Weatherford missing practice has helped D'Vontrey Richardson get experience:

"It helps. I was talking to coach Fisher about that early, how the other kids have been through four or five springs and we really need to get the other guys up to par as well. It's probably good for us."

On what he's gathered from watching the scrimmages so far:

"The big things you see are mistakes that cause the plays to break down. I think that's a big thing. The effort is good. They hit hard and they were successful on each individual play."



Quarterback D'Vontrey Richardson:

On the difference between last spring and this year:

"Last spring (due to baseball) I just came over and I had to study the routes on my own because I couldn't go to the meetings. Now I just go out there and I know my reads and things like that. I feel good. I get the ball and it feels like second nature."

On how he did at the first scrimmage:

"I wasn't perfect, I wouldn't say that. There are still some things I need to work on, especially staying in the pocket whenever someone blitzes on me. I've got to trust my back to take care of the linebacker that's blitzing me."

On getting to know the playbook:

"Last year I kind of knew it, I had to really think about the plays. Now when I study the play book I remember more and what we go over in the meetings I can remember more of."



Defensive lineman Dumaka Atkins:

On getting back into the game after missing last season:

"Coach (Odell) Haggins gave me a new kind of inspiration and I've been running with it ever since. I'm just trying to get better; I'm just trying to be a part of this tradition that we have and just work on my craft."

On his feelings being back so far:

"It was the first time I ever sat a whole year, besides my redshirt year, and it was hard. But I'm feeling better and it's starting to click a little bit out on the field."