FSU 4th quarter drills begin.
Florida State is in the middle of Fourth Quarter Drills. You may recall that these drills replaced the old Mat Drills under Bobby Bowden. The Fourth Quarter Drills will wrap up a week from Friday (Mar. 7). The players will get a week off and then start Spring Practice on Tuesday, March 18.
Fourth Quarter Drills, which take place in the IPF and the practice fields, are totally closed to the public and media. However, we've confirmed with FSU Sports Info. that one session will be opened up to the media as has been the case the last couple years. Date TBA.
Since the drills have been closed we don't have a ton of information but was able to speak to somebody in attendance and get some intell on some of the newcomers and younger players.
First, newly enrolled freshmen RB Dalvin Cook and safety Trey Marshall have jumped off the page. Both reported in tremendous shape and are right up there with the veterans in terms of keeping up with the drills. The athleticism is through the roof for both players. Been told that as long as they stay healthy both will play this fall (no redshirts here). Cook is expected to get in the RB rotation.
With the losses on the interior of the defensive line (Jernigan, McAllister and McDaniel) I made sure to ask about how some of the younger players have looked there. I was told a couple players have really stepped up here - Desmond Hollin and Keith Bryant (rs freshman). Bryant reported last year a bit out of shape but has really turned that around. Based on how he has looked in drills it is expected that he will contribute this year at DT. Hollin has really impressed and should see a lot of playing time both inside and outside this fall.
LB/DE Ukeme Eligwe and LB Matthew Thomas are two other young players I've been hearing rave reviews about.
Finally, I mentioned it in another thread and wanted to make sure it didn't get lost - everybody on the staff is excited about what they are seeing from RB Mario Pender. As mentioned before, he is really doing well in the classroom and is very good shape academically. He is also tearing it up on the field and is creating quite a buzz in Fourth Quarter Drills. One comment I heard from somebody in the know is that this could be an even better running back corps in 2014 despite the losses of Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr.
We'll let you know when the open session of Fourth Quarter Drills is scheduled. We'll have a full report, an interview with Jimbo Fisher, video highlights and photos.
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