Welcome to the Seminole Softball Wrap, a new podcast to the Tomahawk Nation family.
Hosted by Gwyn Rhodes and Brian Pellerin, this biweekly podcast will dive into the happenings of Florida State softball throughout the 2023 season, now three weeks into the year.
In this first episode, Gwyn and Brian discuss the team’s start through their first 18 games. We look at where have they found success, where have they struggled and how the group has reset from last season’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament.
An early surprise loss to Longwood has left a stain on their resume, but they’ve been able to largely handle their business to the tune of 15-3 and top-10 ranking with the expectation remaining a trip to the College World Series.
They’ve got one more chance to improve before a big four-game run against two top-5 teams, the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Oklahoma Sooners.
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FSU softball: Breaking down Florida State Seminoles through 18 games

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“I told (the team) after practice, I’m a head coach going into my ninth year, and you get a pretty good sense of a team by how the practice before the spring showcase or game (goes) and what their approach to it is.”
Mike Norvell appreciated the effort exemplified by his players on Thursday.
Florida State had its last “physical” practice of the spring today before the gates of Doak Cambell Stadium open, and the public gets to see what the team looks like. The Seminoles went out with a bang with explosive plays, competitive situations, and a couple of emotional moments that crossed the line.
Although the headman did not admit it, the defense won the final practice. Poor offensive execution, mainly drops, helped Adam Fuller’s unit stay in front, as the offense did not know where to go with the ball most of the day. The key to success came from the stout secondary play that suffocated the wide receivers. Patrick Surtain stapled Azareye’h Thomas and Fentrell Cypress to the field, and they delivered with sticky coverage and pass break-ups. As Mike Norvell mentioned in his press conference, the offense worked heavily on the short passing game and screens, which meant Jaylin Lucas played a featured role.
As noted, the Seminoles will suit up inside Doak Cambell Stadium for the first time in 2024 at 4 P.M. on Saturday.
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FSU football: Mike Norvell interview after April 18 practice -- Seminoles set for Spring Showcase on Saturday

Usually, Florida State football takes center stage in Tallahassee.
Not today.
As the football team started doing their outside work, the baseball team began batting practice. At the same time, Lottie Woad started doing an interview about her accomplishments at Augusta National this past weekend.
Of course, Mike Norvell does not care about the outside noise, and he guided his team to one of their cleanest practices of the spring. Both sides of the ball focused on fundamentals in the early portion of practice, such as blocking and tackling.
The offense and defense battled competitively throughout the day, each taking turns and winning consistent reps. The day started with the defense dominating, as they only allowed one positive play during 11-on-11 in the first portion of practice. However, the offense responded, and their receivers later led the charge. Momentum swung when Lawayne McCoy caught a pass over the middle, and instantly, AZ Thomas drilled him into the ground. He held on, and it sparked the group. A few plays later, Hykeem Williams found himself wide open as his corner route busted the defense’s zone, drawing praise from Mike Norvell. One of the keys to the resurgence came from the offensive line.
Today felt like one of their most consistent days, as they picked up blitzes nicely and gave the quarterbacks a clean pocket to throw in. Of course, the defensive line did what they do during run-blocking drills, but Alex Atkins seems pleased with the group's progress. With positives all around, it felt like the scrimmage on Saturday could be a catalyst for the rest of the spring.
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“Explosive plays on both sides...you felt the speed:” FSU HC Mike Norvell interview after Seminoles battle in a physical practice

Florida State football held its second spring of the scrimmage on Saturday, April 6, with the offense in particular putting on a performance that head coach Mike Norvell was excited to see after an up-and-down week.
Some really good moments defensively, a couple big stops, a couple created takeaways — but I thought overall, the offense did a nice job in how they executed.”
“The quarterback play was really good: DJ had a couple long, extended drives [and the] offense had some explosive plays put in there...I thought today was his best day. He’s had some good days in spring practice, but today he operated at a very, very high level. You saw the confidence of the ball getting out [and] where it’s going, even on a couple throwaways — you could tell he was in control.”
[Brock also] had some good plays, moments. Obviously any time in spring scrimmages, we keep the quarterbacks in tag mode so there are some times where maybe they would get out, maybe they wouldn’t — but it’s still opportunities to have to react to whatever the situation calls for.”
“I thought the receivers did a good job, because there had been some missed opportunities throughout the week and I thought they really rose up...It was definitely good to see guys take advantage of those balls coming their way. Lawayne McCoy had a big play, Camdon Frier had a big explosive play.”
“[The tight ends] made some tough catches. Brian Courtney had a couple, Landen Thomas continues to show he’s on the fast track. Jackson West had a really big play, explosive pass and Kyle [Morlock]...has really taken a step in who he is. I thought he had a great week of practice this week. I think that group, they’re really about the right things.”
While the offense seemed to carry the momentum of the day, he still had plenty of praise for the defense, specifically offering compliments to the defensive front, who said continue to showcase their explosiveness “especially when we get into longer situations,” where “you see those guys pin their ears back.”
“Marvin Jones, you saw him, Sione [Lolohea], Tomy [Durojaiye] even had a couple really good plays.”
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FSU football: HC Mike Norvell offers insight into second FSU scrimmage

Mike Norvell rarely makes definite statements during his media availability after practice. Today, he changed his tune.
“I thought the defense was definitely the winner today.”
After a mistake-filled practice on Tuesday, Adam Fuller’s group wanted to respond on Thursday. An interception from Justin Cryer on the first snaps of 11-on-11 work sent them in the right direction. All three levels worked in tandem together and wreaked havoc for the offense. The defensive line dominated as they squeezed the pocket against the pass and exploded into the backfield against the run. The linebacking core, led by DJ Lundy, communicated more effectively today than last practice and put all the players on the same page. With everything smooth in front of them, the secondary did its thing as the QBs were frequently forced to pull the ball down, and coaches needed to blow the play dead from coverage sacks.
The day was not all bad for the offense as their young freshman stepped up and made plays. Luke Kromehoek, Kam Davis, and Camdon Frier impressed and will be written about later. The coaching staff wants to continue to give their young guns more run, and they trust the work they have put in. Specifically, the Luke-Camdon connection grows every day in practice, and they hooked up for a couple of nice throws and catches during the 1-on-1 portion of practice.
After the day ended, Mike Norvell announced Destyn Hill and Jerrale Powers would be out for the rest of spring.
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FSU football: Mike Norvell shares injury updates, talks Seminoles spring ball after April 4 practice

The start of conference play came with a rather tough week for the Florida State softball team. In one week, the Noles played five games against three ranked opponents — the Alabama Crimson Tide, Duke Blue Devils and Texas Longhorns. By week’s end, the Noles found themselves going 1-4 with a 10-0 run-rule loss to Texas as the exclamation point of it all.
But since then, the Noles have looked like the dominant force we’re accustomed to seeing.
Across the following two ACC series. the Noles swept both the Pitt Panthers and NC State Wolf Pack, run-ruling four of six games and outscoring their opponents 64-22 in that stretch.
In this episode of the Seminole Softball Wrap, Gwyn Rhodes and Brian Pellerin discuss the rough week before and rebound that followed.

Which version of the Seminoles is the real deal?

Who has stepped up to help this team find its stride?

How does FSU’s upcoming schedule set them up for the close to the season?

All that and plus Gwyn shares some of her FSU memorabilia haul from the First Pitch Party when FSU opened the year.


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FSU softball: Breaking down Florida State Seminoles through 18 games

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