Eventually, Mike Norvell said Thursday's Florida State practice was an overall good day of work.
But he didn't lead his post-practice press conference with the phrase as he normally does. Instead, he waited until he was already a few minutes in before saying it.
The FSU head coach certainly seemed a bit conflicted about his team's eighth practice of spring and the final tune-up before Saturday morning's second scrimmage of camp. There were things he liked on both sides of the ball, but not the level of consistency or edge he's been pushing hard for this offseason.
"Saw some good plays on both sides of the ball throughout the day, but it's one of those things where you find those times where maybe it's not quite the edge or not quite the attention to detail or focus that's necessary," Norvell said after Thursday's practice. "You've got to jump into that, and you've got to correct it. You got to push for the proper response and understand that you don't get second chances at it.
"I didn't think today was a bad practice. I just thought there were moments where we have to be better. That's as a football team, as the guys that are pushing and desiring to be leaders within groups, we've got to answer that call. I thought there were some examples of that today, but I still want more."
Accountability has been one of the biggest words Norvell has been pushing this offseason in the wake of the Seminoles' disastrous 2-10 2024 season. He's talked at length about the returning players who have risen to the occasion of holding teammates to a high standard and the transfer additions who have become instant leaders upon their arrivals on campus in January.
As FSU crossed the midway point of spring camp Thursday night, Norvell urged players to still give their all on the practice field each day, even if the regular season is almost five full months away.
"It's the ownership of the play. It's the ownership of the performance and what you're willing to give," Norvell said. "We talked a little bit after practice about respect. There's a respect of this program, of what things need to look like and what it needs to be. We have to earn it, and we have to earn it every single day. I've got to earn our players' respect. They've got to earn the coaches' respect. We get to earn respect with how we play and what we do. There's an appreciation for where we are and what we get to represent so that needs to be put on display even when you don't feel good, even when you might find yourself in a challenging circumstance."
Depleted receiver room struggles some on Thursday
Halfway through spring camp, FSU's receiver depth has been depleted a bit over the last few practices. Norvell said Thursday that sophomore Lawayne McCoy has missed some time with an injury. USC transfer Duce Robinson has also been sidelined over the last few practices due to an undisclosed injury, sources tell the Osceola.
These absences of expected contributors have forced younger, less-proven wide receivers up the pecking order. It sounds like these players didn't take the most advantage of that during Thursday's practice with a bit of a sloppy day.
"Today was really the first day ...
