Florida State opened preseason camp on Wednesday with Mike Norvell coming away encouraged by what he saw from Ashton Daniels.
Norvell said Daniels looked more settled running the Seminoles’ offense in the first practice of camp, and the clearest snapshot of that came on a deep touchdown connection with Duce Robinson. Even with the pads not on yet and it being only day one, Norvell said Daniels handled the pocket well and ran the offense with more ease than he had in the spring.
"You felt his comfort. There was a couple of plays that you sit there, and maybe in the spring he might try to force versus a challenging look or maybe not the best call.
He might try to force something into a situation, or it's the extra half second that it's going to take to the next read or the checkdown. Today, it was really clean from him in that regard," Norvell said after the Seminoles' first practice.
Norvell pointed to several snaps that showed Daniels’ growth since spring camp, especially in how he processed the defense and owned his reps. The coach said Daniels was making the right reads and not hesitating when the safer answer was there.
The touchdown to Robinson was the headline play from the day, but Norvell said Daniels also hit multiple deep throws and showed good judgment when working down to his checkdowns.
That matters for a quarterback whose career has included some uneven results on the deep ball. Daniels went 5-of-16 on passes of more than 20 yards at Auburn last year, with two touchdowns, and he has a career 33-of-113 mark, a 29% completion rate, on those throws. If that part of his game sharpens, it could give Norvell more room to stretch the Seminoles’ offense and create the explosive plays he likes to manufacture.
Norvell also said his trust in Daniels affects how he uses the helmet communication system with him. He said he gives Daniels "subtle cues," but believes Daniels will have his eyes in the right place.
By the end of the first practice, Norvell’s message was simple: Daniels looked confident, comfortable and in control as Florida State moved toward its Aug. 29 kickoff against New Mexico State.
"I really liked his presence and how he went through the process today," Norvell said.
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