ABOVE VIDEO:Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher meets with the media following Friday’s practice. (Florida State Seminoles Video)
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA (Seminoles.com) – Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is looking for more consistency from the eighth-ranked Florida State football team’s offense following a jam-packed Friday that included a morning Bone Marrow Drive for Kidz1stFund and the annual Kickoff Luncheon at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Seminoles had an intense practice at the Albert J. Dunlap Practice Facility and Fisher said the offense needs to improve heading into the second scrimmage of preseason camp on Saturday.
“Guys (had) too many dropped balls,” Fisher said.
“(There’s) too many guys not getting open when they need to get open. The running game is solid, but not very good. The offensive line is very average, but the defense, I’ve been very pleased with. They’re playing really well.”
Fisher said defensive tackles Nile Lawrence-Stample and Derrick Nnadi particularly stood out on the defensive line along with defensive ends DeMarcus Walker, Jacob Pugh and Josh Sweat.
Jimbo Fisher
“Those guys are doing some really good things,” Fisher said.
“The rest of them have ways to go, but that first group is doing really well.”
Sweat has made impressive progress in coming back from a knee injury suffered last September that wiped out most of his senior season of high school football.
“He’s playing fast, he’s long, he’s athletic,” Fisher said.
“He’s getting better and I’m watching him play with more consistency and faster.”
Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is looking for more consistency from the eighth-ranked Florida State football team’s offense following a jam-packed Friday that included a morning Bone Marrow Drive for Kidz1stFund and the annual Kickoff Luncheon at the Donald L. Tucker Center. (Bob Thomas Image via Seminoles.com)
Pender Returns
Mario Pender returned to practice on Thursday after missing some practices with a minor leg injury. Pender has been receiving first team reps throughout camp and is expected to be a heavy contributor at tailback this season. The Fort Myers, Fla., native rushed 41 times for 206 yards (5.0 ypc) and four scores in 2014. He added 10 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.
“He looked real good,” Fisher said. “It’s only a matter of time. We may hold him a day or so more just to make sure he’s healthy.”
Bone Marrow Drive A Success
The entire football team participated in Kidz1stFund’s Fifth Annual Bone Marrow Drive on Friday morning, walking to the indoor practice facility at 10:15 a.m. following a team meeting.
All newcomers signed up for the national “Be The Match” bone marrow registry and the entire team posed for a photo with medical students and doctors, including former FSU center and Academic All-American David Castillo.
Kidz1stFund is a nonprofit organization established in August of 2011 after Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher’s son Ethan was diagnosed with a rare, incurable blood disease called Fanconi anemia (FA). Fanconi anemia is a hereditary anemia, primarily a blood disease that can affect all systems of the body and lead to bone marrow failure and cancer.
For decades, the disorder was thought to be untreatable, but promising advances in medical research have improved the prognosis. To extend their lives, most children fighting FA will require a stem cell transplant, either bone marrow or cord blood, yet many wait years to fine a donor who is a perfect match – or never find one.
Seventy-percent of people do not have a donor in their family, like the Fishers, and depend on the Be The Match Registry to find a match to save their life.
The entire football team participated in Kidz1stFund’s Fifth Annual Bone Marrow Drive on Friday morning, walking to the indoor practice facility at 10:15 a.m. following a team meeting. (Bob Thomas Image via Seminoles.com)
