After sitting out for more than four months after right shoulder surgery, Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder was able to take all the snaps with the first-team offense this past Saturday during the first full scrimmage of the spring.
Inside Doak Campbell Stadium, Ponder completed 6-of-12 passes for 91 yards and one touchdown, hooking up with sophomore tight end Beau Reliford on a 19-yard score. The senior quarterback reported no discomfort in his shoulder.
“It’s been a while to get back and scrimmage and actually play a little football,” Ponder said. “It was fun. We really know what we’re doing, having everyone back and we’re only going to get better.”
Behind an offensive line that returns four starters, Ponder had time to complete his passes as the veteran line is led by All-American right guard Rodney Hudson and center Ryan McMahon. While the line gave Ponder plenty of time to pass, they were equally impressive in opening holes for the running backs as FSU used six primary ball-carriers on the day.
Leading the way for the Seminoles on the ground was last year’s starting back Jermaine Thomas who carried the ball eight times for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomores Chris Thompson and Lonnie Pryor combined for 90 yards on just 10 carries, while newcomer Debrale Smiley posted nine carries for 56 yards and another touchdown. Ty Jones ran the ball five times for 27 yards as well.
Senior Tavares Pressley carried the ball only two times for 38 yards but arguably had the most impressive run of the day as he sprinted for a 39-yard touchdown against the Seminoles’ first-team defense.
Overall, the six running backs combined for 262 yards on 31 carries for an average of 8.4 yards per carry and three touchdowns.
“There were some good and bad things,” first-year head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We will look at the film and make some evaluations, but the enthusiasm was there. We made big hits, and some big plays, (but) it was far from perfect.”
First-year defensive coordinator Mark Stoops’ defensive unit, despite giving up those three rushing touchdowns, was able to show some signs of what they could do during the scrimmage.
Stoops’ first-team defense allowed just one score on the day — Pressley’s 39-yard run — over 24 plays as they improved over time. The second-team defense allowed just one yard on a 12-play series against the second-team offense led by redshirt freshman quarterback Will Secord.
Arguably the biggest star on the day for the Seminole defense was rising defensive end Brandon Jenkins, who made five total stops on the day, each behind the line of scrimmage.
Jenkins, a sophomore from Florida High, also had three sacks.
“I’m a lot more confident and far more advanced than last year,” Jenkins said. “I feel more comfortable and I’m just going out there to try and make plays. I’m a lot more complete, but I’m (far) from being the complete player I’d like to be. I just try to get better every day.”
Sophomore linebacker Vince Williams led the defense with seven tackles as he got his first taste of live football action after missing all of last season with a back injury.
“I thought the defense had their moments and we had our moments on offense,” Fisher said. “I thought the offense was solid at times, but we’ve got to get more consistent.”
The Seminole special teams units got a lot of work in as well as sophomore placekicker Dustin Hopkins was a perfect 3-of-3 on field goal attempts and kicked three kickoffs to the back of the end zone for touchbacks.
The Seminoles return to practice Monday with less than two weeks until spring practice culminates with the April 10 Garnet & Gold game.