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Florida State football injury update: Mike Norvell updates status of Johnny Wilson, others
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- Florida State football injury update: Mike Norvell updates status of Johnny Wilson, others
Like most college football programs, Florida State is dealing with a rash of injuries entering Week 7 of the 2023 season.
The most noteworthy injury for the No. 4 Seminoles (5-0, 3-0 ACC) is wide receiver Johnny Wilson , who left with an apparent lower-body injury during the 39-17 victory over Virginia Tech last week.
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Wilson left early in the third quarter after going down and went straight to the locker room. He did not return. Wilson had two touchdown catches on four receptions for 52 yards when he went down.
FSU head coach Mike Norvell gave an update on the status of several players Monday, ahead of the Week 7 noon Saturday kickoff against Syracuse (4-2, 0-2) at Doak Campbell Stadium (Broadcast: ABC).
"This is going to be something that we see as we go throughout the course of the week," Norvell said. "Johnny was feeling better yesterday and so we're excited about where we think it can go but ultimately, you take it day by day this week."
FSU was aided by the return of two wide receivers Ja'Khi Douglas and Kentron Poitier against the Hokies .
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Douglas, who went down with a shoulder injury during fall camp, had not appeared in a game this season prior to Saturday. He was targeted twice but failed to pull down either pass, being credited with two drops.
"Ja'Khi had a couple [of] missed opportunities there in the game," Norvell said. "But what I loved, getting him back out in practice last week, you saw the explosiveness, you saw the play-making ability. Now getting -- building back that confidence there on game day is great."
Poitier was targeted during the contest but did make his contribution felt.
"Kentron probably had as good of spring as anybody that we had," Norvell said. "Just so much confidence-building and it was unfortunate he had an injury in fall camp that he was unavailable in the early part of the season.
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"But seeing him, when he got in there he played fast -- when Johnny went down, he didn't record a catch but he showed the burst and the route running that it was good to see. He blocked really well."
Left tackle Robert Scott had been listed as a co-starter along with Bless Harris . But he had not seen action since the LSU contest due to a lower-body injury. He has been dealing with injuries since spring camp.
But he was able to return Saturday. He did not start, with the versatile Darius Washington making the start. But he played 27 snaps.
"It was the first extensive action [for Scott]. I think he played maybe ten plays in the LSU game," Norvell said. "He came out of the game even better than what we thought he would. That's going to be really good for him moving forward."
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Norvell updated the status of Harris, who went down with an injury during the Tuesday bye-week practice.
"We'll see how he progresses throughout the course of this week to see his availability for Saturday," Norvell said.
Linebacker Tatum Bethune was announced as a starter ahead of Saturday's game. But he did not start, with DJ Lundy starting in his place. Bethune ended up being held out.
Redshirt freshman Omar Graham and true freshman Blake Nichelson stepped into bigger roles with Bethune out.
"[ Tatum ] was close, and he kind of got banged up a little bit the week prior," Norvell said. "He was available but it was one of those situations where it could have had a small number count but if we could avoid having to play him, I thought we were going to be in good shape and we were able to do that.
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"I thought Omar Graham, obviously D.J., and Kalen did a great job. But Omar Graham and Blake Nichelson got in, and got some good work in Tatum's absence. We're very confident he'll be back and rolling this week."
Keon Coleman and run-blocking
Receiver Keon Coleman - a Michigan State transfer - has become one of the top playmakers and go-to weapons for quarterback Jordan Travis . He had a three-touchdown performance in his FSU debut against LSU and hauled in the game-winning touchdown against Clemson.
But another thing stood out to Norvell against Virginia Tech - a game where he finished with three receptions for 22 yards.
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"Keon Coleman, I pointed him out to the team yesterday, I thought he had two huge blocks on the long touchdown runs by Trey Benson ," Norvell said. "Those are the things that you really celebrate just that type of play with what guys are doing without the ball in their hands."
Coleman sprung Benson on his 85-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Offensive coordinator Alex Atkins was also high on the performance from Coleman.
Coleman finished with a team-best 72.5 run-blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus.
"He was at the point of attack of a lot of the long runs, which we want to give him credit because he takes ownership in that too, Johnny [Wilson], who loves to block and, and all those guys, man," Atkins said. "We gave Ja'Kahi [Douglas] the point of attack on slip screens.
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"On the first play of the game, when we went to the tight end, he had two wonderful blocks on the perimeter. So we started the game. You've got to be a complete receiver and that's what we talked about Keon. He can do it all. We don't have to limit when he's at the point of attack on a run, or catching or anything like that."
Looking ahead to Syracuse Orange
Florida State Seminoles defensive back Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (3) dives under Syracuse Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader (16) to stop his run. The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Syracuse Orange 33-30 to get their first win of the season Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.
Syracuse began the season with four straight wins but has lost the last two games - to Clemson and UNC.
The Orange outscored their first four opponents - Colgate, Western Michigan, Purdue and Army - 177 to 43. They have been outscored 71-21 in the two ACC contests so far.
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Oronde Gadsden Jr. - one of the top tight ends in the nation and the son of NFL legend Oronde Gadsden - is out for the season, taking away one of the top options for quarterback Garrett Shrader .
Despite the two-game losing streak, the Seminoles are not going to overlook the Orange. FSU is a 17.5 favorite over Syracuse, as of Monday afternoon, per BetOnline.
"They can definitely present challenges," Norvell said. "Guys with great long speed. If you let them out and let them get going, they can really stretch the field vertically. They are going to be very balanced in what they can do in the run game. They can attack you in a lot of different ways.
"Their running backs catch the ball well out of the backfield. And then Shrader is such a challenge. I mean, two years ago when he came here, I think it was one of his first starts there at Syracuse. I mean, he's running just a bootleg, and I mean, he's got 250-pound guys bouncing off him and had some really explosive runs in that game."
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GAME INFORMATION
Who: No. 4 FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) vs. Syracuse (4-2, 0-2)
When/where: Saturday, noon; Doak Campbell Stadium
TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM
Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @Ehsan_Kassim, @jackgwilliams and @JimHenryTALLY on X, formerly Twitter
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports) .
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football injury update: Johnny Wilson, Robert Scott, Tatum Bethune
