FSU Football's Mike Norvell Sees Similarities Between Malik Benson and Keon Coleman

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Tommy Mire | Last updated Jul 25, 2024 3:29 PM ET

Florida State wrapped up its second day of fall camp on Thursday marking their last day in helmets and shorts before the pads come on for practice No. 3. The 'Noles had an early start to camp due to their Week '0' matchup against Georgia Tech and the speed and intensity is starting to rev up ahead of August 24.

FSU brought in seventeen transfers this past cycle, including quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and wide receivers Malik Benson and Jalen Brown. All three went through spring camp, and now, two days in, head coach Mike Norvell is impressed with Uiagalelei's improvement throughout the summer and how his confidence is building in the offense.

"I think you know, even the first two days, you go back and watch it, yesterday, I think when you look in a decision-making process, you know where he's going with the ball," Norvell said to the media after practice. "You see that confidence, maybe just a split second faster than where we were in the spring, and that's something I'm excited about what we're seeing."

Benson came in the spring with a lot of hype as a 4-star transfer out of Alabama. As a dynamic playmaker, his versatility has shown throughout the first couple of practices, carrying over from spring. The continuity and chemistry built throughout the spring and summer, Norvell said, helped him continue to build in all aspects of his game.

"I thought he did a good job. You could see the benefit of spring carrying that over to where he is now. It's just continuing to build all aspects," Norvell said. "I think he's got a wide-open route tree, and there are a lot of different elements of where he can go."

Florida State will need to replace its top two receivers from a season ago after losing Keon Coleman to the Buffalo Bills and Johnny Wilson to the Philadelphia Eagles. Norvell sees similarities between Benson and Coleman, but he also said that their entire wide receiver room has that type of potential."

"We've seen that before. I thought Keon was very similar to that, a guy that could do so many different things. When you look at that room, we've got a lot more guys that have that type of versatility. Malik definitely has that, and when you couple it with elite-level top-end speed, it's exciting to see where that can go."

With 30 days and 22 practices to go until the Seminoles kick off in Ireland, Uiagalelei will have time to continue to develop chemistry with the wide receiver room.

Watch Norvell's full interview below.