James Blackman, D.J. Matthews star in Seminoles' Garnet and Gold game

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Coming out of the 2018 season, the Florida State Seminoles had several major issues to address, the least of which was consistency at the quarterback position and weapons on offense. While both will be helped by improved play from the offensive line, you don’t usually see much from the big fellas during the spring game. But the passing game? That’s another story.

At Saturday's Garnet and Gold game, James Blackman looked the part as the Seminoles' quarterback, and Trinity Christian product D.J. Matthews starred as a receiver.

Blackman threw for 415 yards as his Gold team beat the Garnet team 27-21. Matthews caught 10 passes for 122 yards, including a spectacular one-handed catch to pick up 38 yards, but it wasn't enough for the Garnet team.

Florida State ran a total of 96 offensive snaps in an up-tempo first half, a very fast pace. 

"I've been pleased with our guys all spring," head coach Willie Taggart said. "For them to be able to go with that tempo and still execute some plays was really good."

It was a departure from what the Seminoles were able to do last year when the offense routinely bogged down with pre-snap penalties and poor play on the offensive line.

"The tempo caught me off-guard," Matthews said. "In the first quarter, that's the fastest we ever went since we started in spring. I think it was a pretty good tempo for us."

Keyshawn Helton was the leading receiver for the Gold team with eight receptions for 157 yards, including a 72-yard connection from Blackman. Neither side got much going on the ground. Cam Akers ran for two touchdowns but averaged just 2.9 yards per carry. Khalan Laborn led all rushers with 55 yards on 12 carries.

Perhaps the biggest impact players on defense were the Noles defensive backs. Freshman-to-be Akeem Dent broke up three passes for the Gold team, while Isaiah Bolden and Kyle Meyers each broke up a pair of passes for the Garnet team.

The offensive line was not stressed since all quarterbacks wore "do not touch" jerseys, there was very little to judge from the pass rush.