Jasen Lopez, like most college students, needed a spring break. But not to go to the beach, travel overseas, party or decompress.
The freshman needed time to mentally and physically shift gears from the end of Florida State’s basketball season to his jump into the Seminoles’ spring football practices.
“I was lucky enough to get a spring break,” Lopez said. “That helped me get back in the rhythm of football. I got back with my receiver coach from high school. We got a couple days of work in. And then when I got back it was mainly just getting in the playbook.”
Lopez was given time to acclimate, participating in practice without pads. But he is also very familiar with juggling both sports going back to his high school days. Lopez caught 313 passes for 5,211 yards and 59 touchdowns at Hollywood (Florida) Chaminade Madonna. And then there’s the 96 career high school basketball games.
“Transitioning from basketball to football for me is always easier than vice versa,” Lopez said.
There are pertinent storylines for FSU at every position group, which isn’t a reflection of the program’s recent struggles but instead one of a massive roster shift with 47 new players taking part in spring practices. At receiver, there’s the knowledge that Duce Robinson is the No. 1 receiver after a 1,000-yard season and that Micahi Danzy is the fastest 400-meter runner in the ACC’s history.
But that just means the question changed. FSU’s coaches held Robinson out of certain practices, in part due to a minor injury but also limiting his reps to observe other receivers with the first-team offense. And Danzy has been splitting his time this spring between football and track.
There have been positives, and it has been the development of depth. Coach Mike Norvell and offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. have at times praised second-year receivers Jayvan Boggs, Tae’Shaun Gelsey and Teriq Mallory. But Norvell indicated on Thursday that Boggs, who had an impressive spring, is now out for the remaining spring practices due to injury.
It reinforces the need to build depth. But it also underscores how much the Seminoles will turn to a pair of freshmen (Devin Carter and Lopez) this fall.
“They're going to play,” Norvell said. “I've seen what I've seen, and I know what I know. I believe that they are going to help this football team. If they don’t get better, they won’t play much.”
What Norvell is stating is accurate, that Carter and Lopez can’t sit back and enjoy their early success. But it’s also not the way either is wired, self-motivated to keep pushing. In Lopez’s case, it was skipping the “break” in spring break.
“Getting the playbook all at once, we got it over the course of weeks,” Carter said. “He got it all at once. He didn’t have that many miscues. He kept his head down. He studied his playbook and he came in ready.”
And Lopez also found some time on the field running routes for Tommy Castellanos at FSU’s Pro Day on March 27. While he wasn’t going up against defensive players or wearing pads, Lopez showed off just how smooth of a route runner and pass-catcher he is this early in his career.
“Tommy hit me up and he was asking for a couple receivers,” Lopez said. “I think they even texted in the receiver group chat, just looking for guys to go out there and catch the ball. I wasn't in contact (in practices) yet. That was my first week out there. I was on some fresh legs. I looked at it as an opportunity. We got a day of work, just Tommy and a couple other guys to catch the ball.”
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Lopez might look like one of the smallest players on the field. But it’s tough to argue with his productivity — four straight 1,000-yard seasons speak volumes.
“You always have to stay level-headed, keep your head down, keep working, no matter what happens,” Lopez said. “Just take advantage of the opportunities that you get.”
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