FSU football: Impact of hiring Josh Storms for strength and conditioning

FSU football head coach Mike Norvell has nearly completed his coaching staff in less than a month. Josh Storms could be one of his most important hires.

FSU football hasn’t dominated teams since the 2013 season when they won their national championship.

A lot of that has to do with the absurd amount of talent that was on that team and the couple of years afterwards.

However, as that talent began to leave the program we begin to see FSU football look more and more like other teams in the ACC.

The physicality was no longer as the offensive line began to get overwhelmed in the trenches. The defensive line hasn’t been near as dominant in recent years.

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FSU’s defensive backs have a difficult time of fighting off blocks on screen plays, and FSU wide receivers can never seem to seal off their own blocks on screen plays.

How many times have we seen FSU wide receivers lose one-on-one battles or linebackers unable to shed blocks?

The downfall all begin with the lack of accountability with Jimbo Fisher’s strength and conditioning coach Vic Viloria after the 2013 season.

Viloria is a legit strength and conditioning coach who had a large part in the early success in Jimbo Fisher’s tenure.

However, he was unable to sustain that culture and ultimately lost credibility with off the field issues. The trend of poor strength and conditioning practices continued with Willie Taggart brought his S&C coach with him from Oregon.

Irele Oderinde is a guy that’s put together and looks like a power lifter, but he did not hold any legitimate certifications in regards to actual strength and conditioning.

Thus, the Noles continued to struggle or even looked worse in the trenches while struggling to match physicality with even mediocre teams in the ACC although they had the more talented roster.

Those days are coming to an end as Mike Norvell announced the hiring of Josh Storms Saturday evening.

Credentials

Coach Mike Norvell spoke on the addition of Storms to the FSU staff:

"“I’m excited to announce the addition of Josh Storms as our new director of strength and conditioning,” Norvell said. “Coach Storms and I have worked together for the last eight years, and he will be a critical component in the development of our student-athletes. He will help create a toughness throughout our team, not only physically but mentally. Josh is one of the best coaches I’ve been around in every aspect. He does a wonderful job of establishing relationships with each young man and encourages a culture of daily improvement. Coach Storms is one of the best in the country in preparing student-athletes to perform at the highest level throughout their collegiate experience while developing them for the next level as well.”"

Storms earned Master Strength and Conditioning Coach distinction. It’s the highest honor given in the S&C profession, by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa) in 2018.

He holds two certifications, the other with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Storms also holds a master’s of education in curriculum and instruction which I’m sure has bode well in designing and implementing plans for student athletes to follow in their training regimens.

The former S&C coach with Willie Taggart only had a 21 hr strength training course offered by  U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and no legitimate S&C certifications.

Mentality

I’ve been following Coach Storms on Twitter for nearly a month and gone back and read some of the things he’s posted.

It’s clear he’s all about that work and you can learn more about what he brings to the table from this piece done prior to the 2019 season at Memphis.

"“Everything is based on 6-7 seconds of all-out maximum effort,” Storms said. “If you watch us on game day and you put a stopwatch on every time we snap the ball, that’s pretty close to what we’re working at on game day.”"

That’s Coach Storms squatting a massive amount of weight and of course the form is spectacular.

Final Thoughts

Most in the know have expected Storms to come and serve in the same capacity he served in Memphis with Coach Norvell.

There’s no question this is one of the most important hires as the S&C coach and staff spend more time with the players than anyone.

To have someone with his resume and knowledge starting work immediately is something that can pay off in 2020.

Of course, the FSU offensive and defensive lines are not going to morph into what you see at places like LSU and Alabama in one off season.

However, this is a hire that will pay dividends for years to come as FSU football looks to move back among the elites while dominating teams with speed and physicality like they used too a few years ago.