FSU football head coach Mike Norvell has wasted no time getting to work in Tallahassee. Here’s the top three things he’s done in less than a month.
FSU football head coach Mike Norvell was formally introduced as head coach of the Noles on Sunday, December 8th.
He had just coached the Memphis Tigers to a AAC Conference Championship the day prior and had 10 days to salvage the current recruiting class with the Early Signing Period approaching.
He also had to assemble a staff and access the roster to see what the priority needs where in recruiting.
There were a lot of things to juggle with a team that’s busy preparing for a bowl game. I think a lot of credit has to go to Odell Haggins who was also apparently interviewed for the FSU football job.
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Norvell said he leaned heavily on Haggins who has been a defensive line coach at FSU football for a quarter of a century.
There is nobody better to communicate with in regards to learning about FSU while also gaining input about things that may or may not need to change.
The players reported he met with everyone on the roster, including the coaches whether they were leaving or being retained to gauge things.
I’m not sure the first month could have gone much better considering there was some doubt when the initial reports of him being the hire starting flowing.
He’s been money ever since his press conference introductory speech. Here’s the top three things he’s done in less than a month on the job.
Early Signing Period Success
I mentioned Norvell having just 10 days to address recruiting prior to the Early Signing Period. The Noles had not had great success during this period since it begin in December 2017.
Unlike December 2017 with Willie Taggart, Norvell didn’t have to deal with such a mass exodus from the list of committed recruits.
There were a few that ultimately choose to go elsewhere, but ultimately Norvell was able to get all except one of those that committed signed early.
It’s by far the largest number of players FSU football has signed early since it began. That means the staff doesn’t have to spend time and resources to continue recruiting those players and can focus on addressing the remaining needs in the class.
Not only that, it means they can turn more attention to 2021 and beyond and that’s something Willie Taggart didn’t have the luxury of in his situation.
One thing that is solely credit to Norvell (and Kenny Dillingham) during this time is how he handled the quarterback position. He was able to get TWO quarterbacks signed early with one being an early enrollee (Tate Rodmaker) which is something that hasn’t happened since 2017.
He has also added a transfer defensive end who’s eligible to play immediately, a transfer running back and a graduate transfer offensive tackle.
All are huge needs for FSU football in 2020.
Buy-In From Returning Players
I almost wanted to put this No. 1, but you’ll see why I didn’t after you read this. There are many players returning that will make a huge impact next season:
- Janarius Robinson
- Cory Durden
- Marvin Wilson
- Joshua Kaindoh(hasn’t public announced but his roommate Janarius Robinson indicated he was returning)
- Tamorrion Terry
- Hamsah Nasirildeen(Could return based on his injury and likely not being able to participate in the NFL Combine)
It was expected that Cam Akers, Tamorrion Terry, and maybe Cory Durden would head to the NFL. Akers is now the only impact player that will declare at a position of need for the Noles.
Mike Norvell can’t be given all the credit for these players returning. A lot of that has to go to Odell Haggins and Ron Dugans.
However, ultimately these players had to believe in the vision Mike Norvell shared with them when they met as a team and when he met with each player individually.
These players coming back buys Mike Norvell some time to cover up some perceived holes the team would have had in 2020.
It gives the coaching staff a year to development some talented but really experienced players along the defensive line and at wide receiver.
That alone is huge but with these players returning it likely means the Noles will be much better in year one than most thought immediately after the Florida game.
Coaching Staff
Mike Norvell has basically hired his entire coaching staff aside from the running back position in just three weeks. He retained Odell Haggins first as his defensive line coach which obviously was smart to do.
However, I think hiring both his offensive and defensive coordinators next was the smartest thing he could do as they could talk with recruits and at least understand what to expect from those respective positions regardless of who those position coaches would ultimately be.
Norvell has addressed the coaching staff with a mixture of experience, youth and diversity. Some of the coaches he’s coached with before and others he’s coached against.
The good thing with Norvell is he’s shown the ability to make quality hires since he’s had to replace so many assistants at Memphis.
The fact he has his coaching staff pretty much in place means they will have a shot to close strong in recruiting on National Signing Day.
It’s all hands on deck instead of half a coaching staff with the last regime(who closed strong despite that).
Not only that, the coaches can already began forming relationships with the players so when spring ball starts they all can hit the ground running to get things going in the direction they want as quickly as possible.
Final Thoughts
I’m amazed at what Mike Norvell has accomplished in the time he’s been head coach. It’s remarkable really, and I should add FSU football is in the exact same position right now as they were this time last decade.
They are coming off a disappointing season with a new head coach on board that’s poised to do well on the recruiting trail while hiring a competent staff.
It doesn’t mean the Noles are going to go 10-2 in 2020 or anything, but there are real reasons to be excited about the future of FSU football.
Norvell can continue to win the offseason as did his predecessor, but it all comes down to winning on the field during the season.
Now that most of the team is returning I don’t see how expectations can be any different from how they were going into the 2019 season.
If the Noles can get eight or nine wins in the regular season and win a bowl game, the beginning of this decade could look eerily similar to the beginning of the last one.