FSU football head coach Mike Norvell has finally filled out his entire coaching staff in Tallahassee. We grade the coaching staff hires.
FSU football head coach Mike Norvell has hired his entire staff in less than a month after getting officially hired on December 8th.
It seems to be a great mixture of coaches on paper with a staff that’s experienced, diverse(age and race) and with some familiarity with Mike Norvell.
Some FSU fans were not excited to see Telly Lockette not be retained Thursday due to his recruiting ties to South Florida.
Truth be told, if FSU football wins on the field they should have no problem getting players from Miami.
Lockette wasn’t on staff when FSU was getting players from there in the early part of the last decade.
I’m excited to see what this staff can and I might be even more excited for the off-field hires that should bring an incredible amount of organization to the program that was much-needed.
Let’s take a look at each individual hire to see what they bring to the table for Mike Norvell.
Offense
I gave Dillingham a B+ because of his long-standing relationship with Mike Norvell and the product they produced while working together at Memphis. It’s an upgrade over Kendal Briles because it’s less boom or bust but just as if not more explosive while not putting as much pressure on its own defense. Dillingham will not be the playcaller as the offensive coordinator, but he will be coaching quarterbacks and assisting with game planning and organizing the offense. One thing that’s stood out thus far is he seems to be a tenacious recruiter while being aware of seemingly every player that’s available who could fit a need on the roster.
Davis Johnson worked with Mike Norvell at Memphis in 2016-17 as the wide receivers coach. Johnson is known as one of the better recruiters in the game with ties to a lot of different areas. Customarily, this coaching position is given to the better recruiters on staff. I’d say he’s a massive upgrade over Dontae Pimpleton. David Johnson hasn’t been officially announced at the time of this piece but was reported to be hired by FSU according to Bruce Feldman and several other outlets.
I think Mike Norvell retaining Ron Dugans is big time. Dugans brought in an excellent group of wide receivers in his first year on staff. He also brought a toughness to the wide receivers while seeing growth on the field in blocking in 2019. His ability to recruit will only get better as the ‘Noles product improves on the field.
Chris Thomsen comes to the Noles from TCU and has a great deal of experience in developing offensive linemen and tight ends. Mike Norvell calls him one of the best recruiters he’s ever been around. The two coached together while at Arizona State in the early part of last decade. I like that he has a ton of Power Five coaching experience and a stone cold killer stare in his pics! He’s an overall upgrade over Telly Lockette.
Alex Atkins comes to the Noles from UNC-Charlotte. Mike Norvell is familiar with Atkins from coaching against him while Norvell was at Memphis and Atkins was at Tulane. He’s thought to be a bright guy and someone who will be a future head coach somewhere. His offensive lines have been really productive everywhere he’s been. I didn’t him a higher grade because he doesn’t have any Power Five coaching experience. I can’t say he’s an upgrade over Randy Clements, so let’s just say this is a wash.
Defense
Adam Fuller comes to FSU after coaching with Mike Norvell the 2019 season at Memphis. Like Atkins, he doesn’t have any Power Five coaching experience. However, his defenses have seen massive turnarounds at two different places (Marshall and Memphis) in his very first year. I’m excited to see how his style takes hold in Tallahassee. I’d say he’s an upgrade over Harlon Barnett and will be allowed to run HIS defense.
What can you say about Odell that hasn’t already been said. He was instrumental in helping Mike Norvell and other staff members get acclimated with the program, not to mention he’s one of the best defensive linemen in the country while being a good recruiter. I’m interested in seeing how the defensive line will perform now since he’s solely back to coaching defensive tackles and not the entire defensive line.
John Papuchis comes to the Noles from Maryland and brings a lot of Power Five experience as a former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He’s known as a good recruiter and has a lot of experience coaching special teams. I’d say he’s a wash with Mark Snyder from the old staff.
I like this hire a lot as Chris Marve seems to be one of the rising stars in the college world as he was named to ESPN.com’s 40 Under 40 list .He was a great college player, four-year All-Conference linebacker at Vanderbilt and coached there before moving on to Mississippi State. He’s helped produce a number of productive linebackers and is known to be a good recruiter. He’s definitely an upgrade over Raymond Woodie II.
I’m not that familiar with TJ Rushing, but he coached with Mike Norvell at Memphis in the same capacity and won a Super Bowl as a player with the Indianapolis Colts. His defense was top 20 in pass efficiency last season and his familiarity with defensive coordinator Adam Fuller should be huge He has Power Five coaching experience at Arizona State and Stanford. He’s definitely an upgrade since FSU hasn’t had a legit defensive back coach in years.
Off-Field Hires
I’m incredibly excited about this hire as Josh Storms has the highest certifications possible in the field of strength and conditioning. If you watched Memphis play, they were a tough and physical bunch of players. I can only imagine what’s possible with FSU players. He has a ton of experience and is bringing a number of qualified S&C staff with him from Memphis.
This hire probably caught a lot of people off-guard but it’s an absolute home run hire. The foresight to want this hire speaks volumes, and then to make it happen is even more impressive. Warwick has a ton of experience from the NFL with stints in the college world too.
I wrote about the impact of Kupper Friday. He’s been called the backbone of Memphis football after working there nearly a decade. His familiarity with Mike Norvell should pay dividends quickly while working alongside Bruce Warwick.
I’m excited to see what this staff can do and they are already hitting the recruiting trails with offers for the 2021 class.