FSU football: Mike Norvell listed as one of best coaches under 45 years old

FSU football head coach is considered one of the best young coaches in the game. CBS Sports says he’s one of the best under 45 years old.

FSU football is working to get back to the top of the college football world after three mediocre seasons under Jimbo Fisher and Willie Taggart.

Mike Norvell is the third FSU football head coach since 2017 and seems to always be near the top of the FSU coaching search that lasted for weeks in late 2019.

Norvell is 38 years old and has been one of the most successful coaches in college football over the past five seasons at Memphis.

CBSSports.com’s Dennis Dodd writes he’s one of the top 10 youngest coaches under 45 years old:

"Norvell has that rare quality all athletic directors crave: He develops players. The Memphis seniors on the 2019 team that went to the Cotton Bowl were part of a recruiting class that was ranked 61st in Norvell’s first season. Norvell made his bones as an offensive innovator at three different stops with Todd Graham. Now he is carving out quite a path for himself. FSU finally did the right thing after jettisoning Willie Taggart. It hired the obvious guy. Watch the Seminoles return to prominence."

Thoughts

I know, I know. A lot of FSU football fans thought Willie Taggart was one of the best young coaches in the game when he was hired in December 2018. However, Mike Norvell has shown great ability to not only improve a college football program.

He’s shown the ability to develop players AND coaches who go on to big-time positions at power-five schools. The other quality? A lot of those coaches want to come back to work for him at FSU football.

Dobbs has Norvell at No. 9 on the list, but he’s the second-youngest coach of the 10 listed. He’s only two years older than Lincoln Riley who was listed No. 1.

Arguably, Norvell should be listed higher as his winning percentage is higher than three coaches listed higher than him.

Norvell’s attention to detail and the ability to put together a coaching staff should expedite FSU’s return to prominence.

He’s already answering one of the biggest questions regarding his move to a power-five program. Can he recruit at this level? FSU is listed in many recruiting top five lists even though they’re coming off three mediocre seasons.

Once he can show a better product on the field, FSU should start finishing first in some of those recruiting battles.