FSU football head coach Mike Norvell put in a lot of work his four months on the job. Here are three observations from the fifth month.
FSU football coach Mike Norvell wasted no time hitting the ground running in his first four months on the job.
He was able to hire most of his coaching staff while working to make the Early Signing Period the best in FSU football history.
Coach Norvell was able to sign two prep quarterbacks, which addressed a need that hadn’t been met since Jimbo Fisher was head coach.
They signed 17 of their 18 commitments early and had eight of those players enroll in the spring semester, which will be huge for their development.
I can’t think of any negatives as he seemed to execute his first 120 days on the job. However, there were still questions about how he’d handle everything that comes with being the head coach at FSU.
It’s his first power five coaching job, and can he handle consistently recruiting at this level? What about players buying into his vision for the program? How will the coronavirus and complete shutdown of spring activities affect the progress of the program?
I think most FSU football fans have seen enough feel confident Mike Norvell can get this program turned around. There seems to be a growing concern about 2021 recruiting class, but I understand the reasons on both sides.
They were behind on the class for one because of the transition, secondly, it’s hard for recruits to buy-in to a product they can’t see up close and personal.
Norvell has accomplished a lot in his first four months on the job. Here are my top three observations from April with Mike Norvell.
Aggressive Pursuit of 2022 Recruits and Beyond
The coronavirus pandemic is something no college football coach has had to deal with in history so, at least they are all on an even playing field in that regard.
However, that hasn’t deterred the coaching staff from pounding the recruiting trails for 2022 and beyond.
The staff knew they were behind with 2021 but is using the time they have wisely by evaluating tape and attempting to get a head start on the next recruiting cycle to level the playing field with other big-time programs.
FSU football has already sent out 139 offers for players in the 2022 class and another 30 offers for players in 2023.
They’ve heavily targeted Florida and Georgia, with 48 percent of the players in 2022 being from those two states. A better sign is 83 percent of the 2023 players offered are from those two states.
It’s all about building those relationships early and getting the players on campus when visits are allowed again. The good news is they have the capability of showing the campus virtually already, which should encourage those players to wait to visit in person.
Transfer Portal
The 2020 recruiting class was all about salvaging things, trying to find the best possible players available in a short amount of time without wasting scholarships just to meet a number.
The coaching staff did about as well as one could hope for under the circumstances, addressing numbers at key positions.
Of course, finishing No. 22 in the nation in recruiting isn’t meeting the standard, but context is important here.
It should be noted the coaching staff has added several important pieces to the 2020 class that will not count towards improving the overall ranking.
They’ve added seven players from the transfer portal, including four who will be eligible to play in 2020 with the possibility of a couple more getting their appeals approved by the NCAA.
These players have college experience under their belt and could each log hundreds of snaps this fall (if we have a season).
The good news is they still may not be done as there are still a few targets in the portal with the possibility of more becoming available each day.
Continued Organization During Pandemic
I’m not here to slander Willie Taggart, but one thing I keep thinking back to is where would FSU football be in this pandemic situation with still as the head coach?
That is beyond scary to think about. Mike Norvell spoke about some of the measures he’s put in place since spring activities were taken away.
The lengths they’ve gone to as staff in terms of providing support for the players on and off the field.
They are meeting virtually just as they normally would be as a staff and being productive in assessing past practices and addressing recruiting strategies.
Ultimately, it’s up to the players to execute, but we’ve seen how active the players have been posting themselves working out on social media. I thought we might see that slack off as time has gone on, but we’re continuing to see it each day.
The FSU strength and conditioning staff are showing accountability by continuing to post themselves working out too.
It feels as though the players are still engaged in the common goal of getting one percent better each day. That’s about all one could hope for under the circumstances.