FSU Football: Understanding the 2023 recruiting cycle

Mike Norvell and staff are at a point where they won’t take a player unless they like him and believe he fits what they are looking for at the position.

The previous staff would take guys because they didn’t do a good job of having backup plans when it became clear they wouldn’t land the top targets. The current staff also places emphasis on guys that can play multiple positions.

The biggest example of this is the cross-training and retraining the coaches have had to do with their players. This amount of tinkering to find success has worked to some degree, like Akeem Dent, who started at safety-moved to corner-and moved back to safety last season.

This “fit specific” factor, when combined with an increase in team presence in other recruiting pools, creates our current situation. Recruiting pools like the transfer portal, where a better fit and ready-made prospect could exist.

Another one this staff has explored is using recruiting ties established in areas out of state. This approach applies to their recruiting at the linebacker and wide receiver positions over the past couple of years.

They may have skipped on a prospect that makes you scratch your head, then find a better fix in the portal, though that’s a larger gamble.

Norvell knows the culture of his locker room and whether it’s worth risking bringing a talented kid in that could alter that culture.

I think soon, fans will hear about the staff talking quietly with certain prospects at positions of need and evaluating them for possible scholarship distributions. I also believe that once the camp season begins, (school camps, satellite camps, and independent camps), there will be another flurry of scholarship offers delivered.