FSU football: Top 3 offensive questions in 2023 spring practice

Balance

Mike Norvell likes to establish the running game to set up the explosive vertical passing game. Historically, Norvell has shown the ability to match his offense to his personnel.

There have been seasons (Memphis 2016) where the offense is literally 50 percent run and 50 percent pass. In other years, he’s been incredibly run-heavy, like Memphis 2018, running the ball 60 percent of the time.

Norvell ran the ball 52 percent of the time at FSU in 2022. Mike Norvell typically favors the run overall, but there was one year where he favored the pass more than the run. It was the 2017 offense at Memphis that passed the ball 52 percent of the time.

That 2017 offense is the most prolific offense Mike Norvell has produced as a head coach, averaging 45.5 ppg and 7.35 yards per play. Senior QB Riley Ferguson averaged 36 pass attempts per game and had over 4,200 passing yards.

Could we see Mike Norvell lean more toward the pass in 2023? Senior Jordan Travis has shown he can put up big numbers through the air. He attempted 38 passes and had 418 passing yards in the bowl game against Oklahoma.

Norvell has an incredible stable of running backs and won’t get too far away from the run. However, I’m quite curious to see how much he’s willing to put on the shoulder of Jordan Travis with a solid wide receiver/tight end unit and offensive line.