FSU football: Player development in the Norvell’s offense

FSU football head coach Mike Norvell has coached on the offensive side of the ball since he began his career in 2006. Norvell has had a history of great offenses since becoming a head coach, and what he has done with Florida State in 3 years proves that to be true.

He took over a Memphis team in 2016 that was coming off two good seasons under Justin Fuente after Fuente moved on to Virginia Tech. The team had just had Paxton Lynch move on to the NFL and get drafted in the first round, so he had to start fresh with a new quarterback and find new talent at receiver and running back.

Norvell brought in guys like Anthony Miller, Darrell Henderson, and Tony Pollard (all three are in the NFL). There was also quarterback Riley Ferguson who transferred to Memphis from a JUCO and Brady White who came from Arizona State. In Norvell’s first season at Memphis, his offense averaged 38.8 pts per game (15th in FBS), and they averaged over 40 pts per game in his next three seasons afterward.

Let’s look at these players and how they evolved in the Norvell offense.