FSU football: Player development in the Norvell’s offense
By Jason Zang
WR Anthony Miller
| Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| *2015 | Memphis | American | SO | WR | 12 | 47 | 694 | 14.8 | 5 | 9 | 54 | 6.0 | 2 |
| *2016 | Memphis | American | JR | WR | 13 | 95 | 1434 | 15.1 | 14 | 12 | 69 | 5.8 | 1 |
| *2017 | Memphis | American | SR | WR | 13 | 96 | 1462 | 15.2 | 18 | 10 | 25 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Career | Memphis | 238 | 3590 | 15.1 | 37 | 31 | 148 | 4.8 | 3 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
You can see the drastic improvement Miller made under Mike Norvell as he had about a 60% increase in his production in years two and three in this offense. Miller went on to be a second round pick in the NFL.
RB Darrell Henderson
| Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| *2016 | Memphis | American | FR | RB | 13 | 87 | 482 | 5.5 | 5 | 20 | 237 | 11.9 | 3 |
| *2017 | Memphis | American | SO | RB | 12 | 130 | 1154 | 8.9 | 9 | 24 | 226 | 9.4 | 2 |
| *2018 | Memphis | American | JR | RB | 13 | 214 | 1909 | 8.9 | 22 | 19 | 295 | 15.5 | 3 |
| Career | Memphis | 431 | 3545 | 8.2 | 36 | 63 | 758 | 12.0 | 8 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Darrell Henderson became the bell cow for Norvell’s offense and like Miller, his production skyrocketed. His 2018 season was incredible as he almost doubled his production every year as he went on the be a 3rd round pick in the NFL.
RB Tony Pollard
| Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| *2015 | Memphis | American | FR | WR | |||||||||
| *2016 | Memphis | American | FR | WR | 13 | 31 | 159 | 5.1 | 1 | 29 | 298 | 10.3 | 2 |
| *2017 | Memphis | American | SO | RB | 13 | 30 | 230 | 7.7 | 2 | 36 | 536 | 14.9 | 4 |
| *2018 | Memphis | American | JR | WR | 14 | 78 | 552 | 7.1 | 6 | 39 | 458 | 11.7 | 3 |
| Career | Memphis | 139 | 941 | 6.8 | 9 | 104 | 1292 | 12.4 | 9 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Tony was overshadowed by Henderson, but he was still a productive back, as his numbers don’t look that impressive, but Pollard and Henderson were a good duo for that 2018 team. Pollard went on to be a fourth-round pick and could be a better pro than Henderson when their careers are complete.
QB Riley Ferguson
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Riley excelled in Coach Norvell’s offense both years he was at Memphis as he put up top 20 passing numbers. He even beat Paxton Lynch’s TD record for a season with 32 in his first season. Riley was not drafted but was later picked up by Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent. He never caught on in the NFL as he was released shortly after signing with the Bucs.
QB Brady White
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2018 | Memphis | American | JR | QB | 14 | 246 | 392 | 62.8 | 3296 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 26 | 9 | 150.7 |
| *2019 | Memphis | American | JR | QB | 14 | 269 | 421 | 63.9 | 4014 | 9.5 | 9.9 | 33 | 11 | 164.6 |
| Career | Overall | 794 | 1282 | 61.9 | 10949 | 8.5 | 8.9 | 92 | 31 | 152.5 | ||||
| Memphis | 769 | 1233 | 62.4 | 10690 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 90 | 30 | 154.4 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Brady White’s two seasons at Memphis under Norvell were his best and he too was not drafted but he was a good college quarterback in this offense. That’s a lot of production with improvement from year to year.