FSU football head coach Mike Norvell knows this is the most important season of his tenure since coming to FSU in December 2019.
The usual hyper and fast-talking coach was calm and deliberate when discussing the first fall practice in pads on Friday. A lot of folks are looking too much into his body language, but it's what he's saying that's grabbing my attention.
I'm sure the expectations have been communicated regarding energy, effort, and all the other important things that go into practice. Norvell said, practice started well but became "average" in the middle portion before the team responded to their challenge to pick it up.
Has the standard gotten higher? Has the willingness to hold guys accountable improved? In other words, would "average" be the equivalent of "good" last year?
Norvell went on to say that it was a combination of coaches and players getting everyone back to the standard to close practice strong. However, correctly stated they needed the players to jump in and cut that off before it gets to that point.
Some of the names I wrote that I was hoping to hear were among the first mentioned by Norvell without anyone asking. Elijah Moore, Squirrel White, and Earl Little Jr came up first. Moore went into detail on why he's hard on Moore and what makes Little tick.
I think that's a great sign. However, Norvell revealed Friday's practice in pads was the first time that most of the veteran offensive linemen they brought from the transfer portal were able to work together. It looks good when they do it right, but it'll take time (and good injury luck) for that group to build the needed continuity.
If you didn't watch the last two minutes of that video, I'd encourage you to. Norvell illustrates perfectly what he's looking for in team leaders.