13 days of fall camp are in the books for Florida State, and coach Mike Norvell has seen his team grow, and they have the talent and ability to exceed expectations this season.
Entering his seventh season as head football coach of the Florida State Seminoles, Mike Norvell is feeling the intense heat.
Posting a 38-34 overall record with the Seminoles, Norvell has led Florida State to just seven wins over the past two seasons, the fewest victories since 1974. But there are some bright spots to point out on this year’s version of the Seminoles.
Tim Harris Jr. will be the offensive coordinator for the first time, taking over for the retired Gus Malzahn. Last season, Harris was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Seminoles, so that coaching continuity and continued presence on the sideline bodes well for the Florida State offense.
The Seminoles return 58 percent of their offensive production from last season, including No. 1 receiver Duce Robinson, who was a 1,000-yard receiver and a first-team All-ACC performer last season. However, the Seminoles will start a transfer quarterback for the third consecutive season, with Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels taking the reins.
On the ACC Roadshow, Norvell was asked how does he know he has a team he can win with, as it relates to dealing with adversity and tough game-like situations?
“We defined a unified group as one that is willing to work together, one that is willing to challenge each other, pick each other up,” Norvell said. “Yesterday was a prime example. We were working a two-minute situation. We gave the situation to the offense: this is how far you have to go; this is how much time you have, and you got one timeout. The offense said ‘no, we don’t want any timeouts, we are gonna choose hard here.’ And they were able to go out and finish that drive they way they wanted to.”
The Seminoles are talented on both sides of the ball this season, and have shown more confidence and continue to come together as a team. They return the Desir twins on the defensive line, and brought in tackling demon linebacker Chris Jones from Southern Miss, who had 135 stops last season. Jones ranked in the top ten nationally in tackles per game with 10 per contest last season, but was left off this year’s Butkus Award watch list.
“The expectation we have collectively, as a football team, you got to answer that call,” Norvell said. “When you’re choosing the hard things, when you’re willing to put yourself in the most difficult of situations, just to see what you can do, and you see guys truly embrace that together, you’ve got a tremendous opportunity to do something pretty special.”
Also returning on the defensive side of the ball is cornerback Ja’bril Rawls. Rawls flirted with the transfer portal, but reversed course and stayed suited up in the garnet and gold. He was named preseason second-team All-ACC by Phil Steele.
Daniels has an opportunity to be special in his own right with more consistent play, and fewer mistakes of throwing the football to the opposing team. In his collegiate career thus far, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is 27/22.
But in a recent interview, Daniels spoke about “what he could do to be better.” So far in fall camp, Daniels has entered the crucible, reforging himself and his ability to man the most important position on the field. That transformation will be crucial to Florida State’s success this season.
The coaching staff has seen this team mature and grow during camp. It appears there is a mindset shift ongoing with the Seminoles, one that will change the Seminoles into a winning football team. That is the legacy that the coaches, players, and the fans want preserved and paid forward, and that maturity and growth will allow these players and coaches to exceed expectations and accomplish something special this season.
