Mike Norvell explains how Florida State can replace defensive leadership
Head coach Mike Norvell saw the fruits of his labor come to fruition at Florida State in 2023 with an unbeaten regular season and an ACC Championship. Now, his goal is going to be to find a way to repeat that success.
One of the most important things for Norvell to do this offseason if he wants to have another excellent season in 2024 is to replace talent and leadership that moved on from Florida State on the defensive side of the ball.
“When you look at our defense, even a year ago, we played about 24 guys defensively,” Mike Norvell said. “Like the defensive front. You have a Jared Verse. You have a Braden Fiske. Fabien Lovett. All guys that now have NFL careers in front of them.”
As Norvell pointed out, the Seminoles are losing several key players to the NFL Draft. He touched on a few of those, including Verse who was a first round pick and Fiske who went in the second round. Lovett would end up going undrafted but signed with Kansas City. Along with them, three other Seminoles defensive players were selected in the draft, including a pair of corners.
Still, Mike Norvell is excited by the players returning to Florida State and those who he brought in this offseason, particularly along that defensive front.
“But when you look at the guys who are returning, whether it’s a Josh Farmer, Darrell Jackson, Pat Payton, those three guys are All-Conference, All-American type players. Then, you’re able to bring in Sione [Lolohea], Marvin Jones. I mean, guys that are going to be great contributors and do have experience, but then you see the growth of some of the younger players, whether it’s Byron Turner, Aaron Hester, Daniel Lyons, Grady Kelly joining the program — a young man here from the panhandle — just really excited about that group in general.”
From there, Mike Norvell turned his thoughts to the linebackers and defensive backs, where he’s excited about young players who are starting to develop and should be able to step into the shoes of their predecessors.
“Then, you look at the linebacker position, DJ Lundy technically has not been a starter but he’s played so much football over the last three or four years and just what he’s gonna be. I think he’s gonna be one of the best linebackers in the country. Same thing Azareye’h Thomas. He was our third corner last year, played so much football, but now it’s his time to take that next step and I think he’ll be one of the top corners in the country,” Norvell said.
“That’s the fun progression as a coach. So, guys that have experience but now they’re really emerging in new roles.”