Mike Norvell shares importance of developing early relationships with recruits

This offseason Florida State head coach Mike Norvell brought in the highest-rated recruiting class of his tenure with the Seminoles, with their 2024 class ranking No. 14 in the nation according to On3’s Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings.

A talented recruiting class always comes with excitement on signing day, but coaching staffs a lot of times have been putting in years of work recruiting players in order to get them to sign to their program. During the Seminoles’ National Signing Day press conference, Norvell was asked about the importance of building relationships with his signees, which dates back to when many were underclassmen in high schools years before.

“I think it’s big because they get a sense of who we are, and I say it all the time, Florida State’s not for everybody. It’s for guys that truly embrace the work, they embrace not only what they’re going to do on the field but the expectations there off the field,” Norvell said. “For them to be able to see that play out, that’s why you see some of those relationships forge early and are built.”

The Seminoles have had a better record in every single season under Norvell since he took the job in December of 2019, with Florida State’s win total going from three wins in 2020 to boasting an impressive 13-1 record last season. And in regards to recruiting high school players, showing growth throughout the recruitment process is an invaluable asset.

“And when you see talent that’s one thing, when you get to know the heart, when they get to a chance to see all of this play out. There’s some guys in this class that we’ve been on for three and four years and you talk about a vision of what’s ahead, but they got to experience it, they got to see it, they kind of got the behind the curtain look at what all goes into it and it’s exciting,” Norvell explained.

“Because we all have to say yes, we say yes to them with the opportunity, they say yes to that this is where they ultimately want to be and to be able to help push this program to another level.”

The relationships Norvell and his staff have been able to build over the last few years paired with Florida State’s steady ascension paid off this offseason, with the Seminoles signing seven top 200 players in the country and 10 of the top 100 players in the state of Florida according to On3’s 2024 Industry Top Football Recruit Rankings.

“I think you look over the last three or four years, I mean we’ve done a good job in our evaluations. I mean we finished this last season 13-0 and offensively, defensively, special teams, I mean we’ve got some dynamic players and guys that are gonna be taken very high in the NFL Draft this next year. And when you find that combination of great talent, great young men, you invest and build that trust over the course of time, great things can happen,” Norvell said. “And I definitely believe this is a special group.”

Norvell does lose a lot of talent to the NFL this offseason, boasting one of the most veteran and experienced teams in the nation last year. But it will be surely be interesting to see if the new faces and promising talent the Seminoles have acquired can now uphold the new standard that’s been set in Tallahassee by their head mean.