Mike Norvell addresses Markeston Douglas, previews 2022 role

Markeston Douglas is about to begin his third season of football ever, and second with the Florida State Seminoles. At 6-foot-4 and weighing in at 270 pounds, the sophomore tight end hasn’t had the opportunity to make an impact on the gridiron. That might change in 2022.

“Markeston has had a really good camp and I liked the position he’s put himself in,” Norvell said. “Today we had had some moments that we’re going to be able to coach off of and give him an opportunity to respond. Had a couple of missed opportunities, but I like what I’ve seen. I think he’s got an incredible future here. He’s put himself in a position to help impact this team, so I’m excited to see him play.”

As a true freshman, Douglas remained a practice body and didn’t see a second of action. Last season, he ended up appearing in four games and did not record any statistics. He made collegiate debut in the infamous loss against Jacksonville State, but would also see action against Syracuse, UMass and NC State.

Coming out of Haywood High School (Tenn.), Douglas was a three-star recruit out of the 2020 class, per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. In his lone season playing football, he helped lead Haywood to 13 wins and semifinal round of 4A state playoffs appearance, and was also a standout basketball star for the school as well.

Douglas would go on to select Florida State over Michigan State, which were his only two Power Five offers thanks to his inexperience. He was brought on based on potential alone, and Norvell believes it might be paying off after all.

That remains to be unseen until the Seminoles kick off their 2022 regular season against the Duquesne Dukes, where Florida State is favored by nearly six touchdowns. If the expected outcome pans out, Douglas could find himself seeing more playing time than ever before in the season opener – a mandatory confidence boost to someone Norvell has high expectations for.