Mike Norvell explains Florida State’s balance between high school, transfer portal

In modern college football, programs know that it’s important to find a balance in recruiting from both the high school and the Transfer Portal. That’s particularly true for a program like Florida State, where head coach Mike Norvell recently worked to rebuild the program.

Now, while making an appearance on Always College Football, Norvell explained what he sees as the balance between taking players out of high school and out of the Transfer Portal at Florida State.

“We had to find our balance and we did have some transfers that came in,” Mike Norvell said. “You can even look at those first couple of classes, the high school recruiting, we were in COVID. So, for a new staff coming in, first year and a half without even being able to go into a high school to get a real sense of who these guys were, what they were.”

The challenge of the pandemic was real and it seemed like, early on in Norvell’s tenure, Florida State was heavy in its portal usage. However, as he pointed out, even back then the Seminoles were taking plenty of excellent players from the portal.

“We took some guys that came in and really developed to be great players. I mentioned Josh Farmer, Patrick Payton, DJ Lundy. I mean, Lawrence Toafili was the MVP of the ACC Championship. Rob Scott, been a three-year starter. All those guys that came in and played early, and they played as freshmen, but you were able to compliment it with some transfer that came in that gave us some experience, gave us some guys that could go out there, and I think helped elevate the program even through some very challenging situations.”

Today, Mike Norvell does want the majority of players coming to Florida State to be from high school recruiting. However, he still sees the value in adding those complimentary pieces from the portal.

“As we got a couple years in and you get back in the high schools, we’re still trying to keep that balance. We’re about 60-65 percent high school signees and about 30-35 percent transfers that have come in,” Norvell said. “So, we’ve really tried to find a good balance with that, find the complimentary pieces that can really come together and work together. It’s still about finding the right fit. Whatever the path of somebody’s journey is, we’re still looking for guys that fit this program, that fit the culture, they embrace the all-inclusive approach we have here at Florida State, and I think it’s really gelled well and I think it’s, as we see the impact of the early high school freshmen that have been able to come in, it’s exciting.”

Florida State is bringing in 23 freshmen from the 2024 cycle, which helped the Seminoles put together the 12th-ranked class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. On top of that, Mike Norvell was busy in the Transfer Portal. There, Florida State has the 4th-ranked class in the 2024 cycle, with 17 incoming transfers.

“It’s exciting about where it’s going and I think that’s where this roster is where it’s got a chance to really continue to elevate,” Norvell concluded.