Mike Norvell: Florida State is 'a program that's built for playmakers'

Florida State has a roster filled with talent this year. The Seminoles brought in an impressive blend of transfer portal and high school talent as Mike Norvell added to an already loaded Seminoles team.

It’s a testament to what he has built in Tallahassee, and Norvell said FSU is a destination for the nation’s top players.

“This is a program that’s built for playmakers,” Norvell said on SiriusXM College.

Norvell’s offensive prowess has paid off in a big way recently. Last year, Florida State ranked No. 16 in the country with 36.1 points per game — way up from 27.6 points per contest in 2022. Through two games this season, the Seminoles have averaged 55.5 points per game with a 45-point showing against LSU and 66 points against Southern Miss.

A look at the playmakers Florida State added over the offseason

Norvell’s top job as a head coach is to set his players up for success. But he also went to work on the recruiting trail to add more talent, and it paid off.

FSU brought in the No. 20-ranked recruiting class this year, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking, but the biggest acquisitions came from the portal. Five of the top 50 transfers to hit the portal headed to Florida State. That includes former Michigan State receiver Keon Coleman, who’s emerged as Jordan Travis’ top target. He was the No. 26-ranked transfer to hit the portal during the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

With so many playmakers, from Travis at quarterback to Coleman at wide receiver and Trey Benson at running back, Norvell said game-planning is important to maximize their potential.

“It’s my job as a head coach — offense, defense and special teams — to make sure that we’re showcasing all the skills and talents of our players, being able to work that together,” Norvell said. “We want to always have a plan. We’re going to try to attack in a variety of different ways to put our guys in the best matchups, whether you’re going against zone coverage, man coverage. Whatever you need to see. Running the ball, obviously throwing the ball. It’s about helping position your players and giving them all the resources through their technique and their fundamentals to go win the one-on-one.

“We’ve got great playmakers around us. We take a lot of pride in how we prepare and what we do. Our players, they’re very smart. They take what we do in meetings and what we try to do out there on the practice field, and they’ve done a great job of applying it out there on game day.”

Mike Norvell: ‘I always tell the quarterbacks, I’ve got to have their back and they’ve got to have mine’

Of course, Travis is the person trusted with executing the play call. That’s why Mike Norvell said his relationship with the quarterbacks is a two-way street. He has to trust them, and they have to reciprocate that trust. Even if they don’t necessarily do what he would’ve done, he has to maintain that relationship.

If that bond exists, Norvell said, the team is in a better position as a result.

“I always tell the quarterbacks, I’ve got to have their back and they’ve got to have mine,” Norvell said. “There’s going to be times that I’ll make a bad play call, but there’s always a best option in what we’re trying to do. On the flip side, they might make a decision that might not have been my first choice through a play call, but I’ve got to have their back that they will trust their eyes and trust their feet, and that they’ll do the things that are going to put us in the best position to go achieve success.

“It’s about building that relationship, building that trust. I get to do it with a remarkable group of young men. So definitely blessed with the opportunity I get to be able to help lead this team.”