Mike Norvell goes in depth with his honest thoughts on evolution of the transfer portal

Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles have greatly benefitted from the transfer portal this offseason. They landed one of the nation’s top corners in former Virginia Cavalier Fentrell Cypress II. On Wednesday evening, they also landed former Michigan State star receiver Keon Coleman, who stands at an imposing 6-foot-4. As of Wednesday night (05/17/23), the Seminoles have landed the nation’s No. 10 overall class in the 2023 On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

They also had plenty of their players depart for the Colorado Buffaloes. Earlier this week, the ACC head coaches had their spring meetings and Norvell discussed the good parts and bad parts of the transfer portal with a very in-depth conversation.

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell goes in depth on the portal

“It’s consensus. Some interesting dynamics have presented themselves. And that’s really for us when you look at the transfer portal, NIL, all of that being pushed at the same time. I think there are some unique dynamics. There were some things that were fears a couple of years ago when it was talked about. Those fears have become reality in a lot of situations. You have to work through it. I think it’s shown to be a positive thing for a lot of student-athletes with the right opportunities, but also some unique challenges that come about,” Norvell said.

“So, at the end of the day, it’s good to share those. Try to get a little bit of insight of things federally with Congress. Things where they could progress. And just continue to push forward with that.”

He then went a bit more in-depth on plenty of the negatives of NIL and the transfer portal.

“Deal with third-party agents. Tampering. All that stuff is out there. Not everybody recognizes that is taking place. When you have those dynamics, it’s hard to regulate. It brings a whole different perspective to what some of these student-athletes are going through. Sometimes third parties are not always the best educated in some of the realities whether it’s transferring school and kids having to transfer credits. Some of the things of eligibility and I think you just see some of those things where not always the best information that’s going to kids,” Norvell said.

“Or an agent saying to a kid that they might have this deal or this deal. And that kid goes and gets in the portal and that’s not reality. Or that reality changes. Now, it’s the student-athletes the one that’s been hurt. I think all of that has happened in some spaces there are kids that get in the portal and do not find homes. It’s just sad when that becomes when it becomes the situation for a kid because it changes a life. When you look at us, we’ve brought transfers in, we’ve had transfers that have gone out.’

Even if his players move on to another program, Norvell noted that he wants to see them do well:

“I want every young man that I’ve got the chance to coach or be around to have a chance to be successful. Whether it’s at Florida State. Whether it’s at a different institution. We invest a lot of time in helping your guys on their journey. Sometimes it’s not best for guys to continue [here]. They want to play and whether it’s competition, opportunities. That’s not a clear path and they can choose to go to another place and try and have that success. I still want to see them be able to have those experiences. And sometimes you add outside influences that might not be fully in tuned to what the reality of how football is. It creates interesting situations for kids to find themselves in.”

The Florida State Seminoles return one of the most loaded rosters in the entire ACC for the 2023 campaign. They’ll kick off their season against the LSU Tigers on Sunday, Sept. 3.