Mike Norvell shares how recruits reacted to Florida State’s CFP snub

The reaction from fans after Florida State’s CFP snub has been well-documented. The Seminoles became the first undefeated Power Five champion to miss out on the four-team College Football Playoff field, sparking a wave of strong reaction from both sides of the argument.

On the recruiting trail, though, Mike Norvell heard from recruits about the situation ahead of National Signing Day. However, there wasn’t much strong response from commits who were waiting to sign their National Letters of Intent.

While the topic came up, Norvell said, it wasn’t the main topic of conversation.

“For all the things — and, obviously, the national spotlight that has been put on that — our guys, we controlled what we can control,” Norvell told On3’s Andy Staples. “It was unfortunate that we had a great player that went down with injury. But I think it showed the heart and the character of this team in how we responded around great adversity. And that’s what these guys want to be a part of. They have all the ability in the world.

“Being able to come into a program that’s going to showcase their skills and talents on and off the field, and an opportunity to go and compete for a national championship and to be able to continue to take those steps is something that they’re all excited about it. Obviously, it was talked about, but it wasn’t something that was ever a point of contention.”

Florida State had plenty of success on the recruiting trail this year, holding the No. 11-ranked class in the nation as of 7:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. The Seminoles’ top two prospects — quarterback Luke Kromenhoek and cornerback Charles Lester III — rank as the Nos. 40 and 42 overall players in the nation respectively, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

It’s the latest step in Mike Norvell’s plan to sustain Florida State’s success after this year’s 13-0 record and ACC Championship. As he looks toward the future, though, Norvell shared the importance of moving on from the CFP committee’s decision to leave his team out of the field.

“It’s been challenging,” Norvell said. “For all the things, how the season ended, you basically got 12 hours to celebrate you know, what was an unbelievable accomplishment for this team. Then you had to learn how to work through disappointment, hurt, frustration, anger. All the every bit of it. 18-to-22 year old kids, and your 42 year old coach. So it’s hard. I’d like to say, ‘Oh yeah, you know,’ but at the end of the day, you control the things that you can control. We did everything that we needed to do to win 13 games this season. Now we get an opportunity to go get better.

“It can’t just be good when it sounds good. But for a group of young men that are having to work through that, it’s probably been the most challenging couple weeks of coaching that I’ve ever had. It’s our reality. So we work through it, you go push and get better.”