Mike Norvell opens up on Florida State turning around in 2022

Mike Norvell was hired by Florida State into a difficult situation. Taking over for Willie Taggart, he knew he had to rebuild the program. Then, the pandemic hit while rules around the transfer portal and NIL shifted under his feet. It made the transition difficult and frustrating, going just 8-13 in his first two seasons.

Now, in year three, Mike Norvell and Florida State have righted the ship, going 9-3. It was an incredible turnaround, as Norvell explained.

“I mean, they never stopped,” Mike Norvell said. “There was no direct turning point. We just had to, even through some disappointing games there in the middle of the season, they continued to work. They continued to believe.”

“You lay out an expectation, you have a plan. Sometimes things don’t go exactly the way that you anticipate them or expect them to go, but you are still in control of your response. And, this team responded by continuing to draw close together, to push the standard, to push the expectation, to go get better throughout the course of the season. It’s their decision. It’s their choice.”

Mike Norvell pointed out that Florida State suffered a three-game losing streak in the middle of the season. However, the team didn’t lie down after that. They responded and that’s growth for them.

“As a coaching staff, we push hard, and even though some games didn’t go the game we wanted, that didn’t change the approach of what we brought and our guys on this team responded the way I expected them to. You’ve seen them grow. We’ve got a great group of young men. I am so blessed to be able to coach them because they care about each other. They care about this program. They care about who they represent and who they get to do it with and for,” Mike Norvell said.

“So, that’s the joy of watching a team grow, and as we’ve gone through it, that’s what makes this team special, because you get one more opportunity for this group to go play the game together and as you’ve watched them kind of rise up through the opportunities that they’ve had, it’s a remarkable group and I’m excited to see them play Thursday night.”

Mike Norvell and Florida State can finish the 2022 season strong with a win over Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl on December 29th.

Mike Norvell says Florida State is showing excitement

The Florida State Seminoles are excited about the opportunity to play in their first bowl since 2019. According to Mike Norvell, it’s especially showing in practice.

“They showed me their excitement with how they’ve prepared back home,” Mike Norvell said.

“Once we got to the practice field, I thought they had a great edge about them. And I thought they were able to have a really good practice. You can feel that expectation and excitement.”