Mike Norvell reveals the difference in recruiting following success on the field

Florida State coach Mike Norvell is starting to adjust his recruiting approach given the Seminoles’ success this season. In Norvell’s third year at the helm, FSU finished the regular season 9-3 and can reach 10 wins for the first time since 2016 with a victory in the Cheez-It Bowl.

Speaking in a recent media session, Norvell discussed how that has resulted in a change to not only the way Seminoles coaches recruit, but also how prospects have responded to their pitches.

“When you’re presenting a vision, a philosophy, talking about a culture that you want to have, it’s one thing when you’re having to project it,” he said. “It’s another thing whenever they can see it in action. The questions that I ask and the responses that I receive are different. The things that people take notice of. That’s a tribute to our players and our staff. We try to be genuinely who we are. I know I say it all the time, but finding the right fit is important. Being on point in evaluations are important. I think we’ve done a good job of that throughout our time here.”

Florida State currently has its best recruiting class since Mike Norvell took over, ranking No. 16 in the country according to On3 Consensus. That is several steps above last year’s No. 24 ranking and includes a commitment from five-star receiver Hykeem Williams, the No. 31 overall player in the class. Williams is the first five-star that Norvell has signed.

As much as things are improving, however, Norvell knows they can get even better both in recruiting efforts and on the field. That starts with a strong finish to this season in their bowl game against Oklahoma.

“There’s always going to be things you can be better at,” Norvell said. “Just as players grow and the program builds, you’re always trying to improve in the process of it. They see it and there is an absolute excitement about what’s coming. A lot of these guys, they can see themselves a part of what we’re doing and that’s what’s been a lot of fun.”

Mike Norvell discusses importance of balancing recruiting, transfer portal

The new prominence of the NCAA transfer portal has forced college coaches across the nation to delicately balance recruiting high school prospects and transfer portal ones as well. Florida State is included in this balancing, and head coach Mike Norvell recently spoke about how the Seminoles have been strategizing.

“You always operate with what you know, and the projections of what could or what might, I mean every day’s an evaluation of where we are, who are we recruiting. There’s some really good high school players we’re on that we have an opportunity to get here to Florida State, and that’s why I want to continue to build this program,” Norvell said. “We’ve had some great players that have come in and you see the development, you see the growth, but there are some positions where if you can maybe get a little bit more experience or to be able to bridge a gap in where you have great youth and you also have some guys that are a little bit older.”

Norvell’s strategy surely worked this season for the Seminoles, as he used the defensive end position as an example following a breakout season from Albany transfer Jared Verse and redshirt freshman Patrick Payton.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report.