Along with new players, coaches, FSU's Norvell seeks new (old) mindset in '25: 'I want that edge'

ORLANDO — Mike Norvell has spent a great deal of time reflecting on what went wrong during the Florida State football team’s 2-10 campaign in 2024. And some of the changes he has made are obvious.

He has swapped out a bunch of coaches and support staff. He has brought in new offensive and defensive coordinators. He has turned over nearly half of his team.

But one of the biggest things Norvell wants to change is something that can’t be seen on a roster or a depth chart. It’s the mentality and mindset of his football team.

“I want that edge,” Norvell said Saturday evening before delivering a speech to Seminole Boosters. “I want guys that are willing to put everything that they have into the opportunity to be the best that they can be. And I think we’ve seen that example in guys before that have been on the big stage, that have had all the attention, that have benefited from what this game can provide. But they show up desperate to be the best and desperate to get the job done, and for it to look a certain way. And that’s what we’re going to get back to. … I want that edge.”

During a nearly 30-minute conversation with Warchant and other media members, Norvell used the terms “edge” and “desperation” interchangeably.

He said it’s a sense of hunger and intensity that should be apparent in every Florida State workout, every meeting and certainly every practice and game. And he said that approach has to be adopted by every single member of the program.

They have to be able to block out all of the distractions that come with college football in this era, and they have to be consumed with being the best they can be.

“It’s team, it’s individual, it’s coach,” Norvell said. “We get one shot. One shot a playing career. You get one shot at a season, a team. You get one shot at a coaching career. So what are you willing to give to be what you can? And so, when I say desperation, it is that edge. It’s like, ‘Are you willing to put it all out there?'”

In reflecting on the 2024 Seminoles, Norvell said he never believed that team completely gave up. But he said it was the first time in his first nine years as a head coach that he thought the team was lacking that competitive “edge.”

“It wasn’t like guys weren’t trying,” Norvell said. “But there wasn’t that edge that I’d become accustomed to. … And it’s something we have to get back to. And I didn’t do a good enough job of almost forcing that edge to be there.”

To help in that effort, the Florida State head coach said, the process begins with bringing in the right players. And that was something he focused on extensively during this high school recruiting and transfer portal cycle.

“I do believe you can recruit it, and I believe you can develop it,” Norvell said. “And you definitely have to be able to hold each other accountable to live in it. And that’s my focus.”

Norvell even seemed to acknowledge that he made some mistakes in the previous offseason, taking some players who had physical tools but perhaps not the right mental makeup — at least at this stage of their careers.

The Seminoles will have 40 or more new players on the roster this fall, and 31 of them enrolled in January.

“I think there’s times that you can get caught up by potential and talent,” Norvell said. “But you’ve got to make sure that the mentality is right. And I want the mentality. Like I said, it is something that you can develop. It is something that you can build. But I want guys that are desperate to go be what they desire. And that’s been been a big part of this team.”

He also said Florida State’s staff made a decision not to “chase” any players to come back in 2025 if they wanted to enter the portal after the ’24 season.

“There was none of that,” he said. “It was, ‘You’re going to be a part of this, pouring everything that you have into it, or you’re not.’ And I like the mindset of which our guys have started.”

He likes it for now. After one month of winter workouts.

But after often showering his 2024 Florida State team with praise in the offseason, Norvell said he understands that talk is cheap this time of year. For fans to believe in the ’25 Seminoles, they’re going to need to prove themselves.

“All the talk between now and — to be honest with you — until August 30th, is not gonna matter,” Norvell said. “I do have a high high expectation for what this team is going to be able to do. I’m excited about the work that I’m seeing. But we’ve got to live it every day. …

“There’s a lot of work that’s already gone into the first month. But we have 11, 12 months in front of us to be all that we can as a football team. There’s going to be good days and bad days, great plays and plays that we all are going to want back. But being able to push and press — whether it’s the response to a good or to a bad — whether it’s the accountability to make sure we’re putting everything we have to that standard of accomplishing that task that we have in front of us.

“That’s what I need to make sure that I can meet the needs for our players and for our coaches and making sure that we’re all accountable to that standard. But it’s not a speech that you’re going to give in January, or even one you’re going to give in August. It’s the daily application of that.”

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