Florida State University
Football Media Conference
Monday, September 9, 2024
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Mike Norvell
Press Conference
MIKE NORVELL: Good morning. Appreciate everybody
being here. Obviously coming off the bye weekend, it was
— I thought we had a good work week there last week
trying to really, really hone in and focus on some of the
details of the fundamentals — communication, all elements
of trying to help transition the work we’re doing on the
practice field so it shows up there in the game to the best
of our ability.
Gave the guys a couple days off this weekend to be able to
kind of just refresh, clear minds, clear bodies and spirits,
and get ready to go be better this week.
I thought our guys came back with a really good meetings
and practice last night, a lot of energy, flying around. So
guys definitely have a great sense of purpose for
improvement, and that’s our focus.
Everything that we have this week to go be the best that
we can be. Coaches, players, everybody involved trying to
put our best foot forward to accomplish what we’re setting
out to be, you’ll hear for this week. Trying to block out all
other things — the things that you learn from the
experiences that we’ve had the past couple of weeks, you
work to get better, but really all our attention and focus
here is on a very talented Memphis team that’s coming in
and making sure that each of our players and our coaches
go and do our jobs to the best of our ability with the week
ahead.
Do have some unfortunate news. Jaylin Lucas will be out
for the year, sustained injury there in our last game. Really
disappointed for the young man, very talented player,
explosive athlete for us. But unfortunately, he has an injury
that will keep him out for the rest of the season.
He does have a redshirt available, so he does have a
couple years eligibility left with that, but just our thoughts
are with him as he’s jumping into the rehab part of recovery
with the injury. I know he’s going to do a great job of being
able to continue to help the guys that are there on the field
and obviously working through his process, you’ll hear
moving forward. Still very excited about what his future is
going to be as a Seminole, but it is unfortunate we’re going
to lose him for the rest of the season.
Like I said, it’s a big week for us. We need to continue to
push and challenge each other, and I think our guys have
the right mindset for what is necessary as we head into this
week.
Q. Going back three years ago now when you guys
had a rough start, and one of the things you talked
about is not changing anything, just doing what you’re
doing. Is the challenge any different, though, when
you’ve had success like you’ve had the last couple
years and now trying to get through something like
this as opposed to the approach you took three years
ago?
MIKE NORVELL: It’s funny because we have a good
number of guys that have been here through that journey
and some guys that — just about every position group has
at least a player that was here during that time.
But when you reflect back to that, we were still at the very
beginning stages, and it was probably a bigger leap of faith
then to stay the course and trust the process of what we’re
doing than what it is now.
We understand what, how, and the steps necessary for us
to go be successful. That’s got to translate better from how
we’re practicing, for what we’re doing in our preparation, for
that to be able to show up there in the course of the game.
I think we’ve all been out there, we’ve all seen it. We’ve
seen the ability that our guys have shown in preparation,
but for whatever reason we have not been able to translate
that in the course of our first two games as good as it can
be. There’s some elements of our consistency that need to
be better. The details, the fundamentals.
Then guys cutting it loose, playing fast, playing free, and
going to just enjoy playing this game. I do think there’s
been some moments, just due to whatever situation,
circumstance, where we’ve played tight, where we’ve kind
of pressed a little bit. I think that, when you get your
opportunity to go play this game, you’ve got to cut it loose
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and just trust your training, trust your fundamentals, trust
your communication, the guy to the left, and the guy to the
right.
It doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a bad thing that
shows up in the course of a contest, but it’s the response
that you have in that. I’ve got a lot of confidence in where
this team will continue to grow to.
I believe in the young men that we have. I believe in what
we’re asking them to do. It’s just building them for that
moment.
I’ve seen a good response from our team in the last week
and how we’ve worked — I mean, everybody’s
disappointed, but ultimately it’s disappointed knowing that
we haven’t played our best. That’s where we got to go
take the step.
So, no, there’s not wholesale changes to what we’re doing.
Our guys believe in what and how we do it, but obviously
we’ve got to execute that, and we’ve got to help that
translate there to the course of the game.
Q. Coach, you mentioned the word pressing multiple
times over the last couple weeks. Is that something
that’s contagious in the locker room? Do you think
over the bye week you were able to figure out what the
issues were? Is that a confidence issue? What kind of
comes with that?
MIKE NORVELL: I think a lot of elements can pour into it.
You start a season — nobody goes into a season thinking,
oh, well, hey, here’s the struggles that are about to show
up. This is going to be the adversity that’s going to show
up. But you have a picture of what you want it to be
individually, as a group, as a offense, defense, special
teams, and collectively as a team.
When it doesn’t go that way or if you face adversity, it’s
how you respond in that moment. To say confidence,
sometimes I think it’s — guys going out there want to do
everything in their power, I would say, almost not to lose or
to not miss a tackle, to not miss a throw, not drop a ball, or
whatever that case might be.
Ultimately, you’re flipping that mindset. You’ve trained.
You’re prepared. Go make that play. Go cut it loose and
enjoy the game that we get to be a part of. Obviously you’ll
learn from every experience that you have.
I think that showed up a little bit more this last week, and
different dynamics in the game that kind of play to that
sometimes. We struggled early on third downs on both
sides of the ball, and then all of a sudden they’ve extended
drives, we’re quick off the field, and then you look up, and
you feel like, oh, man, I’ve got it, got to do this. I’ve got to
do that. Or you just play a little bit tighter than — I would
say tighter and more hesitant in those situations.
I’ve talked to the team about that. I want to see them go
play this game, and we’re playing a very talented team this
week, one that I think is definitely a top 25 caliber team as
they come in here. They’re probably going to make a play
or two in this game. When that happens, where do you go
in that moment? That’s part of college football, being able
to respond to the adversity, and also when things are going
well, respond to the success.
So I’m excited to watch our team and the preparation,
excited to see them take that to the game, and just cut it
loose and go play.
Q. With the loss of Jaylin Lucas, does that leave an
opportunity for young running backs to step up and fill
his role?
MIKE NORVELL: I think you look at guys, some of those
younger backs that are going to have probably more
opportunities. Micahi Danzy has moved up, and he’s
practicing with the offense. He’s been on the scout team
units, getting him a couple more looks to see as he grows
and progresses throughout the season, if there could be
opportunities there. I’ve definitely been very excited about
what I’ve seen from him.
We’ve got some of the younger backs we’re going to
continue to look at. I’ve been really pleased with those
young guys’ development. Obviously Kam Davis has got a
chance to get out there and make some plays there in the
first couple games. Got guys like Sam Singleton, Caziah
Holmes that I do think have really good potential and
ability.
So it does, I’d say, force and open the door of opportunity
for some of those guys. They’ve got to be ready for when
their number’s called.
Q. You’ve talked before about how the quarterback
gets most of the credit when things are well or blame
when it’s not going well. Can you evaluate big picture
how D.J.’s playing and how many of the
miscommunications or errors that are happening
during the course of games are on him versus the
whole team?
MIKE NORVELL: I’m not going to get into specifics, but
there have been issues. I say issues, it’s not pointing to
one person, to one group.
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I think that we have to be more consistent overall as an
offense, and there’s been times where obviously he’s been
on point or maybe we’re a couple yards too deep on a
route depth or maybe there’s protection issue. There’s
different elements. I mentioned during a game there’s
been a few missed throws he’s had, whether that was due
to a drop or a progression. I think those are all
opportunities for us to get better.
It’s definitely not been all on him. I’ve really liked his
mindset and his approach. He’s got a lot of experience,
and he understands how to play the game. He
understands how to respond to good and obviously to
responding to some of the challenges that showed up. I
think he’s brought the right attitude and approach to what
we need and to what we need to continue to do as this
offense is growing together.
We all have to be better — myself, all positions. That’s part
of us continuing to forge the identity of who we are and just
the consistency of our execution. Like I’ve said, I said it
coming out of the last game, I’ve got to do a better job of
putting our guys in position to go be successful, doing the
things that I know that they can do. That’s got to translate
on game day.
Q. How long do you expect to be without Jeremiah
Byers, and how did Jaylen Early do in his first real
heavy playing team?
MIKE NORVELL: We’ll see how J.B. progresses. Not
expecting that to be long term, but we’ll see what that looks
like as we go into the rest of this week and, if it happens to
extend beyond that, what that looks like. I thought Jalen
came in. This was his first extensive, meaningful reps.
Obviously Rob was able to start but still working through
some of his situation just coming off of fall camp.
We knew Jaylen was going to play and still expecting
Jaylen to be a part of this game and get his opportunities.
But I thought there were some good things and a few plays
where trust in his technique, make sure he’s playing with
his eyes where he can be better. But all in all, I thought
Jaylen had a solid kind of first outing where he got
extensive reps.
Q. I know we’ll talk to Adam also, but defensively, can
you quantify where some of the lapses have been in
terms of not being able to get off the field third downs,
things like that?
MIKE NORVELL: It’s been kind of a big picture approach.
Obviously last week there was a few times where their
quarterback did a great job of being able to extend and try
to make plays — and made a play to be able to extend
drives. There’s not been just a ton in the drop-back
passing game that we’ve faced in third downs.
I feel like back to back weeks we’ve faced quarterbacks
that are extremely mobile, whether it’s a quarterback
run/read option game in that, it definitely adds different
elements and challenges to it.
That’s something where we have to continue to be better.
There’s not been a whole lot of straight drop-back game
where we’ve had this huge communication bust. There’s
been a few elements where we’ve got to be better in just
communication and making sure we’re on point with the
specifics in the passing game.
Ultimately, we’ve got to make sure we’re stopping the run.
We’ve got to be obviously accountable to our gaps and
making sure that we’re doing a good job, when we have
somebody with an opportunity to make a tackle, whether
it’s open field or in short spaces, we get him down and we’ll
be able to get off the field during those situations.
That’s our big focus, and we know we’ve got an offense
that’s coming in this week that is very multiple. They’ve
obviously got a strong running back, went over a hundred
yards this last week. They’re multiple in formation.
Structure is what they do. And they’ve got some really
good receivers, and one of the most experienced
quarterbacks, best quarterbacks in the country that’s
coming in.
We’re going to have challenges in both the run and the
passing game. So it’s going to take all 11 guys to make
sure we’re doing our job stopping the run and obviously
being able to limit the vertical pass and make sure we’re
tight in our coverages.
Q. Just wanted to ask you about your time at
Memphis. You’ve always talked so highly of it, said it
was such a special time being there. Just emotions
heading into this game and what it’s going to be like to
play them?
MIKE NORVELL: I’ve got unbelievable respect for that
program, a great love for that city. It was truly a wonderful
experience when we got to live there and got to be a part
of that program and continue to try to push and elevate it,
really to where it is.
I do believe it’s one of the top programs in the country
when you look at the success that they’ve had, that they’ve
been able to sustain. Ryan, Coach Silverfield, he’s done a
great job with the program, continuing to push it on the
trajectory that we were on. When you look at what they’ve
done over the last 10, 12 years, it’s really been impressive.
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But this game is, you know, it’s our next game. Memphis
will always have a special place in my heart, but this is
about our players. It’s about us going out there and being
able to compete, improve, and get an opportunity to
showcase all that we are and what we can be against a
very talented team.
Q. You guys were able to go out on the road recruiting
as a coaching staff. What kind of messages are you
getting from recruits and sharing with recruits as you
go out?
MIKE NORVELL: Obviously being able to go out, trying to
utilize the bye week to get out and see guys, guys that are
either committed to us or guys that we’re continuing to
evaluate for this year or next year’s classes.
Nobody’s excited about how we started — I’m talking about
ourselves. We’re not excited about how the start of the
season has gone, but obviously we know where we’re
heading, and we have a tremendous amount of belief in
the guys that we have and the guys that we’re bringing into
the program that’s going to continue to help us ascend to
ultimately where we want to be.
There’s great excitement for opportunity and ultimately a
belief in where those steps are necessary for us. For these
guys that are going to come in, the opportunity to be able
to impact and be able to continue to push this program
forward.
The message hasn’t changed a whole lot in regards to that.
I believe in what we’re doing and the guys that we’re going
after.
Q. How much does it help that you finally have a
normal work week and now that menu of what you’re
looking at on the opponent is somewhat smaller
because you actually have film?
MIKE NORVELL: That’s something that I’m grateful for this
week is a more regular week for us. It was good getting
started last night and being able to see at least a couple of
games, watching Memphis from this year, getting a sense
of the personnel, how they’re utilizing the personnel.
Like I said, it’s a talented group. We know it’s still early in
the season. They’ve won both of their first couple games
really handily. They haven’t probably had to dip a ton into
the menu of things that they do, very well-coached team.
So we fully expect that we’re still going to see different
elements of things schematically, but it is good to be able
to get a better sense of how these guys have aligned and
how they’re being utilized within the course of the offense,
defense, and special teams.
Q. When it comes to giving new guys opportunities to
perform in games, they have to earn those
opportunities, but is it enough, when the guys in front
of them aren’t playing good enough, does that give
them the opportunity to then be able to help out the
team in the game?
MIKE NORVELL: Our job is to play the players we believe
are going to give us the best opportunity to go win games.
We want to continue to push to see that in game. We want
to continue to see that in practice.
But it definitely has to be earned. Obviously we’re going to
continue to push at every position to see that, to evaluate
that, and obviously work to see that show up on game day.
Q. Coach, I know you mentioned about preparing for
Memphis, but thoughts what about having a chance to
see Ryan Silverfield again?
MIKE NORVELL: I’m grateful for Ryan. Obviously he was
part of the first staff at Memphis. I think the only coach that
was there from the beginning through the entire four years.
A lot of guys got different opportunities. Obviously we’re
able to go, whether get promotions or different jobs. Ryan
had his opportunities, but he chose to stay and be a part of
what we were building there.
I’m just so excited for him and the opportunity he gets to
lead that program. Like I said, he’s done a great job with it.
We stay in touch. Definitely somebody that I got a lot of
respect for. He will definitely be there.
Q. The B.C. game, Hykeem was going through some
warmup stuff, but he wasn’t available that day. When
he does come back, what can he help in terms of not
just the passing game, but also the running game?
MIKE NORVELL: Fully expect Hykeem to be available this
week and to play. He really had a good fall camp. He was
on track for for what we believe he can be. He’s taken
some positive steps and still needs to grow and do that.
Obviously you get another big, fast, strong receiver that we
feel has an opportunity to win one-on-ones, get an
opportunity to showcase those attributes in the passing
game, but like you said, also in the running game. That’s
something that we’ve got to continue to build upon on the
perimeter.
We faced a good number of looks where guys, the
secondaries are getting incorporated heavily in the run fits,
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and so how can receivers help when it comes to that?
That’s something that you look at Memphis’ secondary,
that’s one — with the type of defense they play, I mean, I
think it’s as good of a secondary of fitting the run, fitting —
being physical out there on the edge, getting involved and
being disruptive on the perimeter game.
We need all of our receivers to come and bring obviously
their best when it comes to that, but Hykeem is somebody
I’m very excited about. I think he can be a big play receiver
for us, but also a steady, consistent force. I’m really proud
of Kentron and what he was able too do in the last game.
He looked more like his old self of speed and being able to
get in and out of routes.
Obviously had some big plays down the field. So definitely
looking forward to what Hykeem can bring, but also the
continued growth from those guys on the outside.
Q. Coach, there’s been some changes in college
football this fall. The tablets on the sideline, the
two-minute timeout, I guess they call it now. How
comfortable have you been feeling with that through
two games, and how much do you think it’s helped or
hurt the team through the first couple of weeks?
MIKE NORVELL: I think the helmet communication is
something that’s been good. We’ve worked a good
amount of that throughout the course of spring. To be
honest with you, the tablet, the first time we got to use it
was in Ireland. With the construction here at the stadium, it
was — there were some challenges, just with everything
how it’s wired. So that’s still a little bit of a work in progress
with us.
I think our guys have done a nice job in the communication
and being able to do that in the course of the game, but I
still think there’s some different elements of what is best.
How does that best fit us, the information that we need to
see, the communication of that, and still making sure that
we’re transitioning that to the next series, to the next half or
whatever that dynamic might be, as we’re rolling through
that.
So it’s definitely still a work in progress, but feel
comfortable when it comes to all of it.
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