Florida State University
Football Media Conference
Monday, September 29, 2025
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Head Coach Mike Norvell
Press Conference
MIKE NORVELL: Good morning, everybody. Appreciate
you all being here.
Coming off a disappointing result there Friday night, it was
one of those games that you take 20 to 30 plays
throughout it and anything, anyone goes different, your
final result is obviously going to be changed.
It wouldn’t have changed the overall areas of improvement
and things that we’re going to need to correct, because
obviously there are some things that showed up that is
unacceptable to what we expect out of ourselves and how
we want to play and how we want to finish in all regards. I
thought our guys did a good job of battling throughout
some challenges, some adversity, things that showed up to
put ourselves in a position or come down to one play when
we found ourselves behind.
There’s a lot of areas of growth that need to happen. I’ve
seen this team perform at a very high level, and I know
what we’re capable of and have full expectations that that’s
what we’re going to see here this Saturday. I have a great
appreciation for this group of guys. Obviously their desire,
their want-to, the way that they embrace the challenge
personally, but also collectively as a group and got big
expectations for what we’ll see here moving forward.
Like I told them, we are where we are when it comes to 0-1
in conference, and that’s the one opportunity we’ve had,
but this week we have a great opportunity in one of the
best rivalry games in all of sports. Not just college football,
but in all of sports.
You’ll see a sold-out Doak Campbell Stadium, nighttime,
prime time. A wonderful stage to be able to show this team
who we are, what we’re about, and the response that we’re
going to have.
Got a great deal of respect for our players and just their
mindset. Coming back yesterday and obviously the work,
but we’ve got to go do it. We’re looking forward to this
week of preparation, looking forward to everything building
up to Saturday and what this will — the atmosphere, what it
means to our university and then this football program and
seeing our guys go and fight for it.
Q. Understanding it’s a broad term, but physicality,
were you pleased general with generally both sides of
the ball at the level of physicality throughout the
game?
MIKE NORVELL: There was times that we showed up with
intention, but we didn’t necessarily always finish with the
push of where we wanted. That’s one of the things we
challenged defensively. There were too many times that
we’re making contact, and the ball was going the wrong
direction for what we desire.
For us, I mean, we’ve seen capability. You know, for what
showed up on a consistent basis, you know, Friday night, it
was just too many of those plays. I think everybody gets to
take ownership. I thought there were some plays on the
perimeter. And we talked about this offensively that the
ball got out to the edge, and we have to be better. I
thought we had some touchdown opportunities there on
some runs that got out whether front side, back side of a
play. I mean, we just got to make sure that we’re
sustaining, and it’s things that we’ve seen and
complimented in the fist three weeks that cost us on plays.
So I want better, expect better, and these players are going
to demand better from themselves. That’s one of the
things that you come out of the game, and we want that to
be unquestioned.
Q. Kind of along those lines, the theme in the
offseason about edge and desperation, playing with
edge and desperation, and we saw that in the Alabama
game. How does a team have that through an entire
season? Is it possible?
MIKE NORVELL: Absolutely possible. I don’t think that
our guys — there’s all different factors of what could be
distractions in moments or cause you to be a little bit
hesitant. I thought there were some hesitation that showed
up where there was maybe just a step behind, or when we
got there, where you didn’t have all the pursuit and all the
physicality and all the certainty and confidence of
executing in the moment.
Sometimes that can be pick any different circumstance that
you find. That’s what has to be. That’s what we have to be
able to I say block out, control, hone in on, because it takes
60 minutes of focus. The other night it took 60-plus
minutes of required focus to go do a job.
We faced some setbacks early. We had a turnover, a
couple of turnovers. We had a couple of penalties that hurt
drives. We find ourselves behind early in that game. For
everything that goes into it, I mean, you still — I thought the
guys, they played with edge. They did play with
desperation to put ourselves back in position. We made
some plays, but consistently as a whole, there were times
that we allowed whatever factor to slow our play where it
looked different.
It wasn’t from anything, from my belief, of want-to or desire,
but it does come down to you have to be able to work
through all those situations, because when you’re on the
road, I mean, there’s not a whole lot there supporting you.
If something bad happens, it ramps up everything around
you, and that’s where you have to hone in that much more
and trust your training, your keys, your fundamentals, all
the things that you do throughout the course of the week
so that your full physicality, your full preparation gets to be
put on display for what you are there to do.
Q. (Off microphone).
MIKE NORVELL: I mean, yes, in thought process, but not
— I mean, obviously just we were where we were. Just felt
good about being able to go into overtime as well, but I did
think about it.
Q. On the interception near the goal line, the first and
five, is that — I know Tommy had a similar interception
the week before. Is that deciding too quickly? What’s
going on there?
MIKE NORVELL: That’s one of those plays. The guy was
blitzing off the edge. We felt good about an opportunity
that was going to be out there on the perimeter. Guy
jumped up, you know, tipped pass.
It’s different than what was a week prior in a lot of ways.
That was one where a guy got his hand up on the ball,
tipped pass, interception. We have to give credit to that
player.
I think Tommy saw it how I would almost expect him to see
it, but guy made a great play, and being able to get the ball
past him, overthrew wherever, that’s just an error we
continue to look at and try to get in best situation.
Q. You’ve seen Carson Beck in person. You’ve seen
him maybe mature through the years. You maybe
even recruited him back in Memphis. I can’t recall.
Just your impressions of Carson through these years?
MIKE NORVELL: You see a quarterback that’s been
through it. He’s played obviously at a really high level
throughout his career. He’s had his challenges and times
that just what he’s had to go through.
You can see that here in Miami he’s feeling very
comfortable with what they’re asking him to do and what
they’ve been able to accomplish here in the early part of
the season.
So very accurate. Seems to know where he wants to go
with the ball. He’s getting the ball out quickly and has
some guys on the perimeter that are a great supporting
cast for what he’s doing throughout leading that offense.
Yeah, I mean, he’s got a really good game, and you can
see the maturity that he has and just what he does out
there throughout the course of a game.
Q. I was going to ask about two plays. We saw
Roydell Williams back on the depth chart. Where is he
along in his process? Then Ashlynd Barker left the
game on Friday. Is he going to be available?
MIKE NORVELL: Both those guys probably right now will
be questionable going early part of what we’re looking at
the week.
I am excited about the progress I’ve seen from Roydell,
excited about what that could potentially look like, but
yeah, we’ll see as Ash comes through the weekend. I think
we’ve had some positive steps in that, but we have to see
what that looks like ultimately here in the next couple of
days.
Q. What kind of challenge in the trenches both
offensively and defensively do you see against Miami,
especially with a guy like Rueben Bain?
MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, I think when you look at both
those position groupings, their O-line and D-line, they’re
definitely a strength of their team, and they’ve done a good
job as they’re playing very confident. They’ve been tested
and have rose to multiple challenges of what they’ve had to
face.
Rueben, I think he’s playing at an elite level. He can move
all across the defensive front, but you see that his motor,
physicality, the productivity that he’s had here in early part
of season, I mean, you can tell he had a really good
offseason and just in his continued development.
So that’s going to be a great challenge for us on both sides
of the line of scrimmage, but our guys are excited for
what’s in front of us, and we’re excited for the opportunity.
I think when you look at both of their offensive, defensive
line, they play at a very, very high level. It’s going to take
our best game and for us to just continue to go and play
better.
Q. Coach, Tony White said that Ja’Bril Rawls is one of
the players that really stood out to him, that he played
his tail off. Did you feel like he took another step in his
performance?
MIKE NORVELL: I do, and that was a guy even going into
the game we were kind of ready to feel him again. You felt
it early in the season, in practice. He’s got such a great
ability. He’s got twitch. He’ll throw his body around.
Obviously Alabama game, made a couple of good plays.
Had the injury where he missed a game, and was kind of
feeling himself back into that game setting. It was really a
couple of games where, all right, it’s time to get back out
there and go play.
I thought he was one of the guys that you felt coming out of
that game threw his body around. Had an interception,
made some good plays in coverage. Wasn’t a perfect
game. You obviously had some areas, a couple of missed
tackles and things that we have to clean up, but it was still
— I mean, that’s what we expect out of Ja’Bril. I know what
he expects out of himself.
So now it’s about going and continuing to progress as the
season unfolds.
Q. There was a lot to feel good about after those first
three games that you guys had, and I think Tommy
said after Friday night’s game that he thought maybe
some of the guys were feeling maybe too good about
the way things were going. What are you going to be
looking at this week? What kind of buttons I guess do
you want to push when it comes to having guys in the
right mindset?
MIKE NORVELL: I don’t think when you look at it, our
mindset and our focus was on last week handling some of
the things of the situation. When you fall behind, it was the
first real adversity that we had faced, other than the
opening touchdown drive against Alabama, but it was the
first time that we had been behind.
You’re seeing a talented team, that offense that we faced,
they’ve done a good job. They’ve done a good job through
the season, obviously some of the different things that they
threw at us. There was a little bit of hesitation. When that
shows up, man, we’ve got to get back to trust your eyes,
trust your work, and then go cut it loose and let them feel it.
That’s where for us, I mean, the mindset, the buttons have
been pressed. I can tell you every person that had to sit on
that plane Friday night after that game, everybody was
feeling a sort of way. You can have your feelings, but
we’re going to sit there and say, These are the things that
absolutely have to get corrected. You get them done ‘or,’
you know, and that ‘or’ will not be good if I’m not seeing
that progression, for whatever individual it is, because I
believe in what these guys have done, I believe in the
position they put themselves in, and I’m excited for them.
Nobody likes coming off of a loss. Especially a game that
we felt in it, before it, even after it, like, man, that game
was there for us. You know what, we earned that loss, and
it sucks to say it. It sucks to have to go through it. Now
what do you do with it?
There is a sense of urgency for our improvement. There’s
going to be plays come Saturday night, there will be some
plays that we don’t win. How you deal with that and what
you do in that moment, that’s what I’m looking for. I want
to see that response. I want to see that confidence, and I
want to see guys go and cut it loose for 60 minutes.
Q. Miami put a lot of emphasis on the portal in their
secondary, kind of overhauling that. What have you
seen from that group, their defensive back?
MIKE NORVELL: That was a big focus for them in the
transfer portal, and you see guys that have experienced
guys that have played. They’ve got a couple of guys that
have been on the roster that we have some familiarity with.
Just being able to see how they’re tying it all together, their
entire defense is playing very confident right now. The
things that they’re being asked to do, you can see them
gelling together at a high level. You look at all threes
levels. It starts with their defensive front. They have
athletic linebackers that run and hit and guys in the
secondary that are versatile in the things that they’re being
asked to do, whether it’s play man coverage, zone
coverage, blitzing it all different angles and from different
positions.
I mean, it will be a challenge for us here going into this
week and just our overall preparation. Then you take that
when you are playing against talented people, and then
you have to go execute it and put yourself in the best
position to achieve success. I’m excited about the work
that’s going to go into it, but it’s a talented group on the
defensive side.
Q. You mentioned it briefly, what this rivalry means to
the university, but also for you guys just from a team
point, from wanting to win, and also from a recruiting
standpoint as well?
MIKE NORVELL: Man, it’s all levels. It’s one of those
games. You come to Florida State, and you play in this
rivalry, and it’s something that’s going to be remembered
for the rest of your life.
I mean, I vividly know, feel all of it for every game that I’ve
got the chance to be a part of, and I told the guys last
night, I mean, it’s a blessing to be here, to be able to be a
part of this and to know that you are going to get through
the results of all things that you’ve done up to this point,
what’s going to be able to take place this week in our
preparation, and then for those three and a half hours
come Saturday night, I mean, that’s going to give you a
lifetime to be able to remember and to be able to reflect
upon.
I just want best. It means for all levels of the program, of
the passion, the pride, the recruiting. It’s something that
you look towards. We know the weight of this week and
opportunity of this week as well.
Q. Going back to that desperation edge and button
pushing, from a player standpoint, we’ve heard about
how Tommy has been in the locker room, Jerry has
been in the locker room. Have you seen those same
guys or maybe new faces holding each other
accountable, pushing those buttons, and doing the
things you are talking about from a player
perspective?
MIKE NORVELL: Absolutely. It was there through the
course of the game in different moments. Once again, you
felt it throughout the game to put us in a position. There
was no pullback in it.
Obviously we didn’t get the outcome that we desired, but
you saw and you say you feel the leadership that these
guys have. It’s about the response, and it’s about the
things that we need to do, and I’ve seen that here through
the course of the weekend and last night in practice. There
is an expectation from our players for what we want it to be
and what it needs to be for us just for our best to show up.
Once again, you take the result, you take the experience,
and you learn from it and grow and great better. When you
have players that are pushing that and holding each other
to that standard, I mean, that’s what I think is a necessity
when you look throughout the course of a season for a
team to be able to overcome when those challenges
present themselves.
Q. Can you just illuminate the process of deciding,
because you have so many playmakers on offense,
and obviously you have a 500 yards offense. It’s not
like the offense struggled. Deciding the usage of a
Jaylin Lucas or some of those guys, how does that
work out?
MIKE NORVELL: There’s some of those moments that
you go into it, and I think Gus has done a great job in being
able to put guys in wonderful positions. There’s certain
times, feels, just things that you see as a play caller that
you try to attack, and there’s times that you come out of it
and are, like, well, we have to do this, we have to do that,
and you make sure you continue to work and build upon it.
But, I mean, when it’s going really well and different guys
have been very productive in certain games and maybe
less productive in other games. So it really is the ebb and
flow of it, but everybody has to be prepared for their
moment, because you never know when the ball is going to
come to you. You never know when that opportunity will
present itself.
I mean, when it does, have you to make something
happen. I think our guys, they see that big picture-wise
and are continuing to work to be believe ready when their
number is called.
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