Florida State University
Football Media Conference
Monday, September 23, 2024
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Coach Mike Norvell
Press Conference
MIKE NORVELL: After the game, I was proud of the guys,
proud of the way they fought. I that was the X factor in the
game.
And I think it started throughout the week of practice, just
the intent, the purpose, the joy that they had in going
through the preparation. And I really felt their energy. I felt
all the excitement, all the things that showed up throughout
the course of the game.
The game did go the way — I think it was probably very
beneficial for us for where we are. You had to see the
response to challenging situations. You had to see the
response in going and making a play. You had to go see a
response to finish. And all those things showed up during
the game on Saturday.
Yes, a lot of things we have to continue to improve on, a lot
of things we’ve got to work on and clean up. And really it’s
in every phase. But I was proud of our guys for what they
did to be able to go get the win there Saturday night.
And I thought there was some really good performances. I
thought our defensive line showed up and was productive
and impactful. I think we had 12 TFLs in the game. That
was a huge part of the game. I thought we saw some
young players that showed up and really did some nice
things. Edwin with his first career interception. I thought Q
was remarkable just in his coverage and things that he was
able to do.
[Lost audio]
Impressive for those young guys in the secondary to be
able to take advantage of the opportunity. K.J. Kirkland
continues to flash and doing some good things. And then
obviously offensively I thought some of the plays that were
made on third downs, some of those cash down situations
were big, some guys that really stepped up.
I was so proud of Jalen early coming off his first start,
which is kind of unexpected, just there in the Memphis
game where obviously some challenges showed up. But I
thought he came out and played at a very high level here
this last week.
It was unfortunate Rob couldn’t go. Obviously J.B. was not
ready. I think both those guys have an opportunity to be
back here this week. But to see Jalen and taking the week
of preparation and the mentality of how he played. I
recognized him there in front of the team because just
really proud of what he was able to do in that moment.
You saw guys like Ja’Khi Douglas who has been really
good for us over the years, but a couple big third-down
catches, obviously the touchdown there at the end. It was
a great connection there in that moment. And we had to
have that play.
I thought the run game really showed some life. That was
a good Cal defense. And obviously the front seven,
they’ve been very strong this early part of the year. And I
thought our guys were able to create some run seams.
There were some things that we still get to clean up and
build upon, but I mean it was good to see the run game
getting established.
We did miss some explosive opportunities where we’ve got
to be better. Had a drop — had a missed opportunity to
connect vertically down the field.
But all in all I thought it was a good team win.
And I thought that special teams, there were some good
and bad that we get to continue to work through, but
overall I thought Alex was remarkable in helping flip the
field and just our coverage of Ryan continues to be great in
his kickoffs.
And just get to continue to build upon a lot of those areas
where our return game, I think we’re close. We’ve got to
get a spark there.
But excited about the week that’s ahead. We have to go
on the road, ACC conference game, the first ACC
conference game for SMU. I know it’s going to be a great
atmosphere there for them. They’re kicking off their new
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start in the conference. But a lot of respect for their
coaching staff, the guys that are there. And they’ve got a
talented team coming off a big win for them this last
weekend in a rivalry game.
So we’ve got to have a great week of preparation. I know
our guys are excited to build off of some of the things that
we saw and experienced this last week. But there’s no
question about it, we’ve got to go get better in every area.
And our guys they got off to a great start with that last
night. And I felt that urgency there in practice last night.
So we’ve got to carry that over here tomorrow.
Q. Even though you had only scored seven points at
the half, you moved the ball well. You didn’t capitalize
on some of those opportunities. What’s the key to
finishing some of those drives?
MIKE NORVELL: We got down into the red zone, had the
turnover. It was just a bad play. It was one that we can’t
have the interception down there. Obviously we had a
couple of negatives that forced them into long-yard
situations.
But I thought we did move the ball. It’s a consistency,
making sure we’re executing there on the third down. We
had a couple of penalties that ended a drive where we
were forced to kick.
But those were — you started to feel a little bit of rhythm
there in the first half, but it’s still about being able to go
down and finish. And can’t have the turnover.
But I thought that was something that was productive.
Coming out in the third quarter, obviously had an
opportunity there early in the third quarter, but I think we
had two three-and-outs to start out the second half. And
we can’t have that.
We’re trying to establish things in the run game. We’re
close on a couple of plays when it comes to that. But
obviously we’ve got to be better when we get started.
I thought there in the drive, the third to the fourth quarter, it
was good for us. It was something that we needed. We
had to have a couple of third-down conversions that
showed up.
But it felt good to see the offense get in rhythm but we’ve
got to finish drives. The name of the game is scoring
points and putting our guys in the best position to be
successful. Obviously we’ve got to continue to work and
make sure that we’re doing that.
Q. You mentioned in your opening statement about a
different energy and preparation. And a couple of the
guys after the game mentioned the same thing. Was
there anything in particular you saw in their prep last
week that kind of changed that for you?
MIKE NORVELL: I thought they had fun competing. I
mean, to be honest with you. I can’t say that this team has
not worked. I believe they’ve worked in practice. I believe
they’ve been trained to get better. But it’s still a different
mentality.
When you feel that edge and that urgency, that was the
thing that stood out. There was good plays and bad plays
in practice last week, mistakes that were made. But there
was an urgency and enjoyment for that work. And seeing
guys going at each other and competing with each other,
but all with the positive mindset of what we get to do.
When you face disappointing results, at times you want it
so bad you go out there and you work. And you just grind
through the work, but I thought just that mentality was
really special.
It was something that I told our team before the game, it
was motivating to me to watch them come out and prepare
the way that they did just with the mindset that they had.
It’s something you want and you desire, you ask for. But
they made the choice to.
I was very confident in what it would look like, and that’s
where I felt us play like we’re accustomed to playing at
Florida State. It was hard. There’s energy and excitement.
Obviously incredible atmosphere with our crowd. It was a
fun game to be a part of.
And just with all the different elements that showed up,
those guys responded. But I thought it was the response
in the week of practice that prepared them for that.
Q. As a play caller how do you balance tempo versus
pulling out a little bit of a slower pace? First half
looked like you established things with tempo, but I
know you can’t do that constantly.
MIKE NORVELL: Obviously you have to be able to sustain
and extend drives. The explosive plays helps that. In
some aspects, we had a couple early, we were able to pop
a couple of early runs that you get into that rhythm.
It’s one of those things that I think is important for us to be
able to establish. It’s something that we’re working hard at
because I think that you see the success that we can have
when we get into that rhythm and to be able to play with
tempo.
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But it’s still a consistency of execution, making sure we’re
taking what the defense is giving us. And then when we
get our opportunities to have an explosive play, when we
get an opportunity to push the ball down the field, whether
it’s in the run game or the passing game, we’ve got to take
advantage of that.
There were probably 10 plays in that game offensively
where you could take all different — whether it was a read
at quarterback, a track by a running back, a leverage from
blocking.
They did a good job of mixing their fronts and things like
that, but just trusting what you see and the quick reactions
of what has to show up, all those things were different
elements — and I mean I see progress. It’s about the final
execution of it.
And we had a dropped ball on a potential explosive that
was big. Those are the things that have to be cleaned up
so we can jump into the rhythm and make sure we’re
pushing the tempo and playing and attacking the way we
want to.
Q. Is the plan to keep utilizing DJ at quarterback
moving forward? And if so, what are the things you
see from him that you can build on productively?
MIKE NORVELL: Definitely not changing his position.
Yes. I mean, obviously we all get to have the opportunity
to go out and get better. That’s going to be the push
throughout the course of this week.
There were some good things that DJ did in some very
critical moments and there’s things where he has to be
better.
It’s the same for guys across the board. We’re going to
continue to push, continue to evaluate what we have to do
in every area, not just at quarterback, across the board.
We’ve got to ask score points we have to be better
offensively than what we’ve been. It’s a challenge for
every person, coaches, players, all of us. And so we’re
going to continue to push to do everything in our power to
make sure that becomes the reality of how we operate.
Q. I want to ask about two decisions during the game
— first, going for it on fourth-and-seven how come you
didn’t kick the field goal or punt? Second half,
(indiscernible) about fake punt return, can you talk
about that as well?
MIKE NORVELL: The fourth-and-seven it was going to be
a 56-yard field goal. It’s kind of the max range just with
elements of what it was there for Ryan.
And then I thought our defense was playing really well.
Felt very confident in — I was under the belief we would go
and get the first down. Obviously that did not happen.
But we’ve been really good on fourth downs this year and
ultimately it didn’t work out on that situation. They did get a
field goal there before the half.
But I’ve got confidence in our team. I’ve got confidence in
the guys to try — I don’t go into it thinking, oh my God, I
hope this doesn’t happen or hope that doesn’t happen. It’s
the belief in what you do and how you train and all
elements of it. I believe even if we didn’t get it that we
would get a stop defensively.
And obviously I want to put our guys in the best position to
be successful. And I think we’ve shown a lot of confidence
in Ryan in that moment. But I felt that I liked where we
were. I thought if we get the first down, got an opportunity
to go down there and potentially score a touchdown — like I
said, that didn’t work out — but we held them to a field goal
and still winning with the lead there at halftime. And
unfortunately it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to in
that situation.
Q. You spoke on a couple of banged-up guys earlier in
your opening at running back. Obviously Roydell was
unavailable on Saturday. What’s his progress moving
forward?
MIKE NORVELL: He’ll be out probably for an extended
period. We have to continue to evaluate what that looks
like. It’s unfortunate for him, but it does open up a great
opportunity for some of the younger guys.
I thought L.T. did an outstanding job there in the game.
You saw Kam Davis, he got banged up a little bit in the
game, was able to come back.
Sam Singleton was able to get some work. Micahi Danzy
is really pushing out. And obviously Kaziah Holmes. That
running back group is a very talented group. It’s
unfortunate we’re going to be without Roydell for a little
while. And obviously Jaylin Lucas being out for the year,
those are two really good players.
But I think I’m very confident in the group we have and
what they’ll be able to do. But you’ll see more of those
younger guys as we push forward.
Like I mentioned with Rob and J.B., I do think those guys
should be in pretty good shape to be available this week.
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And there was a good push towards the end of last week.
But you’ll feel good about where that’s trending.
Q. You mentioned Jalen early at the top of this. What
did you like about his performance? And how can he
build on that moving forward?
MIKE NORVELL: It’s funny because I think he had a little
bit of nerves going into the game because the week prior,
you want to come out of the pregame tunnel or you’re
coming out of the tunnel going to the game and that’s,
you’re starting.
We had to move things around. It wasn’t really much time
to think and prep. That’s where we always tell guys — you
have to be ready for your moment; you never know when
it’s going to show up.
I think that was kind of a wake-up call. I think he would be
the first to tell you he didn’t play his best game against
Memphis. But going into this week he knew the
opportunity. He knew what he had to do.
And what I loved is even with the nerves that he probably
had before the game, once the game started, you felt him
playing fast. He trusted what he saw. There was a
mistake here or there, but his job and responsibility, he did
it to the best of his ability.
He was able to create some space. I thought he did play
fast. I thought he was confident in the things he was being
asked to do.
So like I said, I was proud of him. I think it’s a confidence
builder because now he can go see in real, tangible,
starting opportunity, he can go be a very high level player.
But now it’s bringing that mindset to everything you do,
whether you’re starting, whether you’re not starting, you’ve
got to be prepared and you’ve got to build upon that. And I
think that’s going to bring a great deal of confidence to him
for what the future holds, and obviously opportunities that
will continue to present themselves here this year.
Q. With an RPO play with DJ, there’s so much going
on obviously, but is he being instructed properly on
the keys that he needs to be looking at in reading to
make the proper decision? Or is he just not making
the right decision based on what you guys are
instructing him to do?
MIKE NORVELL: Give me that question again.
Q. On the RPO play, there’s a lot going on. But there’s
keys given on it. Like you’ve got to look at who’s
crashing down, the numbers outside if he’s going to
throw the ball. Are those things being instructed to
him clearly that he’s accepting them and processing
them well in practice —
MIKE NORVELL: It’s everything that happens on the field,
I’m responsible for the execution of what it is. So we’ve got
to do a better job in some of those areas to make sure that
when we have opportunities — whether it’s handing the ball,
whether it’s reading, whether it’s pulling and running — that
we’re taking advantage of what we’re getting and we all are
responsible for that.
Q. On the last Cal drive of the first half, how do you
talk to Edwin about the penalty? It seemed like a
pretty weird play, weird penalty. With Edwin, too, on a
more positive note, the spark he’s brought, are you
surprised? It seems like he’s brought a spark on
special teams and now on defense?
MIKE NORVELL: Over the last three weeks, I think he’s
probably grown as much as probably any individual on this
team. He’s making some real — even though it might be
small in some areas — but real tangible efforts of
improvement, growth.
He loves playing this game. He’s a fun player to watch and
definitely somebody that I think has a great future in front
of him.
The penalty, he’s trying to punch the ball. And ultimately —
he doesn’t hit a quarterback when he’s sliding. There’s a
lot of judgment calls that come out of it.
We had two personal foul penalties that I just you’ve got to
— they’re playing the game. If you’re trying to punch the
ball out — if the ball gets knocked out there, it’s a fumble.
That would have been the case in that play.
And then Maurice got an unnecessary roughness and
that’s a hard play — when you’re blocking somebody and
they’re going against you and the ball’s behind you and
there’s no whistle, to know when that play is stopped, those
are challenging things that we’re going to work on the best
ways to coach that and the best ways to eliminate —
because those are big place in games. We were able to
overcome it with a third-and-18, but it’s a hard thing to have
to overcome.
Edwin, obviously that sparked them better field position
there on that drive. It’s a difficult thing with the kid because
he’s not going into the quarterback, but, yes, we’re trying to
knock the ball out with every opportunity.
But I love what I’m seeing from them and excited about
what his future’s going to continue to grow and be.
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Q. With the way the offense is struggling at times and
since you do have such a good kicker, in hindsight do
you look back at a couple of those drives late in the
first half and think maybe looking more to kick a field
goal instead of trying to score? Does that ever enter
your mind or can you not look at it —
MIKE NORVELL: It’s all part of — I mean, the interception
was a bad play. It was a bad — it was a bad play. We
didn’t do a good job. I mean, that was one that, at the end
of the day, we come back later, running the same play in
running the game and put ourselves in a position to have
an opportunity to go for it on fourth down. Those are things
that we just gotta be better in the moment.
Yes, I mean, but with outlets and different options, you can
look at all things when it comes to play calling or what are
you doing in this situation, that situation.
But also I do have faith in the guys of what we can do. And
we proved it within that game of what we could do in a
long-yard situation to be able to put ourselves in a position
to go and score. We scored a touchdown in a later drive
because of those same type of decisions.
Those are all things that we look at, all things you trust
your gut. You’ve got to trust what you see what you
believe you’re going to get. Yes, we do have to go out
there and be able to properly execute.
We were able to do that at times, but on the flipside of it,
obviously that was a bad situation where we missed out on
opportunities for an opportunity for points.
Q. This is the first time FSU will be playing SMU, but
you having familiarity with the team from back at the
time when you coached at Memphis, what usually
would be your preparation when going against this
SMU team, and thoughts going back to your common
grounds in the Dallas area where you grew up?
MIKE NORVELL: I’ve got a lot of respect for the coaching
staff, the team. It’s a lot of new faces from when I coached
against them at previous places, but it’s a good football
team. It’s one they’ve got explosive playmakers. They’ve
got a dynamic quarterback. I think one of the best tight
ends we’ve played against.
They’ve got guys, you get them the ball in space, they can
make things happen. Defensively, they’re going to be very
aggressive in what they do. This is a team that can
present a lot of challenges.
We’re going to have to go and have to play better than
what we’ve played, and we’ve got to go on the road and it’s
going to be a great atmosphere for them.
I just want to see our team continue to go get better.
Obviously I’m from the Metroplex, and I’ve been playing
enough games going back there, previous places. It’s
nothing new. We’ve got a couple guys from the Dallas
area that I know they’re excited about getting a chance to
go play in front of their family and friends. Look forward to
seeing them play well.
Q. On the Edwin Joseph play, the referee said after the
play, personal foul after the play. But wasn’t it
happening —
MIKE NORVELL: There was nothing after the play.
Q. Correct. It was during the play. Anyway, that
wasn’t my question —
MIKE NORVELL: I got pretty far on the field. I got pretty
close on that one.
Q. When you’re through four games and you’ve only
scored 60 points as a team, clearly not anywhere close
to what you’re expecting or wanting, is there a
temptation to make drastic changes to your offense,
maybe to the personnel, to the way you’re calling
things? Where is that temptation? Are there drastic
changes that can be even made at this point?
MIKE NORVELL: It’s all things — every part of it is
evaluated. And you look at, hey, who, what can we do to
be better because we have to be better. And there’s no
question about it.
If it takes drastic changes, we’re going to figure it out
because we are going to continue to work, continue to get
better. But there’s been, through those first four games,
there’s not just one thing. That’s where ultimately it’s a
bunch of small things that show up where we have to grow
and we have to be better. And coming into the year,
there’s areas of strengths, areas of wanting to see it in
action, to how it’s going to play, what it’s going to be.
There’s a lot of work that goes into it, a lot of work that’s
out there on the practice field, a lot of work in studying and
game planning, prepping for trying to put our guys in the
best position. Sometimes you have to evaluate it all.
Sometimes it’s personnel.
If we need to do this or we need to do that or put this guy in
this position or that guy in another position, those are all
things that you’ve got to evaluate and it still comes down to
making sure that it’s what’s best.
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Four games in, we’ve not done a good enough job
offensively. That’s very clear. And so we have to get
better. So we’re going to continue to evaluate all parts of
what we do, what we’re asking them to do, who is doing
what, and it has to show up in the game to be better.
Because it’s a necessity for this football team and
ultimately that’s my job in making sure that I’m helping put
the right guys in the right place to go out there and be
successful on game day.
Q. You talked about all the players from the DFW area,
having family to come see them play. You talked
about how important that direct flight from Tallahassee
to Dallas is for recruiting. How cool is it now that the
kids in the Dallas area have an opportunity to actually
see Florida State play 30 minutes to an hour away from
home?
MIKE NORVELL: I think that’s great. When SMU came
into the league, that is one of those underlying benefits of
knowing that, with the direct flight, with the guys that we
have and have recruited here to Florida State, it’s a great
tie for us, and those guys know they also get a chance to
play in the Metroplex at least every few years, I think is a
great benefit.
Like I said, they’re excited. I think it’s wonderful for our
brand to be there and get a chance for all the Florida State
fans in the Metroplex to be able to come out and come see
the Noles.
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