Florida State University
Football Media Conference
Monday, October 2, 2023
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Coach Mike Norvell
Press Conference
MIKE NORVELL: Good morning, everybody. Appreciate
you being here. Definitely missed you guys over the bye
weekend. Good to see everybody back for this week.
It was a good bye week. We talked last Wednesday, I
thought our guys really did a nice job in how they
approached the work. I thought they had two really good
practices, were physical, tough. We got a lot of good
speed against ones on ones, twos on twos, trying to get a
lot of situational work. Some of the things we look back at
the bye week of just areas that we have to improve, I know
we talked about just the conversion downs in the last two
games have really hurt us. It’s hurt our overall snap
counts. I think right now we’re the lowest per-game snaps
offensively.
There’s twofold to that. I think we’ve had on average about
11 explosive plays a game, so we’ve been explosive.
We’ve had a little bit over three 35-plus yard plays per
game offensively, so we’re seeing the explosiveness, we’re
seeing some of the positives, but ultimately we’ve got to do
a better job of 3rd down conversions, continuing to extend
drives, and then defensively obviously we’ve got to do a
better job of getting off the field in those situations.
I thought we did a good job there in the second half of last
week’s game, but we’ve allowed more extensive drives that
have kept us on the field more than what we need to be.
We got some of that work there last week, continuing to
emphasize our red zone. I think that’s been one of the
overall strengths of our team. Doing a good job when we
get down there, really on both sides of the ball. Then just
continuing to work fundamentals, technique, and pushing
to get better.
Guys came back last night. We gave them a few days off,
got good rest, got good treatment. We think we’re going to
have a chance to get a couple guys back here this week. I
know Akeem Dent did more last night. I feel very confident
where that could go as the week progresses. Obviously
we’ve got to see how that plays out.
Rob Scott I think is getting close. We’ll see ultimately what
that’s going to be this week. I feel more confident than
what I have the last few weeks what that is looking like
coming back.
I know Deuce Spann missed the last game. We had the
last few weeks of game weeks, we’ve dealt with some
sicknesses going around, just really as much around the
community, so we had a couple guys that have missed
games just due to that, but I think everybody is in a good
spot as we head into this game week.
Excited to see our guys continue to work. I thought last
night was good, like I said, and there’s a sense of urgency
for us to get back on the field and to go play our best
game. We want to put together a complete game.
This is a Virginia Tech team that’s coming off a great
performance. They were dominant against Pitt. Really did
an outstanding job of running the football. You saw
toughness, you saw physicality. You really liked the
quarterback, what he was able to do. He’s a big kid. I
think he’s close to almost 240 pounds there. He’s got the
right mindset and how to play.
They did some direct quarterback runs with him. That’s
going to be a big part of what they do, but the running
back, offensive line did a nice job there at the line of
scrimmage. You saw toughness. It was put on display,
and then they showed some of the explosiveness being
able to throw the ball down the field.
It presents a challenge for us, but defensively it’s a very
well-coached team. Obviously we know Chris Marve,
defensive coordinator, Coach Pry obviously, that’s his
background, and all that he’s done and all the success in
his career. Very sound, aggressive attack style defense in
what they do.
A lot of movement with their guys up front. They were
disruptive last week. Then obviously in special teams, this
is a program that’s known for great special teams play, and
it’s going to be a big battle for us.
As we go into this week, we’re continuing to focus on us
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and just going to be the best Florida State team that we
can be and continuing to grow as we move through the
season.
Q. Seems like in a couple games earlier this year
teams have tried to control the clock and keep your
offense from getting on the field. Are there things you
can do defensively to force the issue and expedite that
process to get the offense back on the field?
MIKE NORVELL: Obviously creating takeaways, getting
3rd down stops. Those are the biggest things that we’ve
had a point of emphasis in, and you look at the first two
games, and that was something that we did really well.
At the end of the day, when you have teams that — we
have an explosive offense. We’ve got good players, and
it’s something that I’ve seen throughout my coaching
career whenever you’re going against different opponents,
then we’ll try to control the clock, and obviously that’s
something that has shown up.
But we play a role in that, as well. Like I said, we’ve got to
get off the field when we get opportunities, and we’ve got to
sustain drives. The offensive part of it, as we went back,
and I think we could still be better on 3rd downs, but we’ve
been as good as we’ve been on 4th downs. I believe we’re
7 of 9 and really had a couple situations where we had
conversions but due to self-inflicted penalty, a bad
alignment there last week, that hurt us.
But I think we’re executing at a high level in those
situations, so we have been able to do that.
But just we could still be better. But yeah, it’s come down
to creating takeaways and then obviously being able to get
off the field in those conversion downs, as high a
percentage as we can.
Q. With the 3rd down conversions on offense, are you
guys finding that you’re in a lot of 3rd and longs?
MIKE NORVELL: Really for me, my mindset over the last
few years, I think I might have mentioned this last week, is
what are you doing on conversion downs. Ultimately if you
have a 3rd and 8 and you get six yards to a 4th and 2 and
then you convert on a 4th and 2, that is a positive set. You
did what you needed to do to put yourself in that situation.
Yes, everybody wants to get the — if it’s 3rd and 8, you
want to get the eight yards, but ultimately there’s times that
you can have that type of thought process, and we’re going
to continue to push.
We want to convert over 50 percent of the time that you get
in those cash down situations. If your 3rd and 4th down —
if the 3rd down helps you to get a 4th down conversion,
then ultimately that’s still a positive play in our thought
process.
We’ve been good. We can be better. That’s ultimately just
the mindset, the approach of what we’re trying to take is
good execute to the best of our ability. Let’s eliminate the
mistakes.
You’ve got to give credit, we played a couple good
defenses in those situations that have forced us — we’ve
had some mistakes in those situations, so those are things
that we’ve just got to be able to have better execution but
then also make sure that as a coaching staff we’re
continuing to develop plans that help put our guys in the
best situation possible.
Q. You guys obviously want to establish the run this
week. I think Virginia Tech allowed 38 yards last week
to Pittsburgh. What do you need to do to get the run
game going? What did you see that they did last week
to kind of limit Pittsburgh?
MIKE NORVELL: I mean, they did a good job of attacking
on their defensive front. Linebackers — you look at their
team, they’re big, great length, speed. They really fly
around. On the defensive front, they’re going to move,
twist games, stunts, blitz, all different things. They were
very impactful.
At the end of the day, it’s going to be a challenge for us.
We’re coming off one of the lowest rushing performances
that we’ve had since we’ve been here, and got to give
credit to a good job by our last opponent, but also there
were a lot of opportunities that we went back and were
able to see where it’s just a tiny detail, a fundamental,
making sure that we’re taking the proper steps to put
ourselves in the right position to go and be what we’re
capable of.
Every week we want to establish the run. But we’re also
going to take what the defense gives us, and that’s
something that we’ve got to be able to have a balance, but
it’s going to come down to what I want to see is I want to
see us go out there with our technique, fundamentals and
communication, go out there and execute the way that we
can.
Where we go from that, as long as it’s the best we can be
in that situation, then I’ve got confidence that we’ll get back
on track.
But at the end of the day, this is a team that they’re going
to force a lot of eight-man front. They’re going to try to get
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those hats down. They’re always going to try to have plus
one in the run game, so you’ve got to do a good job of
making sure that you execute, that you do a good job
playing with your eyes, and then obviously quarterback just
taking what they’re giving you in those situations.
Q. With the run game, are you guys seeing teams
consistently try to take away Jordan with the read
option stuff? Are they committing to that?
MIKE NORVELL: Teams account for Jordan. If you don’t,
it’s going to result in pretty good plays. I thought there was
a couple times, that run pass option there a few times in
the last game where it was really in Jordan’s hand to what
he sees, and there was probably a couple plays where he
could have got some yards there on the run and took an
opportunity with the pass and didn’t work out for us as well.
But we’re going to continue to make sure that we present
options. I think if teams are accounting for Jordan, that’s
going to create more space for us in the run game, and
obviously we’ve got to do a great job up front. Everybody
has got to handle their man, their responsibility, but Jordan
is always a threat.
There’s going to be times we’re going to be smart on how
much we are trying to run him. I don’t think it’s — it wasn’t a
secret that he was dealing with kind of playing a little bit
banged up there. I thought he showed great toughness,
and there were some runs that we did have with him.
But mostly we’ve got to be smart with him, too. He’s
definitely feeling good. The bye week hit at a good time for
him, so excited to see him back out there, and we’ll see
what this game plan and obviously how this match-up
plays out on how much they’re going to account for him.
Q. You mentioned the Virginia Tech quarterback. I
think he had over 20 carries in the Pitt game. What
does another dual-threat quarterback present
challenge wise for the defense going into this game?
MIKE NORVELL: Well, we faced one a few weeks ago
that hurt us. Ultimately he did a good job — they had some
designed quarterback runs that got out on us, so I’m sure
they’re going to look at a lot of those things.
He’s got a strong arm. He can throw it all over the field. I
think he had a big 60-yard touchdown pass that was
placed perfectly to one of his big receivers. This is a team
that can present challenges for what they’re doing.
They’re coming off their best game here this last week.
They kind of got into a rhythm. They were able to attack
the Pittsburgh front and were creating some movement,
and the quarterback, he is a tough runner. He’s not one of
those guys that’s just looking to get a few yards. If he gets
an opportunity, he’s going to try to run over you. You see
that toughness. You saw that put on display.
Definitely you’ve got to come with all you have, and when
you get there, we’ve got a lot of garnet jerseys that are
tracking with you to make sure we get these guys down
because they do run tough.
Q. You talked last week about how the defense in the
second half seemed more aggressive, made Clemson
react to you instead of the other way around. Is that
something moving forward you want this defense to
be, like not wait until halftime, not wait until a team
establishes something, come out of the gate making
the offense react to you?
MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, and that doesn’t always come
down to blitzing. That’s one of those things, you say in
how you attack. Playing with confidence in what you see
and what you react — obviously there were a few things
that we saw that were different. They did some quad sets
and just different things you’ve got to react to, kind of get
into the flow of the game with where that went.
But I want to see our guys, yes, go out and absolutely play
with confidence, attack, whether that means pressures at
times, whether that means just rushing for and still just how
we fit, how we communicate and the sense of urgency with
which we play is important.
I thought in the game against Clemson, I thought we did a
good job of stopping the run there early. They got one that
got out there later, but I thought we did a good job in that,
but we still had some things that we had to clean up there
in the back end that got us — did a good job with getting
their backs out.
We did see some things that we thought we could expose,
and I thought there were some good adjustments that were
made that allowed us to be more aggressive there in the
second half.
But we want to have that mindset regardless. That’s one of
the things that we talk to our team about. We’ve got to
come out and start fast.
I think when you look defensively, that’s got to apply
because we have not started games well here really in the
first three.
I know we had the goal line stand in the opener that was
big, but still, there was a couple plays that allowed them to
get down into that area of the field.
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But we’ve got to come out and we’ve got to start games
obviously faster on that side, and if we do that, I’ve got a lot
of confidence in what it will look like.
Q. Because of the injuries up front, you guys have had
to work some different combinations on the offensive
line. Some of these guys are new to Florida State.
They’ve been here for months, but first few games.
Has this first month given you a better idea of what
each guy can do and how to best use their strengths?
MIKE NORVELL: Absolutely. Really we played three guys
up front that are newcomers. They’ve shown really good
and then there’s been times that we’ve had some areas
that we have to get better.
Bless Harris has done a good job there on the left side in
place of Rob Scott, and really he’s been here for a good
amount of time, but he missed all of last season, so really
getting his first true extensive game reps, so that’s actually
another one that you still count in.
Now we have a four-game kind of pool of examples of what
we’ve done at a high level and things that we’ve got to
improve upon.
It’s good that we’re getting — we got Maurice back in the
last game. Hopefully got Rob back into the fold. Now you
add that talent, that experience, and really just a
combination of a better understanding of what our guys
can do and trying to put them in those best situations.
But yeah, it’s all about building from that and having guys
that are more confident in some of the combinations and
some of the — just the fundamental aspects of what we do
up front, how they have to work together, and just being
able to react maybe just half a step quicker than what we
did.
It’s all good in some games where maybe that slightest
step does not get exposed. When you’re playing really
good people, when you play teams that attack, it’s going to
show up. That’s where we go back and look at it, and
we’ve had some opportunities, we’ve just got to be better.
I think with last week and what we were able to do and
then obviously coming into this week, more time and a
better sense of our guys, I think that’s definitely going to
help.
Q. It sounds like you expect Virginia Tech’s defense to
be pretty aggressive. I wonder with you as a play
caller and a guy that’s trying to play the chess match,
maybe they’re aggressive against other teams, but you
have to figure out, okay, how are they going to defend
us because not everybody has Johnny Wilson and
Keon Coleman. How much does that go into your
game plan for a week and what we’ve seen on film
might be different because they haven’t faced an
offense like what they’re going to see on Saturday?
MIKE NORVELL: That’s always the plan A, B, C. What
are you going to see; what are they looking at to think of
what’s the best way to do — with their talent level or their
scheme, see how they want to try to defend you, and what
are the adjustments throughout.
I love that part of it. It’s always a weekly battle for me. You
look at them, but then what are the things that they have
shown schematically, and for me, I go back years, just
looking at different things to try to help best prepare our
guys.
If it’s not A, then we kind of move on to B, and then if it
ever gets beyond that — even last week, we spent a lot of
time or the last game, we spent a good amount of time
preparing for something they had shown two years ago —
different coordinator, but because of the potential of what
we thought we might see.
It showed up a little bit, but that’s always one of those — the
great debate of where you’re working through it, but also it
takes those in-game adjustments and being able to adapt
to what you are getting throughout.
Q. You mentioned Deuce returning this week. We saw
Ja’Khi on the depth chart this week. Getting that full
allotment of wide receivers, how can that help you in
terms of match-ups?
MIKE NORVELL: Ja’Khi, he practiced last night. I think
what that workload is going to look like, but we’re definitely
excited about getting him as he’s getting back. Kentron is
one that we’ve missed, too. That was a — he’s been out for
the better part of this season so far.
Having two guys that were pushing to be starters, and
Ja’Khi started a lot of games here, Kentron has made a lot
of great plays here. We’ve been down a few guys; now
others have stepped up and I think played at a good level
there.
But man, I’m excited to see those guys get out on the field,
and I think they’re going to continue to build to our depth
and to the play-making ability that we have, and definitely
excited for what they’re going to bring here as we continue
on in the year.
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