At the Podium: Mike Norvell’s Comments from ACC Kickoff

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On the sports calendar, July is marked as
the beginning of “talking season.”

Various football conferences across the
country gather for their annual media scrums sessions with beat writers and media
personalities covering their respective teams.

Florida State coach Mike Norvell arrived in Charlotte,
North Carolina on Wednesday for the ACC Kickoff, with a contingent of his
players in tow: quarterback Ashton Daniels, receiver Duce Robinson and defensive
back Ja’bril Rawls.

Norvell was the second coach to step to the podium on
Day 1, after Miami coach Mario Cristobal. Norvell praised the core of
talent that returned to the team for the upcoming season.

“Coming off disappointing results from a year ago, but
excited about the core of this football team, the guys that have returned, some
of the young players that have continued to emerge, decisions from guys to
return that had other opportunities,” Norvell said.

The Seminoles have talent all over the field. On
offense, the skill players at running back and receiver are exceptional.
Ousmane Kromah and Quintrevion Wisner can hit the holes and gain big yardage. Kromah
has slimmed down and has lost close to ten pounds, which will help with his game
speed going forward. Wisner is a transfer from Texas and led the Longhorns in
rushing with 597 yards. Samuel Singleton averaged seven yards per carry last
season.  

Robinson is widely considered as one of the top
receivers in college football, and resisted the urge to jump to the NFL,
wanting instead to leave a lasting legacy at Florida State. Micahi Danzy brings
his track speed to the gridiron and creates problems for opposing defenses. Jayvan
Boggs brings his big body (6-foot-1, 211 pounds) to challenge contested catches
and create matchup problems.

On defense, Norvell secured the services of linebacker
Chris Jones via the transfer portal. Jones racked up 135 total tackles at
Southern Miss last season, and could easily be on any early Butkus Award watch
lists. Both Jones and Rawls are preseason second-team All-ACC selections,
according to Phil Steele.

“We understand the expectation,” Norvell said. “There's
no person or place that has higher expectations than we have being part of this
program, making sure we're doing things the right way, the Florida State way,
competing for championships, in all things that we do.”

Under Norvell’s watch, the Seminoles have won just
seven games the last two seasons, and just three ACC games. They did win the
2023 ACC championship after going undefeated in the regular season.

However, the College Football Playoff Committee surprisingly
left the Seminoles out of the playoff field that season. The Seminoles have posted
four losing seasons under Norvell, who has a 38-34 record entering his seventh season in Tallahassee.

“I think Ashton is a guy that can really do it all,”
Norvell said. “As we talk about
experiences, Ashton has a great deal of experience throughout his college
career. He's been put in a lot of different situations that he's had to work
through. You see somebody that's just continued to grow.”

Daniels has been named the starter for the 2026 season
by Norvell since the end of spring practice. Florida State will be Daniels third team in as many years, having
transferred from Auburn, and played at Stanford before that.

The concern in
Daniels’s passing game is ball security, or the lack thereof. During his
collegiate career, Daniels has thrown 22 interceptions to go with his 27
touchdown passes.

“We found a role and opportunity that I think he can
make a great impact in helping support this staff,” Norvell said. “Being able
to add a new perspective to things that he's done, to be able to help assist
the guys within our football team just to go and achieve at a very high level.”

Herman won 54 games over six seasons as head coach at
both Houston and Texas. In addition, he has coached some dynamic and talented
quarterbacks, like Greg Ward Jr. with the Cougars and Sam Ehlinger with the
Longhorns. That bodes well for Daniels and his continued growth as a starting
quarterback in the ACC.

At the end of a long day of questioning, Norvell gave
the coaches-speak answers that are common at these events, about improvement
and winning championships.

The lone 2023 conference championship
notwithstanding, there has been little to no improvement on the field.
Certainly, not to the expectations and traditions of Florida State football.

Will 2026 be any different? Or is Norvell a lame duck
in coach’s clothing? Inquiring minds of football fans and media types want to
know, and will find out when toe meets leather on August 29 against New Mexico
State.

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