On Monday, after a long offseason, Florida State football will take the field and take one more step towards the 2026 football season.
Head coach Mike Norvell spoke with local media on Friday, giving a glimpse into a team that he says has put their “hunger” on full display as the team looks to lock in an identity over the course of 15 practices.
“It won’t be the end of the book here in April, but it is a very important chapter, and what we do to continue to build upon the foundation is going to be critical.
I like what I see from this team so far. I think it’s a team that really does embrace and embody the work. With all the different factors that you see in college football, one thing I’d say about this team is you feel their hunger. There’s definitely a purpose behind every day that they’ve showed up, and you see that within their work and just all that they’ve been able to do.“
The Seminoles, who saw 35 transfers out and 23 players transfer in over the offseason (along with 27 early enrollees), will see competition across the board, but the position that most will be focused on is quarterback, with the Seminoles starting the season with a new player under center for the third straight year. Transfer quarterback Ashton Daniels and redshirt freshman Kevin Sperry will have the first crack at earning the right to start, with JUCO addition Malachi Marshall not enrolling until the summer.
Norvell said he has high expectations for both of his current gunslingers, saying “it’s gonna be best man will play… it’s going to be a fun one to watch.”
“We have big expectations for Ashton,” he said. “You bring in a guy that has experience, at this point of his career there are high expectations for what that needs to look like.
[Kevin’s] a talented young man, he’s a tremendous worker. Since he’s got here, he’s one of those guys (even last year) that he probably spent as much time in the facility, studying, preparing, doing the things that I think are necessary. He has all the components you want, and he’s excited for the opportunity,“ with Norvell noting that Sperry took the time to personally reach out to former players to further understand the expectations that come with playing in Tallahassee: “He cares a lot about being a Florida State Seminole.”
Norvell touched on what the return of wide receiver Duce Robinson has meant, saying that “this football team has his DNA, and I say that as the highest compliment. I’ve coached for 20 years. I don’t know if I’ve been around any better.”
“His heart, the willingness to serve, what he pours into his teammates, how he challenges himself — I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be able to coach him for another year. He absolutely could have declared and he would play in the NFL next year if he elected to do that. But he wanted this year — for one, for him to be better. You feel that in how he works, what he does, the urgency that I feel from him in being the complete receiver. But he’s also not wasting days. If he’s not in the facility, he’s doing something making an impact within our community — whether a couple weeks ago at the children’s literacy weekend reading to kids, or Monday night with the Horizons Unlimited event. He’s taking part in that, helping impact our university and telling his story.
“Definitely a special young man, and his DNA is something that is felt because there’s no hesitation.“
The coach, who is entering into his seventh year with the program, also talked about re-taking the reins at playcaller after the retirement of Gus Malzahn.
“Going through the year, going through this offseason, it was a tough choice [for him to retire], but it was the right choice for him and what he felt for him and his family and all that he’s done,” Norvell said. “I’m excited to be back in the room. Tim Harris Jr. has done really an outstanding job of putting his stamp on this offense….it was a very seamless transition for us.”
“As we move forward, to be able to do this together with finding the best combinations of what’s going to fit for our team, going into my 11th year as a head coach, I think seven, eight years I’ve been the play caller in doing that, something that we’ve had success with. And with some of the enhancements within our personnel department, being able to bring John [Garrett], being able to bring Taylor [Edwards] into the program and some of the additional personnel, it really allows me the opportunity where I feel I can put everything I have into the task that’s at hand, knowing that there’s ownership in every one of those other areas with a well-equipped and very talented personnel staff that we have now. Really looking forward to how all of it comes together. I’m having fun doing what is one of the things I really love to do.”
The Seminoles won’t be holding a spring game for the second year in a row, with Norvell citing the desire to maximize each spring practice rather than host a showcase where the team is constrained in what it’s doing.
“With a lot of the spring games or showcases, you would have a practice where you wouldn’t show much, you wouldn’t do much, you’d get to certain points where you’re probably holding back on one of those days because you don’t want to show too much for your first opponent. There were some elements that were almost unnecessary.”
“I understand every fan wants to be here. It is an experience. But when you look at the process of this team growing and being all that we can be — we’re going to capitalize on getting three full scrimmages where there’s going to be what we want to do and what we want to be. You are limited with the amount of things that you can do — the number of padded practices, the number of scrimmage days. Being able to capitalize on all those with no self-imposed restrictions are things that I think will be good. I’m excited for the team that’s ahead, and we do everything in our power to make sure that when we get here this fall, this team is trained and ready to go be everything I know they can be. We’re going to utilize every one of those days this spring to make that happen.”
The full press conference can be viewed below, with a transcript available as well.
OPENING STATEMENT
All right, good morning everybody. Appreciate you being here. Excited to get ready to start spring ball here on Monday. Just wrapped up our winter program with the annual squat party. Thought it was a great morning, seeing our team all in there together, celebrating each other’s accomplishments. Some good weight was thrown around, and we’ve really maximized the previous eight weeks in the winter program with the Tour of Duty workouts, walkthroughs, meetings, installation. Our coaches have done a really nice job in their preparation. Our players have done an extraordinary job in utilizing just a remarkable facility that we have — all the things as you go through two years of sacrifice of field space, of construction, all the things that we’ve kind of had to work through to be able to be in that facility is truly special. Just the efficiency of time, the amenities that our guys have — I would say they probably increased anywhere from 30 to 50 percent the amount of time that guys are in the facility, even when not required, and that’s a compliment to them and to the extra work that they’re doing, the ways that they’re utilizing the technological resources, a lot of the player space that they have. I think that’s all been really good.
We’ve seen some great physical development in guys. Obviously we have more than 25 freshman early enrollees that are here. We’ve had a good number of transfers that have joined the program as well. Guys at all different stages, but you really feel their work and some of the positive changes to their bodies since they’ve come through. And then you see guys that have been within the program that had a little bit of understanding, confidence of what to expect through the offseason workouts, and I think that’s showed up really well. Great leadership. Guys that are really taking a lot of ownership in what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and you see it in the work that they put up to this point.
Excited to jump into the spring. We’re definitely ready to start practice. I think the guys have done all that they needed to do to get to this point and now we have 15 practices to go get better — to establish the identity of what we want this team to be through the work here in the spring. It won’t be the end of the book here in April, but it is a very important chapter, and what we do to continue to build upon the foundation is going to be critical. I like what I see from this team so far. I think it’s a team that really does embrace and embody the work. With all the different factors that you see in college football, one thing I’d say about this team is you feel their hunger. There’s definitely a purpose behind every day that they’ve showed up, and you see that within their work and just all that they’ve been able to do.
I’m really proud of them for this winter program. I’m grateful for the staff — Coach Storms and his group, Jaden and nutrition, Slick and athletic training, Jason and the managers and the time that they spend helping prepare all things for our players. Very grateful for that work, and ready to get out on the football field.
Q: Unlike the last two years when Tommy Castellanos and DJ came in and it seemed like they were penciled in as starters, is there a difference this year with Ashton Daniels coming in in that Kevin Sperry has shown something? Is this going to be a legitimate best-man-wins quarterback battle?
It’s going to be, across our football team, best man will play. I think we have big expectations for Ashton — when you bring a guy in that has experience, at this point of his career there are high expectations for what that needs to look like. Kevin’s been here for a year. Really really proud of him and his growth, his progress. But absolutely — this is going to be every day I want to see guys challenged to go be the best that they can be, and who’s going to lead in production when they step on the field, who’s going to make the ten other guys playing better because of what they do and the position that we put ourselves in. I’ve got very high expectations for Ashton and he’s got to go be all that I know he can be. Same thing with Kevin. I think it’s going to be a fun — that position specifically is going to be a fun one to watch, because they’re very talented young men that you can feel their presence within this football team already, especially Kevin being here and Ashton obviously just starting here in January. Definitely looking forward to the battle that’s ahead.
But across the board to answer the question — that’s what it’s going to be at every position. We’ve got guys that are returning that have good experience. You look at the defensive front — four of the top six guys on the defensive line return. There’s a great push and I’m really looking forward to that group. Same thing at linebacker, defensive backfield. Offensively, the receiver position is one where we’re returning some really really talented and productive guys, but that’s also been a fun group to watch this offseason. You talk about speed, explosiveness, guys that bring some playmaking ability. The running back room is going to be one that I think has great strength. I went through every position, but I am excited about this group. You’ve got to show up on a daily basis and you’ve got to continue to push and produce.
Q: We haven’t gotten to talk to you since Coach Malzahn retired. One — you taking back over as play caller, excitement level for that. And two — just the timing with Coach stepping down, does that impact or did that impact hires, personnel, anything, if it had been a different timing?
Obviously grateful for everything that Gus poured into the program. Going through the year, going through this offseason, it was a tough choice, but it was the right choice for him and what he felt for him and his family and all that he’s done. When you look at the guys that we have, I’m really excited about the group, and they fit what we want to do, and I believe that the versatility and the things that we’re capable of will fit the skills and the strengths of our players.
And I am excited. I’m excited to be back in the room. Tim Harris Jr. has done — in the last more than a month — really an outstanding job of putting his stamp on this offense and being able to, the way that he pushes, challenges, lifts up guys. He’s a tremendous leader of men. He’s been in this position before, and it was a very seamless transition for us. As we move forward, to be able to do this together with finding the best combinations of what’s going to fit for our team — going into my 11th year as a head coach, I think seven, eight years I’ve been the play caller in doing that, something that we’ve had success with. And with some of the enhancements within our personnel department, being able to bring John Garrett, being able to bring Taylor Edwards into the program and some of the additional personnel, it really allows me the opportunity where I feel I can put everything I have into the task that’s at hand, knowing that there’s ownership in every one of those other areas with a well-equipped and very talented personnel staff that we have now. Really looking forward to how all of it comes together. I’m having fun doing what is one of the things I really love to do.
Q: With some new coaches as you mentioned, but then also Ernie and Austin getting elevated, and 50-plus new players — can you talk about the newness or the energy, what you’ve seen from this whole team in terms of not just the players but the staff?
We’ve really been able to bring in a wonderful group of leaders and men — the different people, and not just the on-field coaches doing that. Some of the support staff — I think we’ve got a really really good group, and you do feel their energy and the excitement and the opportunity that’s here at Florida State to be able to leave their mark within this team, to be able to support the staff that has been here. Some guys are in different roles, new responsibilities, so you definitely feel the energy that they’re pouring in. It’s a talented staff and it’s one that’s led from their heart, and you see that in the relationships that are building with our players.
I love the dynamic of what this team is. They’re a group that — it’s one thing to have relationships where guys can go out and they can go eat together and have fun and enjoy being college students together, but it’s another thing when you see them embracing that time together through the work. To see them around the facility together — I’ll walk in at 6 o’clock in the morning and you’ve got guys in the meeting room, just players sitting there watching film and going through, and that gets me excited. They’re building relationships, they’re here bright and early, they’re making the sacrifices not just to spend time together but to spend time working together. Some guys at the same position that are going to be challenging themselves for who is going to be the one, who’s going to be the guy in that room — they’re pushing and challenging each other to lift each other up, because you’ve got to have more than one. You’ve got to be able to have guys that are investing that time. I think that is something that’s inspired by the staff but it’s also something that the personalities of people within the program are taking a lot of ownership in, and they embrace that. It’s been fun to see all the different dynamics when it comes to that.
Q: You mentioned the enhancements in the personnel department a couple minutes ago. Can you elaborate on that? What have been the early impacts that they’ve had for you?
I think you see — with the staff — there are so many different layers when it comes to recruiting now. You’ve got the evaluation process. College football is different, much more different now than it’s ever been. It used to be, hey, let me evaluate the players, and hey, these guys we feel are good enough to help us win, and let’s go recruit them. Now it’s not just the evaluation of saying, hey, is this guy good enough to help us win at Florida State? It’s, well, how much are you willing to invest in that player? So you’re putting a value beyond just the desire of coaching, and in today’s age there are a lot of different scopes of what people are operating with and how they’re doing it.
You have to — the number of players that you work through, the number of guys that need to be evaluated, the different relationships — it’s not always just, hey, I’m building a relationship with the kid and the family. Well, now, who’s the agent that’s representing them? And then that part of it. There are a lot of dynamics that surround the recruiting process and the evaluation process. I think we’ve got a great group that has come together. Part of it — specifically John and Taylor — they came in about a week before the transfer portal, and as we’re moving forward, it’s one thing to see who we can bring into the program, but it’s not just talent acquisition. It’s about making sure you’re putting together the best team and that when you are looking to invest into different positions, it all works together. Knowing what is on your roster, the areas where you want to continue to enhance — whether that’s position depth, experience, whatever those things are. Being able to expand the personnel department was something that was important, something that we’ve talked about for years to be honest with you. To be able to get that done, and then with the great leaders that we’ve been able to bring into the program to help take ownership and support the people that have been here — I think that’s really allowed me a lot of flexibility to get back to doing what I’m doing now.
Q: Can you talk to us a little bit about Kevin Sperry and what you guys have seen in him since he got here?
He’s a talented young man. He’s a tremendous worker. Since he’s got here — even last year — he probably spent as much time in the facility studying, preparing, doing the things that I think are necessary, even not being the starter, but he was preparing himself. I think he has all the components that you want. He’s excited for the opportunity. Even throughout the offseason, he cares a lot about being a Florida State Seminole, and he reached out to multiple former players just to talk about their experiences, some of the things as he’s going through — being able to put on that helmet, some of the things that, especially playing that position, what are those critical components within the culture from the past players and those different dynamics. That’s something he did on his own.
We always have an open door for past players to come back, and as they come in I love seeing that. But when you have players that are initiating that, I think it speaks to the man. Kevin has a great heart. He’s got a lot of work in front of him, and he’s going to experience all things of being a college player — the ups and downs. That’s all part of it. But he’s built the right way, and to see him and Ashton and really seeing those two guys, how they are working together and being able to push and challenge each other — because that position is a wild one — I think both of them have done a really nice job and have their minds about the right things.
Q: Last season the running back position saw a great deal of rotation. As you guys built that room out for this season, was the intention to have it a little bit more top-heavy and focused on one, maybe two guys at most?
When you look at last year, that was one of the things — there was a lot of competition in the room. It was not necessarily by desire the way it played out, but it played the way it played. One of the things I challenge guys coming back is that we need you to go be what you desire to be and what this football team needs. Coach Kam Martin has done an outstanding job here in the first couple months of being here — really challenging that group. That’s one of the positions where there are a lot of early mornings, a lot of late nights where those guys are up here. They’re studying protections, and that’s not something — they’re utilizing technology, they’re coming in doing it on their own.
Watching that group under the squat bar was really really impressive. I think we had four running backs over 550 on the squat, a couple of them pushing 600. It’s an impressive group. But within this offense, and specifically really more to what I’ve done throughout the years — there are going to be plenty of times where you might see two backs on the field at the same time, and if guys put themselves in a position where this is a personnel grouping that shows a competitive advantage or utilizing what they do — yeah, I think we have guys that have the full potential to be lead workhorses within the offense, but it’s also going to be highly competitive. There aren’t many offenses out there across college football where you’re just going to see just one. I don’t think that’s real, just from the physical element of the game. You have to have multiple guys that can make an impact. For us, especially just coming in — you’ve got three guys who have done it at just different degrees, on the field, and then also some talented younger guys that are continuing to push to make their mark. I am excited about what I believe the ceiling and the top of what that room can be.
Q: You obviously brought in a lot of new faces both on the staff and on the roster, but a guy that you bring back in Duce Robinson — how valuable is he to this team, not just on the field, but as a locker room presence?
This football team has his DNA, and I say that as a great compliment because I don’t know — I’ve coached for 20 years. I don’t know if I’ve been around any better. I’ve been fortunate — I’ve coached Campbell Award winners, I’ve coached All-Americans, we’ve had the Biletnikoff Award winner here in our time. We’ve been around some great players as well as just great men. Duce is somebody that his heart, the willingness to serve, what he pours into his teammates, how he challenges himself — I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be able to coach him for another year. He absolutely could have declared and he would play in the NFL next year if he elected to do that. But he wanted this year — for one, for him to be better. You feel that in how he works, what he does, the urgency that I feel from him in being the complete receiver. But he’s also not wasting days. If he’s not in the facility, he’s doing something making an impact within our community — whether a couple weeks ago at the children’s literacy weekend reading to kids, or Monday night with the Horizons Unlimited event. He’s taking part in that, helping impact our university and telling his story.
Definitely a special young man, and his DNA is something that is felt because there’s no hesitation. I think it was one of the first days of our winter program — I was down in the weight room, the newcomers were getting their introductory process, this is how we start, this is what we do. They were in the IPF, which now connects to the weight room, and Duce is in there getting work. He heard a response to a question — he didn’t like the intensity of it, let me say it that way. He looked at me and said, “Coach, that’s not good enough.” I just looked back at him. And at that moment he stopped and he went out there and he made the point. He took hold of the moment to say, you know what, this is what we desire and expect. That was the very first week of the winter program. I’ve seen him throughout that — not holding back. If there’s an opportunity to call somebody up, he’s calling them up. If there’s an opportunity to put himself out there, he’s doing that. What does that mean for him this year? I don’t know. But I’m really confident the best Duce Robinson is going to show up, and I’m very confident in what the results will be because of that. He’s had an incredible first eight weeks and we need him to have a great spring ball and summer, and he’ll be one of the best players in college football. I just need the best of him to show up.
Q: In the past you’ve had spring practices in the afternoon. This year you switched to morning. What went into that, and how does it affect recruiting, kids being able to come?
That was probably the biggest thing in making the decision to flip. I went back and looked over the last three years of just the number of guys that we had coming midweek to come see practice, and how many of those guys were on spring break, what did that look like in comparison to the sacrifice of making a change. But it’s a better work schedule for our players and how we can utilize the day — in all honesty, that’s why we’re doing this. I think it’s best for our players, coaches, staff, everybody in operation. The one hesitation I’ve had over the years is just the availability of guys being able to get here. But for out-of-town players, the majority of them were coming during their spring break anyway. And even our anticipated plans for these next five weeks — I’m not seeing any drop-off for what it’s going to be in having guys in midweek practices, because a lot of them are going to come during their off time for the midweeks, and then obviously we’ll have some weekend opportunities. I do think it’s going to be best for our current players and we’ve already seen some of the rewards from that and how we’ve been able to structure our days for what the spring is going to be.
Q: Earlier you were talking about the dynamics of roster building and how that keeps shifting. With retention, there were some examples of prolonged retention and renegotiations. How did that impact your ability to move swiftly financially if there were negotiations involved? And do you worry about culture, how that impacts the team?
What is perceived on the outside is not always the reality of the inside. You talk about some of the early parts of the process, and then there are situations where there’s a process that — whether it’s kids, schools, everybody — works through to find the best situation that they’re moving forward in. I do think that’s a new age in college athletics. We tried to be as advanced as we possibly could be looking at some of those dynamics, but it’s a new age, so there’s still — I felt comfortable with where we were able to land in a lot of those situations. But when you’re looking at the timeline of what resources you have and where those are going to be dispersed, some of those things you just say, well, this is our priority and we have to focus here. It’s a willingness to say yes and also a willingness to say no, and that happened in a couple of situations. At the end of the day I think we were able to address the areas of need, address the areas where we needed added competition, and I feel good with the resources that we have and where we’ve been able to land.
Q: You talked about Gus and you taking over the play calling. He didn’t retire or step down during the normal coaching cycle — it was well past the hire cycle. If he had told you after the Florida game he wasn’t going to do this anymore, would you have wanted to take over then too?
When it comes to coaches, there’s not a year or a position that I don’t have a plan, because at the end of the day — I knew Tony Tokars would be an offensive coordinator at some point. However many years ago Austin Tucker started working with the quarterbacks, I’ve been around Austin, I know the teacher, the talent, the skill, the way that he looks at the game. But there’s always a thought, and sometimes that situation is the right fit, sometimes it’s not. I go into every year — if this was to happen, if that was to happen, what would the plan be moving forward?
I’m grateful for Gus and what he did over the course of last year. I think it was something that was necessary for us at the time, and there were very few people that I would have done that with. I felt with where we were staff-wise, with some of the things where I needed to focus my time, in this new age I thought it was a necessity. I could have somebody come in and do what he did, and there were some really good things that we were able to accomplish. I think there are also areas as we move forward where we get to continue to build upon some of the things we did a year ago and some of the guys that we have within this team.
What makes it — Gus and I are different, but the foundation of it is the same. And there was never a conversation with Tim Harris Jr. coming in of saying, hey, this might be — Tim made that the reality. I saw the job that he did every single day with the wide receivers. I saw the way that he works. I saw the way that he impacts his players. I get to hear how he sees things and the different ways to attack, and that made that a very easy decision for me. I didn’t need to go anywhere beyond that process, whether it would have been early or late. But I’m always going to have multiple thoughts because I don’t want to ever be blind to a situation and say, well, this is just what I think you should do if potentially it’s not best. With every decision that I’ve made, it’s because I believe it is best and it’s best for where we are, who we have, how things all work together. I’m excited about this staff. I’m excited about this team.
Q: Seeing the level of success from your freshman group last year, especially the twins, and seeing what the incoming freshmen participating in spring are going to experience — what would you tell those freshmen so they can get into competition and work their way up into that rotation?
I think you look at last year — we had 19 freshmen that played four or more games, and some guys started, with a freshman All-American. [Jayvan] Boggs, even though he dealt with some injuries, played a lot. You saw guys that were able to come in and make an impact early. The thing I challenge them with is — it’s not just the physical. Probably the physical is the least of the things that put guys in position to be able to play. It is the mental — the mental makeup, the mental maturity, the understanding of what you’re being asked to do and then applying the techniques of how to do it. That’s where so many freshmen find it challenging to play early.
When you look at early enrollees, when guys are able to come in and have a spring practice, it does help with that transition. But Ouzmane [Kromah] came in in June last year, put himself in a position to have a chance to play, and he was productive. Was he a finished product? Absolutely not. There were some good and some bad, but he’s opened the door to go from a freshman who was able to play to really having an exceptional future. It’s the same for all these guys coming in. We’ve got some really talented guys in this freshman group, and it doesn’t take long — you watch them in a workout, you hear them talk in a meeting, you see them transition that to a walkthrough — and you’re like, all right, this kid has a real shot. We had multiple guys come in the summer that were able to do that. With a fairly expansive early-enrollee class, I’ve got some big expectations for guys to come in and be able to make an impact.
Q: According to the spring schedule, it doesn’t look like there’s a spring game. Why the decision not to have one?
When you look at spring games, that’s probably a more common theme — not having a spring game — than it was ever before. There are a lot of different dynamics with that. We get 15 practices and I want to be able to maximize every one of those practices, building to what’s going to show up game one here this fall. With a lot of the spring games or showcases, you would have a practice where you wouldn’t show much, you wouldn’t do much, you’d get to certain points where you’re probably holding back on one of those days because you don’t want to show too much for your first opponent. There were some elements that were almost unnecessary.
I understand every fan wants to be here. It is an experience. But when you look at the process of this team growing and being all that we can be — we’re going to capitalize on getting three full scrimmages where there’s going to be what we want to do and what we want to be. You are limited with the amount of things that you can do — the number of padded practices, the number of scrimmage days. Being able to capitalize on all those with no self-imposed restrictions are things that I think will be good. I’m excited for the team that’s ahead, and we do everything in our power to make sure that when we get here this fall, this team is trained and ready to go be everything I know they can be. We’re going to utilize every one of those days this spring to make that happen.
