With Florida State preparing to shift gears from preseason camp to in-season action, Thursday’s practice was what head coach Mike Norvell called a mental day, centered around situational football and giving the team its first taste of game-week prep.
“It was good to see the guys work through that, I like where we’re trending,” he said to local reporters on Thursday. “I like the mental focus that we’re getting, the intensity that guys are bringing.”
“There can be some monotony that shows up. We try
to keep a good balance, [utilizing] new situations, different things to have to force guys to think through, and I think this group has handled it well. They showed maturity. They showed a great deal of push throughout the practices and I like where we are.”
He said the Seminoles would hold a speed day Friday and a mock game Saturday before breaking camp and turning to preparation for New Mexico State on Sunday.
“These guys have put themselves in the right position as we’re kind of breaking camp here, and then as you jump into game week, it’s what you work the entire year for,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of excitement for it within our team and a lot of work that’s been invested, so definitely looking forward to get started.”
As the Seminoles make the shift to game week, Norvell has pointed towards the team’s execution as its biggest data point of progress.
“This team has embraced the challenges of the mental part of it,” he said. “The intent of the details, the intent of the communication, guys that are working together, the extra work that you see them doing — I think it’s really paid off.”
Norvell also confirmed that FSU expects to have linebacker Mikai Gbayor and wide receiver Jayvan Boggs available for its season opener, with both players making a quicker-than-expected return to the field as they’ve been cleared for full participation. He credited the training staff and the players for the timeline, saying the Seminoles were getting back two players they expect to be major contributors “even a couple weeks early.”
With kickoff vs. New Mexico State just a week away, FSU is locking in its starters — though Norvell says that because of the variety in which the Seminoles use their players render the meaning of a depth chart relatively useless.
“Depth charts to me are, whatever they are,” he said. “And I don’t see really ultimately great value in putting one out and all of it. We’ll see what traditionally is done come here next week, but they know where they are and they’re fighting for more.”
That applies most directly to an offensive line replacing all five starters from a year ago. Offensive line coach Herb Hand told reporters Wednesday that nothing was set in stone up front, and then Norvell said Thursday that he was comfortable with the group without naming a starting five.
“I feel good about the first five that will be running out there here a little over a week from now,” Norvell said. “I feel very confident in what they’ll be able to do. But it is, it’s definitely been a very competitive fall camp and I feel like we’ve got seven, eight guys that are all very capable of being in that discussion.”
Asked what would constitute a successful season, Norvell did not reach for a win total.
“It’s fulfilled potential,” he said. “I’ve seen teams that have overachieved, some teams that have underachieved. And for me, success is fulfilled potential. And I believe in the potential of this team.”
The full interview can be seen below.
