Florida State head coach Mike Norvell took the podium on Monday after his team dropped to 1-2 after losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide 50-36. He mentioned how proud he was when his players got off to a fast start.
"All right, I appreciate you being here. You know, coming off a Saturday, as we talked in postgame, disappointed in the result," said Norvell. "Obviously, we dealt with a lot of different elements there on Saturday, a couple of delays, long travel, just the dynamic of that, driving from Birmingham and getting to Tuscaloosa. I mean, there's a lot of elements that make it challenging, but just to see the way we came out and started, I was really, really proud of our guys for just the mindset, the approach that they brought.
"To be able
to go and jump out 21-6, four possessions defensively that you're holding a really, really good offense to 6 points. One of those coming after us on a short field, you really like the way that they played, the speed, physicality. I thought it was a great start to the game offensively, throughout, I was just very proud of our guys that we were able to push the ball down the field."
Norvell also talked about being in position to win the last few games and how his players are responding.
"I thought we put ourselves in position, but, did not get the job done," Norvell said. "But I am proud of the fight of our players, I'm, even as I said to you guys after the game, I mean, they're in the locker room, we all, we all feel the disappointment, But, also feel the urgency to get better. And, as we sit there and we go through this, this process, we lost to two good football teams early in the season. With ample opportunities to go and win it. We didn't make enough plays in either of those games to finish the job. And that's what we have to do.
"That's what we got, continue to work to make sure that our consistency is where it needs to be. And we need to see the improvement, which I've seen, we've seen some flashes. We've seen capability, against quality people. But, we've got to go and be better. And, I'm excited for the opportunity of being able to get back home. I was excited to watch the guys and the way they approached it, last night's practice after a disappointing and long travel day experience."
Here's everything Norvell said on Monday.
How much of the defensive issues are on the players? Coaches?
None of it is solely on players. It never will be. There are times that we've got to win one-on-ones and sometimes that is feeding blocks. Sometimes that's making tackles, coverage, leverage, all those things. But it always comes down to the things that coaches and what we can do to make sure we're putting our players in the best position. There were a couple of plays in the game. You look at 3rd-down situations, I say cash down, the 3rd and 4th conversion downs, we weren't good enough. They were 50% conversion, I know were 4-12, but they had the two 4th-down conversions. They had two 3rd and 17s in the game that they gained 14 yards and they went forward on 4th and 3, 1st. 4th and 3.
I mean, I think that might have been one of those plays of the game. It's 21-6, their end of the field, great call, get a one on one opportunity and guy makes a play. We didn't win the one on one. With that situation, they get the first down, they go down. Put points on the board. We were rolling, we get the ball there. That's what's the dynamic of the game looks like in those situations. That's something that it's very similar one on one situation. We made the play earlier there in the first quarter in a very similar situation. You look at things of, man, how can we continue to teach?
How can we continue to help guys with the consistency of that, but also, when you sit there and you look at it, it's one thing to say, well, communication, alignments, well, I mean, this is game three. I take that as all right, well, ultimately, if we're continuing to have these issues that have showed up, then we need to make sure that we reevaluate what we're asking guys to do, how much we're asking them to do, and then I want to see speed, physicality, and Florida State defense play. It was not good enough. It's a challenge to all of us. I mean, it's a challenge to players to apply. There's certain times that we have coached a player and I hear the communication that's being made, and it's still about the application.
In the moment. For whatever those things and some of those hesitations at times, some of the details, just with fundamentals, all those things, they all go hand in hand. We're coaching it, but what's showing up on film and what's showing up consistently throughout the game. And then as we continue to evaluate, you look a year ago defensively. You saw progression in a defense that, up until the last game of the season, he was doing a lot of good things as of growth. Last game of the season, a year ago was definitely a huge disappointment. Carried over, playing a couple of good offenses, our 3rd-down situations have not been good enough this year. We have to get that corrected. But then the last couple of games against good offense is just too many explosive plays. Like I said, not good enough of getting off the field.
Ultimately, it has to be better. The first four drives, man, that looked like what we want it to look like, and it shows the capability of what we can do. That's being coached too, the positive and the negative. We all take ownership in, but to the level of what, how that game finished, I know we're up to the standard of what we have. Like I said, I mean, there's some times that you're sitting in there and you got some either younger players or less experienced guys that are working to define themselves within this defense and on this team. As you get into the depth, you got to rise up and you got to play, you gotta play at a high level. That's kind of what what it's been.
On the combination of Paul Bowling and Nate Pabst at right gaurd and right tackle
I thought they did some good things. There was obviously some bad plays that showed up. But that was a talented defensive front. That was a talented defense in general. You look at what they had done in the first couple of games and obviously, as you just turn on film and you see the talent and ability those guys had, I thought our guys battled. I thought there was good communication. They were able to give Ashton (Daniels) time for the most part, as well as create some run seams.
We didn't run, we missed, we had one explosive run in the game, really close to hitting another huge, huge play, but that's, it was close. And we, I thought we were efficient in run game. We want to be better, but we thought we're efficient in our run game, that really opened up some opportunities there down the field. I thought those guys battled. We had two false start penalties that you can't have, those were kind of critical situations. But as a whole, I thought the O-line and tight ends, running backs, I mean, just the whole combination of what they were able to put together was good work.
On Keelon Russell's long run
We had to sign. There was somebody that was tracking that and he outran. We didn't take a good enough angle and outran the angle. Most of the game we're trying to compress them within the pocket.
On if it was his athleticism that made the run
We gave too much space and gave him a bigger area to step up, but as he broke, our angle was not what it needed to be. Obviously, he's fast, he's a good player, but we want to be better keeping him contained in the pocket.
On the defensive scheme giving up nearly 600 yards in back-to-back weeks
As I said earlier, it's really the same answer. It's a little bit of everything. If you're calling them a cover 3, look, and you don't have a person that's sitting in the position they're supposed to be in for whatever his identification, and you're lacking a body there, that's not sound. That's not good. That's not good defense, won't ever look like good defense. If you're blitzing off an edge and you're pinching from the other edge and you have nothing on the perimeter, that's not good, that's not sound.
What's being coached and what's being expected and what's showing up, all of that, it needs to show up in the game. And there's times that it did, and it was, looked pretty good. The times that it doesn't, that's on us to make sure that the consistency of that shows up because there's some things that showed up on film that don't look sound. If you're not aligned and you got somebody that's either running free or you have absolutely no edge to a defense. That's really bad football. Everybody has a job, everybody has an assignment. You have 11 guys out there that have to work together, they have to put themselves in position.
It's your job as coaches to make sure we're putting guys in position that they understand and can go out there and execute in those moments. When you play good teams, that's going to show up. What pisses me off is that you got the week prior, we sat here and talked about, you got 200 yards, you're playing a cover two and you got somebody that's running down playing, basically, that's a missed signal, right? Nothing, I mean, the kid didn't want to miss the signal. It's one of those things, but that's a 50-yard touchdown play a week prior. Those things all count. At the end of the day, that doesn't look sound and we better get it fixed. If that doesn't get fixed, then obviously, it's putting ourselves in an awful position to be able to achieve the success that we're capable of.
That's where you look at the first four drives of the other night, you felt, or the Saturday afternoon, you felt we had edges, we had speed, we had a physicality. Then all of a sudden as the game goes, it wasn't like they did this monumental change of, they ran some pin and pull, they got some, which our techniques and some of the things of efficiency of our movements, I mean, against good teams, if you're not, I mean, you're gonna get covered up, in some of those situations. We got to be better and more detailed in our footwork, our leverages, making sure that those things are what they need to be. I know what we're teaching is sound. I know what we're asking you guys to do, but it doesn't, it has not always looked that way when you turn on the film. That's a collection of all of us that need to be better.
On if consecutive delays to start games have affected the team
I thought our support staff did an outstanding job. Jaden Hamil and nutrition, that was a unique dynamic, really both games. Nobody ever wants to go through that. There's so much buildup for games, trying to make sure you have the right mindset, right edge just in how it's about to kick off. Then when it's pushed back, whether it's 1 hour, 1.5, 2 hours, whatever that might be, you'd still be able to carry that over. One of the interesting dynamics of Saturday was the transition to there. You got one hour plus drive, your pregames a little bit earlier than what it normally is, but I thought Jaden and her staff did a great job. “That guy, kind of a heavier, heavier snack”, just to be able to make sure they were fueled throughout.
Then the second delay was just, it was unfortunate. I mean, it's, unfortunate time, especially how they just scored, but we were on a pretty good roll and unfortunately, did not come out of that, good enough. I thought our guys, the next couple of drives offensively. It really, really wasn't what we needed or wanted at that point. I was proud of those guys and how they were able to take the first drive of the second half, get down, score a touchdown, go up two, where we want to be. But, we had some good response, reps, but just, it wasn't, wasn't enough.
On if creating turnovers comes down to scheme or making plays
I mean, it's been emphasized, first couple of games this season, you were able to create some. Unfortunately we did not create any takeaways there on Saturday. It's part of making sure you're capitalizing when the ball's in the air. If you're getting shots on the ball, being able to be in position to impact it, and then obviously, just in the week prior, we were able to create a handful of them. Unfortunately, that was a big part of the game, not being able to create any of this last week.
On what made the passing game flourish against Alabama
I think it was a combination of, as this season, I said it in postgame, just as the season continues to unfold, the identity of these guys as they're playing together, the understanding of what we're asking them to do. We tweaked a few things, but a lot of similar play calls, but some different presentations, some ways that guys are just maybe a little bit more confident. It came together as receivers did a great job of getting separation, even in times when they didn't have great separation going up and Ashton gave them a chance with some one on one balls.
They made the plays. At times where the concept created some space. Ashton seeing it and being able to locate the ball in some great places. When you have time up front and being able to get your eyes and work through it a little bit, he took advantage of that. We come out of the game and there's still, I'd say probably 3 plays. You look at the interceptions. The first pick, it was gonna be probably a touchdown. The nickel, the guy picked the ball, busted the coverage. It worked out well for them, but the linebacker backfit tipped the ball and it's just unfortunate.
We had, Ashton read it so good. It's what we thought might happen, but crap happens sometimes, right? The 2-minute 3rd down, saw (Jayvan) Boggs breaking, try to put it, I'd like to put a little bit more over the top, but guys made a great play, tipped the ball to his teammate, ended up being like a 38 yard punt in that situation. Obviously, the last one was a miss. Two-minute drive, he's trying to step up, drops arm angle, but it's not decision-based, “oh, man, this guy's not playing.” He saw it. Those three plays, we got to be better.
We don't want to turn the ball over. I thought he played at a very high level. There's three plays just in reads, progressions, things that were coming back and saying, “all right, these are opportunities we get to build upon as we continue to move forward”, but there's not a whole lot of quarterbacks in the history of college football that have gone into that stadium and played the way he played. I was really proud of him for that.
I was proud of receivers, proud of the O-line, backs, everybody that contributed to being able to have that aggressiveness, because we were aggressive in it and we're going to continue to be. There might be some games that you throw a few times, right, because of what things look like. Then there's gonna be times that you got to be able to push the ball down the field. I thought they did a good job in their preparation and executing when we get those opportunities for those throws and plays.
On staying focused in a close game with an elite team
Understand all I can do is help them understand the moment, right? It's what I said after the game. I watched this football team, right? The one that I've got a chance to be around since January, watching them grow, watching them build, seeing the ability that I know they have. Have we been good enough? No, we've lost two games and we've played, we've showed. I keep using that word capability. We've shown some really good flashes through some challenging circumstances. First interception Ashton (Daniels) had, he gets booed at home. Because of twoyears prior. I understand that.
That's like I told the guys, that's on me. They go ahead, it's whatever, you go play the game, you allow yourself to stay focused on what your job is, your assignment, one play at a time. You don't control anything from the past. It's going to be a part of life. It's a part of being in a wonderful place with great expectations. You don't come here unless you're willing to embrace that. These guys all said yes, right? We said yes to them, right? As you go through, you try to put together the best roster, the best collection of talent, seeing guys grow and develop, and we've seen that.
Micahi Danzy, I've watched him develop. Sam Singleton, watched him develop, Ja’Bril (Rawls), OG (Omar Graham Jr.), Daniel Lyons, some guys that, just seeing guys that have developed through this program that they’ve been a part of. They're in different roles now than what they've been. This is still their, this is their one opportunity for 2026 to show what this football team will be. You lose two games, and yes, it is, I'm sure everybody has plenty of opinions of what should be or what it might be or what needs to happen. Wonderful. I take those three games, I watch them for this team.
They've played well at times. They've shown that this is a team that is definitelyable to play at what I think is an elite level. But we gotta go get it done consistently and we've got to grow. We get this week, we get this opportunity to, it's like I said, for anything that you've done well, on the field up to this point, and ithas to be better this week, right? That's our focus. That's our drive, for whatever, any narrative might be, you don't control that. You control what you put on film, you control the effort, the discipline, the techniques, the fundamentals, and if it hasn't been good enough, get better.
As we saw some positive steps this last week, you better keep improving. That's our focus. I've talked to him going into the season, talked to him after each game. That's part of thisworld, there's a team that won the national championship last year, 3 years back, probably wasn't a program that people were expecting. You could see some big flips, some big changes, there's some programs that have been, and we're one of them, that compete in championship caliber. There's dynamics and things change and you know what, there's some, you can see some big flips in both directions. We've lived it, we've lived it all, we're excited to watch this team continue to progress and be able to write its story for what it's gonna be.
On which younger players are being evaluated for more snaps
Franklin Whitley is a guy that, even though he's on special teams, you've got some work there the other day. Pinckney is a guy that’s still looking for continued progression. He's doing a good job, just where he is, just continued physical development and growth is going to be something that we're really excited to see. Karon is playing more on special teams. It's unfortunate we had a couple of those young linebackers, Dalen (Green) and Izayia (Williams), when they went down.
I mean, those were two guys that were pushing, Chuck's (Kennon) been dealing with an injury. They're in the back end. So it's, we've been balancing, it's kind of been a balancing act with some of the young guys. Max Redmon got in, (Antonio) Cromartie got in, and they've been kind of thrown into the fire when it comes to that. K.J. Kirkland was available this last week. We're expecting him to be back full. Donny (Hiebert) was out last week, expecting him to be back.
I mean, so you get guys that have a little bit more of the experience. The experience depth has really been a challenge for us. Hopefully, get a couple of those guys back, dealing with some elements on the defensive front, but that's part of the game. As you sit there and you look for the experience, depth, that's always great. Sometimes you're able to have it, sometimes you're not. It does put more on some of those younger guys, but I really like their mindset. I like their approach. I think they're going to be really good players as they continue to develop, but we got to see them continue to put themselves in a position to go out there.
You got guys that offensively, I know we talked about Jasen (Lopez), Amari (Thomas) is a guy I mentioned. Xavier Tiller's getting some work in special teams, a guy that I'm excited about what his future is gonna be. Hopefully we'll get Devin (Carter) back at some point here soon, and he's shown some great flashes. I think we've got a really good young nucleus of guys, but you also have some guys that can contribute and just keep pushing the accelerator for them.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Everything Mike Norvell said after loss to Alabama
