2023 4-star WR Bryson Rodgers breaks down why FSU is on his short list

While Florida State still has work left to do during the 2022 recruiting cycle, the Seminoles are already gaining ground with 2023’s crop as well.

In-state '23 wide receiver Bryson Rodgers recently listed FSU in his new top seven, and the four-star prospect had plenty of positive things to say about the coaching staff and his trips to Tallahassee last season.

The Wesley Chapel standout made his way to FSU for the late-season 31-28 victory over Miami, and it quickly improved his opinions of the ’Noles.

“At first, I never really thought they would make it into the list of seven I made. But that Miami game changed my whole outlook on Florida State, really,” Rodgers said. “I would say it was a big impact on the scale of 9 out of 10. Seeing that type of environment and them turning their whole season around.”

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A 6-foot-2 wideout, Rodgers was able to spend some time with FSU head coach Mike Norvell and wide receivers coach Ron Dugans on the trip in November.

“Coach Dugans is a really good dude," Rodgers said. "Just the passion he was speaking with while he was talking really changed my mind on Florida State as a whole. I could see it in the whole coaching staff also, with Coach Norvell and the other coaches. Him liking me personally as a person. He likes my character, my determination, how passionate I am about the game of football.”

At one point during the 2021 season, the Seminoles were 0-4 and not really high on Rodgers' radar. But the way they bounced back from adversity, winning five of their next seven games, the talented receiver took notice.

“At first, they started pretty bad, but their players looked determined while they played that last stretch of the season. They really finished off strong,” Rodgers said. “That takes a lot. Just knowing the type of characters that can be on a football team when you start 0-4 and had big hopes for the season.”

“Knowing that they stuck with the program, trusted in their coaches as men, that just shows a lot. It shows a lot what they are doing there, definitely.”

As a Florida native, Rodgers is plenty familiar with FSU's proud history.

“I started seeing FSU football highly around the Dalvin Cook and Jameis Winston era,” he said. “The legacy of that program is a prestigious program itself with a lot of great football players, great human beings coming through that program. Seeing that determines you as an athlete -- that you could be in their shoes one day.”

Florida State’s rivalry win over Miami wasn’t the first time Rodgers visited last year. He also attended one of FSU’s summer camps, and he said Norvell told him, “We need players like you to come in and put FSU back to where it was."

“When he said that to me sitting in his office, that really hit home,” Rodgers said. “Just knowing that he has that much interest in me as a young man, as an athlete, it's very huge. Definitely, definitely love the relationship I have with Coach Norvell.”

Rodgers also explained how his conversations with Norvell made him want to strive to improve his game.

“Any time a head coach tells you personally how the program and coaching staff feels about you as a whole, it’s a blessing and a great moment,” he said. “But also, a better opportunity for you to keep pushing and keep working to be even better to keep growing every day. It floods me with determination when I hear that."

The same type of determination Rodgers sees from the Seminoles and their head coach.

“Coach Norvell, you can tell he means it. He’s not just saying it just to say it,” Rodgers said. “He really means it. He’s really passionate for his players. You can ask some of the players that play right now. He’s passionate and he wants to really turn that program into something special like it was.”

The other six schools in Rodgers' top seven are Alabama, Georgia, Iowa State, Michigan, Penn State and Rutgers.

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