After 'unique' issues, FSU's Norvell ponders fate of early signing period
First-year Florida State football coach Mike Norvell and his assistants don't spend much time dwelling on the challenges and obstacles before them. But when it comes to building momentum for their 2021 recruiting class, it would be impossible to ignore them completely.
Like all new staffs, the Seminoles' coaches understood they would have some ground to make up when it came to building relationships for their first full recruiting class. That comes with the territory when taking over a new program.
Unfortunately for Norvell and company, those efforts have been hampered by circumstances beyond their control.
When asked Tuesday about those challenges -- which were compounded by the NCAA shutting down in-person recruiting for a month due to the coronavirus pandemic -- Norvell stopped short of calling them problematic. He instead described the beginning of this recruiting cycle as "unique."
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The issues started with the NCAA changing most of the month of February this year from a "quiet period" to a "dead period." That meant prospects couldn't take unofficial visits to college campuses that month and could only communicate with coaches via phone calls, text messages, emails and social media.
While those rules applied to all FBS programs, they made things tougher on the newest staffs, who had yet to meet many of their 2021 prospects in person.
In an effort to combat that change, Norvell's staff held its first Junior Day in January -- before the 2020 signing class was even complete. The Seminoles then held another Junior Day in early March, and they welcomed a slew of other unofficial visitors during each of the first three spring practices.
While those opportunities were productive, they would be short-lived.
On March 15 -- just two weeks after the previously scheduled dead period was lifted -- the NCAA enacted a new dead period to last through April 15. All in-person recruiting and scouting were stopped immediately in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and Norvell said on Tuesday there's no way to know if those restrictions will really conclude on that date.
"This was the first year with a February dead period," Norvell explained. "So you take that and couple it with now an NCAA-instituted dead period 'til April 15, which we'll see if that gets extended or what happens with that date as we get closer.
"There's just a lot of moving parts to it."
Despite the adversity, Norvell said he is "pleased" with what the Seminoles have accomplished so far. They picked up commitments in February from a pair of four-star prospects -- quarterback Luke Altmyer and linebacker Branden Jennings -- and they have four commitments overall.
"I was really pleased with the guys we've been able to get to Tallahassee (for unofficial visits) -- up though spring practice and the month of March already," Norvell said. "But with that being eliminated, we're trying to do as much as we can through electronic correspondence and text messages. Having guys call us. Having guys FaceTime our staff to get as much of that face-to-face interaction as possible."
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