We were starting to wonder if it was ever going to come out.
After three spring practices and eight more this preseason, Florida State head football coach Mike Norvell had been extremely positive about his team -- at least publicly. He said they were learning, maturing and still had a lot of work to do, but he mostly liked their intensity and their effort.
Then Monday came. And we got to see what an angry Norvell looks like.
Well, in truth, we saw that last week when he was asked about the social media writings of wide receiver Warren Thompson (more on that at the bottom of this column), but this was the first time we saw that glare when Norvell talked to the media about his football team.
"Defensively, we did a really good job today," he said. "Our offense struggled to do just about anything. We've got to develop our toughness mindset. At the end of the day, we've got a long ways to go.
"Thank God we've got another week (added to the preseason schedule) before Sept. 12, because we've got a lot of work we need to do. This team needs to challenge itself. We're coming out to work, we have limited opportunities, I didn't think today was to the intensity of was needed for us to play the caliber that I think we're capable of playing. But we've got to make the choice. We've got to respond as a team together."
Don't miss our great football coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial
It's always funny when offensive-minded head coaches make post-practice comments like this. Because they're almost always centered around the offense.
Norvell started off by saying the defense did a really good job today. So when he's talking about the lack of toughness and intensity, you know what side of the ball he's talking about. It's the one he's paying a little more attention to.
We remember these types of quotes from Jimbo Fisher back in the day, too. At least once or twice a camp, he would just lay into his team about lack of focus, intensity, etc. He was short, biting, and really wouldn't say much positive about anything or anyone.
Those weren't the best days to try to get a quote for a feature story you were working on.
"Hey Jimbo, what have you seen from Kenny Shaw in his development as a wide receiver?"
"OK. Not great. Kenny needs to get better. They all do. They've got to play to a standard. Play don't care who makes it. Ball don't care who catches it. I need huntin' dogs. Tired of all these show dogs."
"Great, Jimbo. That'll be great for this story on Kenny. Thank you. That's just what I needed!"
So, no, Norvell wasn't that kind of angry on Monday, where he couldn't even say a couple of kind words about anyone or anything. But he was still plenty agitated.
And truthfully, it all goes back to what he's trying to instill right now in this program: Consistency and toughness. There haven't been a whole lot of either around here for a good long while.