Spring football officially came to a close for the Florida State football team with a final practice on Tuesday -- three days after the annual Garnet and Gold spring game.

While FSU head coach Mike Norvell described the 2022 spring as one in which the Seminoles made great strides as a team, he pointed out that the work is hardly done as preparations for this fall will only heat up further in the summer months.

And that was his message to the Seminoles' players after Tuesday's practice: That the next 3 1/2 months will play a huge role in determining what they are able to accomplish in preseason camp and then during the fall.

“Like I just told them here at the end of practice. We are where I think we need to be finishing spring,” Norvell said. “But we have a lot of work ahead. We have to finish academically. We talk all the time -- how you do anything is how you do everything.”

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Even though Norvell is entering his third season at FSU, this is just the second time the team will have a normal summer regimen of workouts and player-run practices. His first offseason, of course, was interrupted by the COVID-19 shutdown.

“We’ll have a little bit of time when guys will be off, some discretionary time, and then we’ll jump into the summer. It’s going to be a critical summer for this team,” Norvell said. “But with most of them being here, they have a sense of the expectation and the standard. …

“This being our second full summer of us getting to work and operate with them, they know what’s coming. So, there’s an excitement about it, but they know they've got to get their minds right.”

This summer will be especially important for the 10 transfers who arrived in January and the team's 12 scholarship early enrollees.

Because they were able to participate in spring practice, the coaches can now work with them in meetings and film sessions to go back over how they performed and discuss ways to improve.

“As we get in and have the ability during the summer program to have meetings, we can reference back to a lot of these things that we’ve done,” Norvell said. “And then, try and clean up the finer details.

"So for all those guys coming in, it's not their first time hearing it."

Norvell and his assistant coaches praised their players' improved communication and camaraderie all spring, and that becomes even more important during the summer months, when the coaches aren't always allowed to be present.

“Just continue to grow closer. The closeness and belief with this team is really high,” Norvell said. “But I think it can continue to get better. … I’m excited about that process.”

Redshirt sophomore receiver Ja’Khi Douglas believes the players are eager for that opportunity. Taking what they have learned during the spring and applying it in player-run practices and individual sessions with teammates.

“During the summer, we need to stay together," said Douglas, who made the move from a hybrid running back/receiver to a full-time receiver this spring. "Stay in between and getting a chance to work with the quarterbacks when we have a chance to. The offensive line [and defensive line]. Getting one-on-ones with the defensive backs. Trying to stay better. Techniques. … The little things matter, like Coach Norvell says.”

Junior quarterback Jordan Travis will be the leader of the offense, particularly when the skill position players get together, but Norvell rattled off the names of nearly a dozen players who have been emerging as leaders on both sides of the ball.

One player he singled out specifically was first-team All-ACC safety Jammie Robinson. The former South Carolina standout, who transferred to FSU last year, contemplated leaving for the NFL after he led the Seminoles in tackles this past season.

But Robinson opted to return, and Norvell said the team is now counting on him to help the players around him.

“We challenged him when he came back," Norvell said. "Such a talented player, and he’s a great teammate, but now is his time to be able to step up and step out. I’ve seen him do that. I have seen him do that in the offseason program. And it really kind of emerged there late in the spring. Saw some great things from him.”

FSU could still add a few players to the roster through the transfer portal, and while Norvell didn’t reveal a specific position the staff might target, he did say the portal is, “something they will continue to evaluate.”

“For us, it’s still the same standard. We’re looking for the right fit,” Norvell said. “If we get an opportunity to find somebody that brings great value to our program on the field, off the field, in all the things of being a great Florida State Seminole, then that’s something we will always explore …

“I am excited the direction that we’re headed, about some of the pieces that will be added in the summer that we already signed, and the potential of what’s ahead.”

A position that likely will feature the most new names -- and most new talent -- in the fall is the offensive line. Three of the four signees who have yet to enroll are consensus four-star prospects up front.

Offensive linemen Julian Armella, Qae’shon Sapp and Jaylen Early will be arriving in the summer, along with Early's high school teammate, tight end Jerrale Powers.

“Those three linemen that are coming in this summer, it's always a challenge at that position, but those guys are very talented young men that we’re excited about coming here,” Norvell said.

While it's difficult to project that a true freshman will be able to help on the offensive line, Norvell said Armella has made it clear that he wants to help out at offensive tackle as early as possible.

“He was here this weekend, and it's great to see his continued growth and development,” Norvell said. “He’s done a remarkable job of his high school career with just changing his body. He’s coming in, physically, he’s going to have all the tools necessary to compete early. He’s also playing one of the hardest positions to be able to come in and contribute early, but he’s passionate about it.

"I like the things he’s done up to this point. He’s big, athletic, does a great job with the physical nature of the game.”

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