ESPN’s McElroy sees a turnaround coming for Norvell, FSU Football
Greg McElroy knows what a championship football team looks like.
The current ESPN/ABC announcer was the starting quarterback for Alabama in 2009 when the Crimson Tide won their first national title under Nick Saban.
He was also there in 2007, as a freshman, when the Crimson Tide lost to Xavier Lee and Florida State in Jacksonville and finished the year with a 6-7 record. So, he has a unique perspective on what it takes to rebuild a program.
Earlier this week, McElroy spoke to the Tallahassee Quarterback Club about what he's seen from Florida State football and head coach Mike Norvell.
Obviously, with the Seminoles at 0-3, it hasn't been the start anyone associated with Florida State wanted to see. But McElroy, who was in Doak Campbell Stadium to call the season opener vs. Notre Dame, thinks the Seminoles are on their way to turning the program around.
"I've now called five games in this stadium," he told the crowd. "And each one has gotten just a little bit better. I've called three consecutive openers in this stadium. I've seen some heartbreak for Seminole fans.
"... I know the results have been the same, but if you really watch it, that wasn't the same. I don't care what anyone says. That's a different team."
***Don't miss out on our great FSU Sports and Recruiting coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial!***
McElroy was in Doak for the loss to Boise State to start the 2019 season and the one to Georgia Tech that started 2020.
He also called the Florida State loss to Miami in 2017, the one in which the Hurricanes scored the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds. So, he's seen plenty of heartbreak for FSU fans in recent memory.
But he believes in what he saw on the practice field this preseason. That's what stood out to him the most when comparing this season to previous ones.
"I remember going to practice on Friday, and this is no disrespect to Willie (Taggart), because I really like Willie," McElroy said. "And I remember going to practice toward the end of the Jimbo (Fisher) Era and seeing a lot of guys who were messing around. Seeing guys dancing, seeing a lack of focus, seeing guys that really didn't seem all the way invested if I'm going to be completely honest. Guys that kind of did their own thing,.
"And it showed up on tape when you watched them."
He then saw what Mike Norvell's practices looked like.
"When I came to practice a couple of Fridays ago, I didn't see any of that," McElroy said. "I saw a level of focus I haven't seen here ever in the five years I've been calling games and watching practices behind the scenes.
“So, while the results haven't been different, the level of focus has intensified to a level which I have not seen."
*ALSO SEE: FSU Football Matchup Analysis & Prediction: 'Noles vs Louisville
It gives him hope that Norvell can turn the program around. It also gives him hope that Florida State can be great again because it wasn't that long ago -- just eight years — that the Seminoles were the best team in the country.
"It's going to happen," he said. "It's only a matter of time. ... Hang in there, do not abandon your guys. I'm telling you this, as a player on a team that stunk, what we had in 2007 was a bunch of really average dudes who just tried their tails off."
But what they had in the stands were rabid fans. And high school seniors who were being recruited by Saban and the Crimson Tide.
McElroy said the reason Alabama got so good so quick was the buy-in from the fans, the passion for the team, and a star-studded 2008 recruiting class that featured Julio Jones and Mark Ingram among many other great college football players.
"They were moved, not by the quality of the play on the field, because that would have made you move toward the toilet to throw up, but they were moved by the fact that the fans didn't give up," McElroy said.
Two years after losing six games, to some not great teams, the Crimson Tide was beating Texas in the Rose Bowl to win the 2009 national championship. And that machine hasn't slowed down since.
McElroy was a part of the last Alabama squad to be unranked. He watched Xavier Lee beat Nick Saban. So, he has, in fact, seen it all. And he thinks a turnaround at Florida State is not only possible, but probable.
"I was part of a team that last four consecutive games in the 2007 season, one of which was to Louisiana-Monroe," he said. "And by the way, the game against Louisiana-Monroe was 21-14. It wasn't that close. It was ugly.
"But after we lost that fourth straight game against Auburn, we won 13 in a row and then went onto win 27 of the next 29 and a national championship. So, it can be done. And it can be done here."
----------------------------------------------------
Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council