In a flurry of activity, Florida State football coach Mike Norvell announced several new staff additions on Saturday, including two from his staff at Memphis.
Memphis defensive backs coach T.J. Rushing will take on the same role at Florida State, and Tigers strength coach Josh Storms will be the new director of strength and conditioning for the Seminoles.
Norvell also announced the hiring of L.A. Rams director of operations Bruce Warwick as FSU's new chief of staff.
*ALSO SEE: Another Division-I assistant coming to FSU as senior offensive analyst
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Here are the releases from FSU:
Rushing to coach defensive backs
T.J. Rushing has been named Florida State’s defensive backs coach, head coach Mike Norvell announced Saturday.
“I’m excited to announce TJ Rushing as the defensive backs coach here at Florida State University,” Norvell said. “Coach Rushing is one of the brightest minds and teachers in college football. His experience as an All-American in college to his playing career in the National Football League has prepared him well to mentor and develop our student-athletes at the highest level. Coach Rushing will bring a tremendous amount of passion and energy to every aspect of the program, not only on the field but also in recruiting the nation’s best and brightest to Florida State.”
Rushing, who won Super Bowl XLI as a member of the Indianapolis Colts, has eight years of coaching experience following his professional playing career. He spent the last two seasons at Memphis and also spent time on staffs at Arizona State, Stanford and Northern Arizona.
“My family and I are elated to join Coach Norvell and Coach Fuller at Florida State University,” Rushing said. “The list of great defensive backs that have played at this university are the Who’s Who in college football. I am eager to get there and assist in developing the next group of Seminole greats.”
Rushing comes to Tallahassee after spending the 2018 and 2019 seasons as Norvell’s defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator. He helped lead the Tigers to a program-record 12 wins, including the school’s first outright conference championship since 1969, and a berth in the New Year’s Six Cotton Bowl in 2019. Over his two seasons on staff, Memphis grabbed 18 interceptions and forced 37 total turnovers, returning four for touchdowns.
The Tigers’ 2019 defense ranked 18th in FBS with a team passing efficiency defense rating of 115.36 and ranked 25th in the nation with an average of 7.0 tackles for loss per game. In 2018, Memphis had the conference’s fourth-highest average of tackles for loss per game with 7.4 and the fourth-best sacks-per-game average of 2.64.
Rushing tutored cornerback TJ Carter to all-conference recognition both seasons at Memphis. Carter, who in 2018 ranked fourth in the conference with 12 pass breakups and 14 passes defended, was included on the Jim Thorpe Award watch list heading into the 2019 season and earned All-American Athletic Conference honors for the second straight season.
At Arizona State, Rushing tutored Freshman All-American Chase Lucas, who led the Sun Devils with two interceptions and seven pass breakups and also made 53 tackles from his cornerback position in 2017.
Before returning to Arizona State, Rushing was a defensive assistant at Stanford in 2015 working primarily with the cornerbacks. That year, behind All-Pac-12 selection Ronnie Harris, the Cardinal posted a 12-2 record, won the conference championship and defeated No. 5 Iowa in the Rose Bowl. Stanford ended the season ranked No. 3 in both national polls, the program’s highest Associated Press ranking since winning the 1940 national championship.
Rushing spent the 2014 season coaching cornerbacks at Northern Arizona. There, he tutored a pair of cornerbacks to all-conference recognition, including first-team performer Marcus Alford. The Lumberjacks had the conference’s best pass defense, allowing an average of 176.8 yards per game through the air, and ranked second with a team pass efficiency defense rating of 122.03.
Rushing began his coaching career at Arizona State, serving as a graduate assistant in 2012 and defensive quality control coach in 2013. In 2012, the Sun Devils led the Pac-12 in passing defense, allowing an average of 167.9 yards per game that was the third-lowest in the country, and led the conference in pass efficiency defense, ranking 10th in the country with a rating of 105.45. Arizona State also nabbed 21 interceptions, the fourth-highest total in the nation, and all four starting defensive backs earned all-conference honors.
Rushing played five seasons in the NFL, the first four with the Indianapolis Colts after being selected in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He helped the Colts win the Super Bowl his rookie year and returned to the Super Bowl three years later after winning another AFC championship. He appeared in 35 games and collected a combined 1,290 return yards that includes a 90-yard punt return touchdown. In four playoff games he added 14 more returns for 208 yards.
Rushing was drafted after a collegiate career that put him among the greatest returners in Stanford history. He twice earned All-Pac-10 honors, including a spot as the first-team specialist in 2004. Rushing’s three kickoff return touchdowns are tied for the program record, and he left school ranking second in program history with 1,409 career kickoff return yards and third with an average of 27.1 yards per kickoff return.
Rushing appeared in 43 career games and made 19 starts at cornerback for the Cardinal. He recorded 147 tackles, including 13.0 for loss with 4.0 sacks, four interceptions, 14 pass breakups, four forced fumbles, two blocked kicks and one fumble recovery.
Rushing also was a sprinter for the Stanford track and field team his first two years on campus. He ran the leadoff leg on Stanford’s 4x100-meter relay team that broke the school record with a time of 39.71 in 2004.
Rushing earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford in 2006. He and his wife, Taylor, have three children, Collin, Mora and Terrall III.
TJ Rushing Coaching History:
2020 -- Florida State Defensive Backs Coach
2018-19 -- Memphis Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach
2016-17 -- Arizona State Defensive Backs Coach
2015 -- Stanford Defensive Assistant
2014 -- Northern Arizona Cornerbacks Coach
2013 -- Arizona State Defensive Quality Control
2012 -- Arizona State Graduate Assistant
Storms to lead strength, conditioning staff
Josh Storms has been named Florida State’s director of strength and conditioning, head coach Mike Norvell announced Saturday.
“I’m excited to announce the addition of Josh Storms as our new director of strength and conditioning,” Norvell said. “Coach Storms and I have worked together for the last eight years, and he will be a critical component in the development of our student-athletes. He will help create a toughness throughout our team, not only physically but mentally. Josh is one of the best coaches I’ve been around in every aspect. He does a wonderful job of establishing relationships with each young man and encourages a culture of daily improvement. Coach Storms is one of the best in the country in preparing student-athletes to perform at the highest level throughout their collegiate experience while developing them for the next level as well.”
Storms earned Master Strength and Conditioning Coach distinction, the highest honor given in the strength and conditioning coaches profession, by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa) in 2018. Certified through both the CSCCa and National Strength and Conditioning Association, he has been the strength coach for Memphis football since 2016 after working with football for 11 years on the sports performance staff at Arizona State.
“I am unbelievably humbled by this opportunity to be a member of the Seminole family,” Storms said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work side-by-side with Coach Norvell and building this program into one that our former letterwinners, families and fans will be incredibly proud of, not only because of the results on gameday but because of the way that it will be done on a daily basis in the classroom, weight room, practice field and community. My staff and I are ready to get our feet on the ground in Tallahassee, roll up our sleeves and go to work.”
Storms has worked with Norvell each of his four seasons as a head coach, playing an integral role in the development and continued rise of Memphis’ football program. In their four years together at Memphis, the Tigers compiled a 38-15 overall record and in 2019 earned the program’s first outright conference championship since 1969. Storms’ strength program helped lay the foundation for Norvell to put together a 14-1 career record in November with 13 straight victories in the final month of the regular season.
Memphis is one of three FBS teams, along with Ohio State and Oklahoma, that have ranked in the top-15 nationally in scoring offense each of the last four years. The Tigers have shined on special teams, with an NCAA-best 11 kickoff return touchdowns from 2016-19, and have wreaked havoc on defense, forcing 100 total turnovers and averaging 6.8 tackles for loss per game.
Storms spent 2005-15 at Arizona State, including his last four years with Norvell as the Sun Devils’ offensive coordinator. Storms helped develop student-athletes who participated in a school-record five straight bowl games covering his final five seasons in Tempe.
In the four seasons Norvell and Storms worked together at ASU, the Sun Devils averaged 38.1 points per game and scored nearly 2,000 points. Over that same four-year span, Arizona State’s 13 interception return touchdowns and 16 defensive touchdowns were the most in the country.
Storms joined the Arizona State staff after two years as an assistant strength coach at UNLV. He spent 2001 as a seasonal assistant strength coach with the Minnesota Vikings.
Storms played tight end at the University of South Dakota and earned his bachelor’s degree in recreation in 2001. He completed his master’s of education in curriculum and instruction from Arizona State in 2006.
Storms and his wife, Darcie, have a son, Colt.
Josh Storms Coaching History:
2020 -- Florida State Director of Strength and Conditioning
2016-19 -- Memphis Director of Athletic Performance
2005-15 -- Arizona State Sports Performance Assistant Head Coach
2002-04 -- UNLV Assistant Strength Coach
2001 -- Minnesota Vikings Seasonal Assistant Strength Coach
Warwick named FSU's chief of staff
Bruce Warwick has been named Florida State football’s chief of staff, head coach Mike Norvell announced Saturday.
“I’m pleased to announce the addition of Bruce Warwick to the Florida State football family as our chief of staff,” Norvell said. “It’s been a top priority to attract championship-level personnel to impact our program not only on the field but off of it as well, and I feel like I have hit a homerun with Bruce. He brings extensive experience in football operations with 17 seasons in the National Football League with the Rams and Packers organizations. Coupled with 12 years of experience in the ACC, SEC and Big East, Bruce will bring a diverse perspective implementing our all-inclusive approach of the Nole Way throughout the program and university. Bruce’s experience in facility development and upgrades will be a critical asset as we take the next step enhancing our facilities to remain among the nation’s elite.”
In his role as chief of staff, Warwick will coordinate all aspect of the program’s administrative impact and influence. He also will work closely with the coaching, recruiting, operations, academics and communications staffs.
“Since Coach Norvell took over, there has been an unmistakable energy and buzz around Florida State football, an iconic program with a rich and decorated history,” Warwick said. “My conversations with Coach Norvell had me convinced that he is a dynamic leader that will do some special things at Florida State, and I wanted to be a part of it. The invaluable experience I gained at the Rams has prepared me for the incredible opportunities that lay ahead. I am grateful to Rams owner/chairman Stan Kroenke and COO Kevin Demoff for my years with that world-class organization. This is an exciting time for Seminole football, and I can’t wait to get to work to help deliver a championship to Tallahassee.”
Warwick comes to Florida State after spending the last eight seasons as director of operations for the Rams and the previous three as assistant to the head coach, working from 2009-15 in St. Louis and then relocating with the team to Los Angeles for the last four seasons. He led the organization’s operations related to the move as he was responsible for all logistical operations and execution for players, coaches and front office staff. The move included building four fully operational team facilities in addition to two business operation sites and insuring all daily operational and technical needs were addressed as well as all NFL gameday requirements were met.
With the Rams, he worked for three different head coaches and was in charge of travel operations and organizing training camps as well as overseeing construction at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Rams won two straight NFC West division titles and in 2018 advanced to Super Bowl LIII after a 13-win regular season.
Warwick served as the assistant athletic director for football operations at the University of Tennessee in 2007 and 2008, helping the Volunteers reach the 2007 SEC Championship Game and finish the year with 10 wins after defeating No. 18 Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. In 2006 he was Duke’s director of player personnel. In that role, he was heavily involved in recruiting efforts while serving as the program’s liaison for academic support, community relations, ACC officials, computer technology and the Iron Dukes, a fund-raising arm of the athletics department.
From 2000-05, Warwick was the assistant to the general manager and director of football administration with the Green Bay Packers. In his six seasons with the Packers, he oversaw staff in strength, video, training room, equipment and player programs as well as managed the team’s annual training camp and mini-camps. Additionally, he was responsible for all coaching and personnel staff contracts, new hires and the minority internship program while also serving as a liaison to the NFL office and NFL officials.
Warwick began his career at Syracuse, where was a football administrative graduate assistant in 1991. He returned to be the Orange’s director of football operations from 1996-99, helping Syracuse win three straight Big East championships from 1996-98. In between stints at Syracuse, he worked in football operations at Maryland for two seasons and was Clemson’s assistant athletic director for football management from 1994-95.
Warwick earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia College in 1989 and completed his master’s in sport management from the U.S. Sports Academy in 1993. He and his wife, Debra, have three sons, Alexander, Joseph and Jacob.
Bruce Warwick History:
2020 -- Florida State Chief of Staff
2016-19 -- Los Angeles Rams Director of Operations
2012-15 -- St. Louis Rams Director of Operations
2009-11 -- St. Louis Rams Assistant to the Head Coach
2007-08 -- Tennessee Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations
2006 -- Duke Director of Player Personnel
2000-05 -- Green Bay Packers Asst. to General Manager/Dir. of Football Administration
1996-99 -- Syracuse Director of Football Operations
1994-95 -- Clemson Assistant Athletic Director for Football Management
1992-93 -- Maryland Football Operations/Assistant to Athletic Director
1991 -- Syracuse Football Administrative Graduate Assistant
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