It's not a lot of time. It's only a fraction of the 20 hours they normally would have during each week of spring practice. And it's not even in person.

But it certainly beats the alternative.

After initially not allowing college football coaches to provide instruction to players during the coronavirus shutdown, the NCAA ruled earlier this month that each staff could do up to four hours per week of virtual coaching.

And Florida State coach Mike Norvell says he and his staff are trying to use that time wisely.

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During a video webinar for FSU supporters run by Seminole Boosters Inc., Norvell explained on Thursday that he and his coaches are coordinating multiple meetings each week to check in on how the players are doing back home, to revisit schemes and techniques that were taught earlier this year, and to start introducing new concepts for the future.

Last week was the first time the Seminoles -- and all other teams across the country -- were allowed to hold such meetings.

"In week one, we stayed separate," Norvell said. "We really kind of focused by position, going back through the installations, making sure that we're trying to hit on all those key areas."

Then this week, the team held a combination of one bigger team meeting and then several smaller groups.

With this past Sunday being Easter, Norvell said, the players also had the option of taking part in a devotional before the meeting if they chose.

"Then we had a short team meeting and just continued to emphasize the things that are important, encouraging guys to make sure we're finishing strong academically," he said, adding that the team has had an "incredible semester" with their studies.

"Really proud of our players. And the academic support staff that we have, I mean everybody's going above and beyond, trying to stay connected and hitting all of the boxes that we can for these guys."

After taking Monday off, the players had position segment meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning.

"Tomorrow, we're really going to jump in and hit on some of our special teams," Norvell said.

From a big-picture standpoint, Norvell said he tries to deliver a different message to his players and staff members each week. This week, he said, he encouraged them to focus on the letter "I" in his "CLIMB" philosophy.

"That's that intensity. That's that daily focus. That daily passion," he said. "And so one of the things I had our team do is they all shared a personal quote -- or a quote that was important to each of them -- with each other."

The quotes were motivational in nature, and Norvell said he received about 150 of them from the players, coaches and staff.

"It was inspirational to see and to hear where these guys' minds and hearts are," Norvell said. "And [to hear] some of those things that help get them kick-started when maybe they don't always wake up with the right mindset."

Not surprisingly, Norvell displayed an upbeat attitude throughout Thursday's video session, which featured emailed questions from boosters.

He thanked the Tallahassee community for welcoming him and his family to town over the last few months, and he praised FSU's administration -- particularly university president John Thrasher and athletics director David Coburn -- for their leadership during this current crisis.

Norvell also celebrated his recruiting staff and digital media team for coming up with a "Virtual Tour" that can be used to send to recruits who want to get a feel for what a visit to Florida State would be like.

The first-year FSU coach said his staff already had the project in the works before the global pandemic. But with in-person recruiting completely closed down indefinitely, they put a rush on it and have begun sharing it with prospects.

"It's been great, and it's something that we've actually had to kind of accelerate," Norvell said. "I thought they (all) did a wonderful job, and it's been really well-received by the recruits that we've been talking to. It kind of allows them to take that unofficial visit without actually having to come here. And it just builds the excitement (for) the next time that they're able to get to Tallahassee once everything clears up. At least they'll have a good foundation of what's here in place."

Here is that virtual tour:

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