Mike Norvell doesn't typically make a big production out of awarding scholarships to deserving walk-ons.

Florida State's first-year football coach doesn't like to turn it into a social media event, with cameras rolling and a large crowd of players and coaches gathering around to celebrate.

A former walk-on himself, Norvell likes to handle it on a more personal level. And that was just fine by junior running back Deonte Sheffield.

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After everything Sheffield has been through these past four years, he was way past being emotional about removing the walk-on label before his name.

Sheffield appreciated the significance of the gesture -- he and tight end Wyatt Rector were both awarded scholarships this week -- but he didn't jump up and down or break down in tears.

"I had been through so much," Sheffield said. "I felt like it was supposed to happen."

The Niceville, Fla., product said his mother and other family members rejoiced when hearing the news, but he was mostly focused on going back to work.

That has been Sheffield's mindset the entire time he has been at Florida State -- since joining the program as a preferred walk-on in 2017 -- even though there have been some very bumpy roads along the way,

*ALSO SEE: Michael Langston's backstory on how Sheffield chose FSU over other scholarship offers

Sheffield chose to walk-on at FSU, which he called his "dream school," instead of accepting scholarship offers to other Division-I programs because former head coach Jimbo Fisher told him a scholarship would be coming the following year. The school was maxed out on scholarships that fall, Fisher told him, but he would definitely be awarded one the following spring.

The only problem, of course, was that Fisher left for Texas A&M before the end of that season. And his replacement, Willie Taggart, was under no obligation to follow through on another coach's promise.

Less than two years later, Sheffield found himself faced with the task of impressing an entirely new coaching staff. And again, the new head coach wasn't overly concerned with previous broken promises.

"Honestly, it doesn't matter to me what was said before," Norvell said. "I can only affect what we've done from the day that I got here to what we're doing here moving forward. Everybody has a story. At the end of the day, what you do with the opportunity is going to be indicative of what your future holds.

"So it didn't really matter to me what somebody was promised or said, or if that occurred or didn't."

All that mattered was the work Sheffield put in over the past eight months, and what type of contribution he might be able to make to the 2020 Seminoles.

Norvell said there are several walk-ons in the program who are also worthy of receiving scholarships. But with only two spots available, Sheffield and Rector were the right choices.

"I like what I'm seeing from them and their development," the head coach said. "I do believe both have put themselves in position to help this football team this year. ... Those guys have invested a lot into the program."

* ALSO SEE: Updates on a position move and other news from Wednesday practice

Sheffield had waited so long for this moment that he didn't even clue in when running backs coach David Johnson called him up to his office on Monday evening. He still didn't suspect it when Johnson gave him some complimentary words and sent him down the hall to see Norvell.

And when the head coach finally gave him the news, the only thing on Sheffield's mind was calling his mother.

"That's my everything," he said. "And I told her, and of course she broke down and cried and everything. Because she knows how much work I've put in ... and what I go through."

But even when he got to the practice fields for that night's team walk-through, Sheffield said his teammates seemed more excited than he was.

"How I look at it is God makes no mistakes," Sheffield said. "And all the trials and setbacks and everything I had, it was part of the process."

As a redshirt junior, Sheffield is the oldest player in Florida State's running back group. And FSU fans got a taste of what he can do in the Sun Bowl, when he rushed for a career-high 87 yards on 18 carries against Arizona State.

Sheffield admits that performance was big for his confidence, but he believes it was only a glimpse of the future.

"I feel like everybody knew what I could do," Sheffield said of his teammates. "It was just when it was going to happen. When I was going to get the opportunity. The night before, I literally couldn't sleep. I was just so ready to play football again, because I hadn't played and had it taken away for so long.

"And I just went out there with a lot of confidence like the person I am, and I just did what I do. But I was just getting my feet wet, I feel like, again. I feel like I was given my confidence back, and now I'm just ready. That was the start."

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