FSU staff additions receive praise, could lead to more recruiting wins

Head coaches have to seal the deals.

Assistant coaches are often the faces of the recruiting process. They're the ones who interact the most with prospects and their families during campus visits, on the phone and when they (during non-COVID times) head out on the road to evaluate players in person.

But it's the support staff members, many of whom casual fans have never heard of, who often lay the groundwork for the on-field coaches to work their magic.

They help build relationships. They work through logistics, setting up visits and organizing schedules. And they fill in whatever gaps are needed.

Florida State head football coach Mike Norvell thought he put together a good support staff during his first year in Tallahassee. But he sounds even more excited when discussing the group he has put together for Year Two.

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Norvell believes the new additions will not only will help the Seminoles enjoy more success on the field this season, but he credits them with helping FSU build one of the nation's top recruiting classes for the 2022 cycle. As recruiting enters another NCAA-mandated dead period today, FSU currently has 17 commitments for this class and a No. 5 team recruiting ranking.

"These guys are relationship-based" Norvell told Warchant.com during a recent interview. "They not only are about impacting the lives of the student-athletes, but also building up the guys that they get to work with each and every day. Excited about the direction we're heading in our support staff roles."

While much of Norvell's support staff returns intact this season, there are several new additions, including four staffers with very strong connections in talent-rich South Florida.

There is Ryan Bartow, who Norvell hired as director of high school relations; senior defensive analyst Randy Shannon; defensive analyst Sabbath Joseph; and offensive graduate assistant Guy Lemonier Jr.

Shannon, of course, is a former player, assistant coach and head coach at the University of Miami. Joseph is a former player and assistant coach at Miami Central High and assistant coach at Miami's Florida Memorial University.

Lemonier is a former player, assistant coach and administrator at several South Florida schools. And while Bartow did not play or coach in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties, he covered the area extensively as a recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and 247Sports and also recruited prospects from the area when he was at Oregon and Syracuse.

"He's a people person," Michael Tunsil, a longtime high school coach in South Florida who led Champagnat Catholic School to a state championship in 2013, said of Bartow. "He can relate to any race, any type of dude or background. You can put him anywhere, and people are going to relate to him. Nobody is going to outwork him. ...

"The recruits love his charisma, and it instantly jumps off. Players can relate to him, he's down to earth, he knows the game, and he knows what the kids like. And that's why kids gravitate to him."

In the months since Bartow was hired by Florida State, Tunsil has repeatedly praised the move on social media.

He believes it's no coincidence that four of the Seminoles' 17 commitments are from players from Miami-Dade and Broward counties. FSU landed linemen Daughtry Richardson and Daniel Lyons just last week, and they snared commitments from linebacker Omar Graham Jr. in June and receiver Devaughn Mortimer in March.

"He used to stay here, so he knows everyone down here," Tunsil said of Bartow. "He was in every high school and practice. So guys know him well down here. They trust his eyes for talent, and he trusts us. I knew the day they hired him they were going to start getting South Florida kids again."

The addition of Shannon was extremely important as well, Tunsil said.

While analysts are not allowed to go on the road for recruiting, the veteran high school coach said Shannon's presence on the Florida State staff gives the Seminoles even more credibility and connections in Miami.

Not only was Shannon a standout player and longtime coach at UM, but he grew up in Liberty City.

"He's the 'Godfather' in South Florida," Tunsil said. "He knows all the parents, grandparents. Everybody looks up to Randy here in South Florida. The thing about Randy is he's not going to sugarcoat things. He's going to tell you like it is. I dealt with Randy when he was at Arkansas, and he tells you what it's going to be like here. He's very honest.

"He's a quiet person and not a rah-rah guy, but he's consistent on everything he does."

While the Shannon hire might have resonated most with parents and high school coaches, Joseph has direct connections to many of the recruits themselves. Before taking the job at Florida Memorial, he was an assistant coach at state football power Miami Central for seven years.

As Central's defensive coordinator, he actually coached one of the top targets on Florida State's board -- four-star linebacker Wesley Bissainthe.

"That's my guy," Bissainthe said earlier this year. "He's been my coach at Central since I was a freshman here at Miami Central. Coming in, he was a guy that really worked with me, and he's just amazing the way he teaches things. He also played at Miami Central, so yeah we have a really good bond and talk just about every day."

Lemonier Jr. is another young Seminole staffer from the area, and Tunsil had high praise for that addition as well. Lemonier played at Monsignor Pace in Miami before starring at Howard University, and he recently helped coach an elite 7-on-7 program in South Florida.

"He's a really good young star in this game," Tunsil said. "He's going to be a great wide receiver coach in the future, and he has great ties to the South Florida area -- with even the youth teams -- so he's definitely going to get some kids from this area.

"He is a highly educated kid that went to Pace and then went to college at Howard, so the parents can relate to him when he talks with them, and he's someone they can trust. I've known Guy since he's been in high school. When he was there, he was such a hard worker. That jumped out to me. And he has coached with the South Florida Express 7-on-7, so he knows a lot of recruits."

As important as those connections in South Florida will be, Norvell made a celebrated hire from another talent-rich area last month when he announced the addition of Kenyatta Watson as director of player relations.

Watson, who played at Boston College and the NFL, spent several years on the staff at Georgia state power Grayson High and is well-connected in the Atlanta area.

Ryan Andrews, who is a former head coach at Shiloh High School and currently serves as defensive coordinator at Griffin, said Watson's work with youths in the state of Georgia is extremely well-known and appreciated by many parents and coaches. Along with his years at Grayson, Watson also served as a coordinator for Under Armour's Middle School All-American Game and the UA Next Middle School Camp Series.

He also organized a sophomore all-star game featuring top players from Georgia and Texas in 2017, and he started a successful youth football program in Gwinnett County in 2010.

"He's an innovator," Andrews said. "Most importantly, he has a passion to help kids become their best selves as people in the world. Before him, there wasn't a sophomore all-star game. Then he did it, and now there's dozens of sophomore all-star games around the country. He's always a step ahead of everybody in helping these kids."

Recruiting might not be the primary focus of Watson's position at FSU -- he will work to support current FSU players and their families and also serve as a liaison to NFL scouts -- but there is no denying the importance of his ties in the Peach State.

"Kenyatta has valuable relationships in Atlanta and is well-connected throughout Georgia, which is an important area of focus for our program," Norvell said in the press release announcing Watson's hiring.

Andrews believe it's going to be a win-win for the Seminoles and his friend.

"I was extremely happy for him. Just seeing all the things he has done in Georgia and the things he has done nationwide," Andrews said. "This is something he's been wanting for a long time. ... I could not be happier for Kenyatta. He did it a different way in that he wasn't a high school coach or a trainer. It was just old-fashioned hard work and relationships.

"He's authentic. We live in a society where kids can recognize people that have been there and are honest and direct about everything. Kenyatta is who he is, and he stands firm in that. I think kids respect that a lot about him. He doesn't tell them what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. He's very direct about everything. These kids know he's not going to feed them a bunch of foolishness."

Several of Norvell's offseason moves have received praise from high school coaches and others in the recruiting industry, but no one has cheered them louder than Tunsil.

"Having those two guys in Kenyatta and Ryan, that's like bringing the '90s Chicago Bulls together," Tunsil said. "They are always going to out-do the other person in how they work. I can see them getting like 10 to 12 guys from South Florida (each year). There's going to be a lot of competition with all these guys in South Florida. It's going to be special."

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