Just over three years ago, Sept. 27, 2021 proved to be a fateful day in Mike Norvell's tenure as Florida State head coach.

Off to an 0-4 start in his second season in Tallahassee and a 3-10 start to his FSU tenure, a simple question about recruiting and what Norvell sells to recruits about his program when things aren't going well on the field became so much more.

It became an epic monologue covering his frustrations about the Seminoles' struggles to that point ("I'm pissed off") but also his confidence in the players in the FSU locker room and that the recruits who could see the vision despite the team's record at that point in time were the players he wanted to have as a part of his team.

Over the next few years, Norvell was proven extremely correct. Starting that Saturday against Syracuse, his Seminoles won 28 of their next 34 games, nearly getting all the way to bowl eligibility in 2021, claiming the program's first 10-win season since 2016 in 2022 and finishing off just the third undefeated regular season in program history last season.

That's what makes what has occurred since within the FSU football program that much more stunning. Since FSU won its first ACC Championship since 2014 last December, it has now lost three straight games.

While the loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl was expected, the consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College to begin the 2024 season were quite surprising. And they have gone a long way towards FSU failing to build much recruiting momentum that teams normally see when coming off seasons as good as the one the Seminoles had last fall.

With the FSU coaching staff on the road recruiting over the weekend during the team's first bye week, the Seminoles lost commitments from their two highest-rated 2025 defensive commits.

Saturday afternoon, four-star defensive tackle commit Myron Charles flipped from FSU to Texas. Sunday night, five-star defensive end commit Javion Hilson announced he was opening his recruitment once again, decommitting from the Seminoles after saying back in June coming off an FSU visit that he was shutting down his recruitment.

There are still about three months until December's early signing period for the 2025 class. And yet, FSU's 2025 class currently sits at 41st in the Rivals rankings with only 11 players committed.

This left Norvell in a similar situation at his Monday press conference this week as the Seminoles (0-2, 0-2 in ACC) prepare to host Memphis (2-0) at Doak Campbell Stadium Saturday (Noon on ESPN). For the first time in awhile, Norvell was asked about the messaging he shared with recruits while on the trail over the weekend in the wake of FSU's slow start.

"Nobody's excited about how we started. I'm talking about ourselves. We're not excited about how the start of the season has gone, but obviously we know where we're heading and we have a tremendous amount of belief in the guys that we have and the guys that we're bringing into the program that are going to continue to help us ascend to ultimately where we want to be," Norvell said. "There's great excitement for opportunity and ultimately a belief in where those steps are necessary for us. For these guys that are going to come in, the opportunity to be able to impact and be able to continue to push this program forward. The message hasn't changed a whole lot in regards to that. I believe in what we're doing and the guys that we're going after."

Asked a question about how he's approaching this season's slow start after building back from something similar three years ago, Norvell pointed out quite a few current Seminoles were already with the program during that 2021 surge.

While much of the narrative is understandably about the many new faces on this year's team and the Seminoles' heavy transfer portal usage, 18 members of the 2024 team were on that 2021 team, which nearly joined a rare club of making a bowl game after starting a season 0-4.

As such, Norvell believes there are quite a few current FSU players who know first-hand the type of work it will take to turn this season around after a rocky start.

"When you reflect back to (2021), we were still at the very beginning stages and it was probably a bigger leap of faith then to stay the course and trust the process of what we're doing than what it is now. We understand what, how, and the steps necessary for us to go be successful. That's got to translate better from how we're practicing, for what we're doing in our preparation, for that to be able to show up there in the course of the game," Norvell said. "I think we've all been out there, we've all seen it. We've seen the ability that our guys have shown in preparation, but for whatever reason we have not been able to translate that in the course of our first two games as good as it can be. There's some elements of our consistency that need to be better, the details, the fundamentals. Then guys cutting it loose, playing fast, playing free and going to just enjoy playing this game...

"I've got a lot of confidence in where this team will continue to grow to. I believe in the young men that we have. I believe in what we're asking them to do. It's just building them for that moment. I've seen a good response from our team in the last week and how we've worked. Everybody's disappointed, but ultimately it's disappointed knowing that we haven't played our best. That's where we've got to go take the step. So, no, there's not wholesale changes to what we're doing. Our guys believe in what and how we do it, but obviously we've got to execute that, and we've got to help that translate there to the course of the game."

The next three weeks present an opportunity to start changing the narrative. While none of the games are a slam dunk for the Seminoles given how they looked in their first two games, the upcoming home games vs. Memphis and Cal followed by a road trip to SMU all appear eminently winnable if FSU is able to make strides.

That's why FSU special teams coordinator/defensive ends coach John Papuchis and Norvell are preaching patience as part of their messaging to recruits. Because they certainly believe things are about to start getting better.

"It wasn't an accident that we went from where we were in 2020 to where we were in 2023. And I think (the thought) that everybody in the program or the philosophy of what we're trying to get done has totally been lost, that's not real," Papuchis said Monday. "Now, has this year started the way that we wanted to? Certainly not. But if you believe in what this program is about, if you believe in the culture, if you believe in the values, then let it play out a little bit and see, because I believe in what this team could do, I believe in where this program can continue to head. We've got to right the ship, but the message to our players and to everybody that we want to have involved in the program is if you believed in it before, just have a little faith because we believe in what we're doing here."

Jaylin Lucas sidelined for rest of 2024 due to injury

Notes: Hykeem Williams set to return, freshmen could step in at RB, returner

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