Charlotte, N.C. -- By now, everyone certainly has heard more than enough about all that the Florida State football team had to replace this offseason.
With so much talent off to the NFL, the Seminoles are left with plenty of holes to fill as they look to repeat as ACC Champions this fall. It's a season that could go a long way towards determining how close to the last few seasons, over which the Seminoles went a combined 23-4, the FSU standard will be going forward under Mike Norvell.
Speaking to local media members Monday morning at ACC Kickoff, the FSU head coach was extraordinarily positive when talking about how good the offseason has been for the Seminoles with preseason camp set to get underway Wednesday.
"Our players, every day they showed up and they really just emptied the tank," Norvell said. "I thought they had probably one of our best summers, collectively. As you sit there and look from January to reporting (Tuesday), I could not be any more pleased with the investment from this group and what they've done to get us to this point."
The summer program, which coaches are allowed to observe a portion of each week, is particularly a time for the FSU strength staff to further build the conditioning of the roster ahead of the test ahead in the form on a five-month season that begins this week with preseason camp.
FSU director of strength and conditioning Josh Storms has consistently drawn praise from Norvell for the job he does in this role. With so many new faces and players taking on larger roles this offseason, though, Norvell was even more thrilled with the job Storms, his staff and the FSU roster did during the summer program.
"I thought it was a great summer. I really did. The commitment from our players, the investment that you saw them pouring into not only the work, what they were doing on the field, in the weight room, the continued investment in building those relationships," Norvell said. "We know we've got a heck of a journey in front of us, but to see guys continuing to grow, taking ownership of what they're doing in the meeting room, continuing to pour into each other. Everybody's working on gaining understanding of the things we're asking them to do and the overall application of being able to go and get that done. All in all, it was a wonderful summer. You see the size, the speed, the strength. Coach Storms and his staff did a remarkable job."
That summer conditioning program also presents the coaching staff with its first glimpse at the summer enrollees, of which were there 12 this year at FSU (10 high-school signees and two transfers).
It remains to be seen if any of the freshmen are able to contribute this season. But quite a few of them showed Norvell enough this summer that he's anxious to see how it'll translate to the field starting on Wednesday.
"Micahi Danzy, through every workout, you see the size, the speed, the athletic ability that he brings. I'm really excited about getting out on the field to see how that transitions as we get into the pads and working through different concepts. Both the young offensive linemen, Manasse (Itete) and Jonathan (Daniels) are guys who I'm excited about what their potential is going to be, for how they have started out within the program," Norvell said. "Ricky Knight really did some great things, both of the young defensive tackles, Jamorie (Flagg) and Debo (D'Nas White), have done a great job of coming into the program. You see their size and athletic ability for a couple guys there up front. Excited about the newcomers that have joined in. Really excited to see how this entire group transitions out there to the field here in the next couple days."
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