Norvell, FSU football staff working to build bonds in South Florida
With several of his assistant coaches fanning out across South Florida this week to make a final push in the 2020 recruiting cycle, Florida State coach Mike Norvell held an informal meet-and-greet with prep coaches in Broward and Palm Beach counties on Monday night.
The event was held at the Boca Raton Marriott, and about 75 prep head coaches and assistant coaches attended.
Larry Blustein, who has covered high school sports and recruiting in South Florida for more than 50 years, was at the gathering and said it seemed to make a strong impression on the coaches in attendance.
"I got good feedback from the all the coaches I spoke with," Blustein said. "I think they embraced the fact that a Power 5 school -- and a program they all follow -- took the time to do that."
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Florida State's South Florida recruiting connections have become a hot-button topic in recent weeks, following Norvell's decision to not retain tight ends coach Telly Lockette, who is a very popular former high school coach in Miami-Dade County.
The move was harshly criticized by Miami Edison coach (and former rap star) Luther Campbell, who complained that the Seminoles no longer had any assistant coaches from that area on staff. And when Norvell put together a similar gathering last week in Miami, only a handful of high school coaches attended.
But Blustein, who has seen college coaches throughout the state deal with similar issues in the past, said a lot of those concerns can be alleviated with time and by developing relationships and building a successful program.
"Winning," Blustein said, when asked what FSU needs to do to attract top players from South Florida. "Miami can't even get the best kids from down here. If you win, it's a different story."
It's not as if the Seminoles don't have any strong connections to South Florida.
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