One-on-one with FSU's Norvell: Talking QBs, transfers and more

Year Two of the Mike Norvell era has begun.

And as Florida State’s head football coach tries to rebuid the program into a national power again, he knows he needs a roster full of players who are buying into what he's trying to do.

It's only January. So, there's still a ways to go.

But Norvell, in an extensive interview with the Wake Up Warchant podcast on Wednesday, said he likes what he's seen so far from his group, which includes a number of high-profile transfers who have already enrolled and are participating in Tour of Duty conditioning drills.

*** Don't miss our exclusive FSU football coverage. 30-day Free Trial ***

"That's one of the true foundational events that we have throughout our program," Norvell said of Tour of Duty. "And our guys are excited about the work. Most people talk about wanting to achieve success, but there's a select few that are willing to make the investment to get there. And that's what I'm seeing from this team.

"We've got some new faces, some guys that are joining the program, which I'm extremely excited about, just seeing how this group is gelling together."

The biggest name of the new faces the Seminoles got in the transfer portal was, of course, former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton, who has amassed 92 touchdowns and almost 10,000 yards of total offense in his career.

Norvell said that Milton, who rushed for over 1,000 yards while at UCF, looks to be almost fully back to the guy he coached against while at Memphis.

"He got cleared last week, he got total clearance from his doctors," Norvell said. "And it's exciting to see him out there move. I was able to see some of the practice footage from what he did last year (as the scout-team QB at UCF), and I have a great deal of confidence in not only his upper body, but how he was moving, the change of direction, all of those things.

"He looks great out there. And we're definitely excited about not only where he is right now, but where he'll be as we get further along into the season."

Even though Norvell knows first-hand how good Milton can be, after having competed against him multiple times at Memphis, he isn't about to just hand the starting job over to him.

As he talked about during the interview, the second-year head coach thinks he's got four good players in that quarterback room between Milton, Jordan Travis, Chubba Purdy and Tate Rodemaker. And he loves that there will be a true competition in the spring and into the fall.

"Those guys were a part of this process," Norvell said of the three other QBs not named Milton. "As I sat down and talked with them, I believe in all three of those young men that are returning. And I believe their skillset, their talent, it is exceptional. ...

"The competition is real. And I can promise you, if there is one position on this roster that there's always going to be competition, it's going to be in that quarterback room."

To listen to the entire 21-minute, click here.

Or watch it on our YouTube channel:

----------------------------------------------------

Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council