On the eve of the start of his third preseason camp as head football coach at Florida State, Mike Norvell seemed more optimistic than ever about his team.
Or, more to the point, his entire program.
He must've used the word "excited" a dozen times during his pre-camp press conference on Tuesday. From the offensive line depth, to the buy-in from his players, to the summer workouts, everything seems to have the head coach fired up about what 2022 holds.
"I believe we are going to be a much better football team than we were a year ago," Norvell said.
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He made a point to mention that in every game but one -- the 35-14 loss to Wake Forest -- the Seminoles had a chance to win in the final minutes. Some they did. Most they didn't. But from the year before, the FSU football team had clearly improved. And Norvell expects it to take another jump this season.
"Now it's time to apply the lessons," he said. "And I think this team has really embraced that. They really care about each other and they care about how they represent this program."
Norvell mentioned that a few times Tuesday.
He talked about how his players had taken ownership of the program, how they truly seemed to believe in what they were doing. So much so that players are coaching their teammates on their own, cheering them on in the weight room, making sure they're holding each other accountable.
Without saying it in so many words, it was obvious that wasn't the case when he took over in 2020.
"This program has experienced a lot of change," Norvell said. "I talked about the foundation earlier. That had to be established. We needed to see the carryover. ... There was not enough continuity and consistency in the message for so many years. So, as the leadership grew, they didn't have the understanding of what the message was."
He thinks that message has been instilled as he and his coaching staff head into Year 3.
Now, the wins need to come.
Norvell is just 8-11 in his first two years at the helm. Last season saw drastic improvement after the 0-4 start, but it was still another losing season.
The head coach knows that has to stop.
He can say all the flowery words he wants, he can talk about how excited he is, how remarkable his team's work ethic was this summer. If the wins don't follow this fall, it will all seem hollow.
He knows that. So does his team.
Because it's a point he has hammered home since that loss in the season finale to Florida.
"When you have people that truly care about each other, that care about the name, what it represents, what it looks like, we've seen some great strides when it comes to that," Norvell said. "When it's a true challenge, they're embracing that work."
He talked about how in the final stages of a workout in the weight room, the team will come together to cheer on each other. To make sure their teammates get through that final rep, that final set.
All of that matters, he says.
He truly believes that makes for a better football team.
"But now we've got to put that on display," he said. "To showcase the identity of who we're going to be. ... They know what they need to do. Now they have just to go do it."
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