Mike Norvell wants commits, recruits to be 'a spark' amongst changing staff

That certainly extends to the recruits and commits that have had relationships with those same coaches for months, oftentimes years. When those changes come on a larger scale as Florida State's changes have (and will likely continue to), recruits at every position are impacted.

Specifically, Florida State has four offensive line prospects currently committed in its 2025 class — more than any other position. Alex Atkins' dismissal as not only the offensive coordinator but also the offensive lines coach bares extra weight in those who may choose to leave the class and those who may no longer consider the Seminoles as signing day approaches.

Some of Florida State's commitments and remaining targets have publicly reacted to the news of Florida State's dismissal of Atkins, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller and wide receivers coach Ron Dugans. Their reactions can be read here on The Osceola message boards.

As for the rest, Mike Norvell privately reached out to every commit in both the 2025 and 2026 classes to brief them on his decisions and what they can expect for the future.

"You spend a lot of time building relationships, and there's times that when those positions change, it's hard for kids. But they also understand all the things that are in store for them and the opportunity that's here has not changed. It's just about being able to share as much as I can with them, just the vision for what's ahead. We all know the expectation ... These are not the results that they've wanted, either, and obviously I think a lot of the guys that we have, they're either committed or guys that are our top targets, they're going to be part of that spark. They're going to be those difference makers that we've talked about throughout the course of the year that I think can come in and be able to put their stamp on this program," Norvell said.

Norvell also took a moment to recall those players that decided to be a similar spark when the program was still recovering earlier in his tenure.

"We saw it a few years ago when we were coming off a couple of underwhelming seasons on the field. Guys made a choice. They've said, 'I want to go and I want to help spark the change.' And they did. You got to lift a championship trophy. You got to win 19 games in a row — I think the second most ever in program history. You got to experience a lot of good things. A lot of those guys are now playing in the National Football League and benefitted from that choice," he continued.

With the early signing window having been moved a few weeks up the calendar to Dec. 4, Norvell now has an accelerated timeline in terms of solidifying a plan. Norvell reinforced during his Monday media availability that he does have a plan in place in what he wants to do but is still evaluating all things.

The ideal date for positions to be filled would be Dec. 1, the Sunday immediately following the Seminoles' final regular season game against Florida. That would give Norvell just over three weeks to not only fill the positions but to accommodate any additional changes that may happen due to the ripple effect of hiring new coordinators. Whether that Dec. 1 date is entirely realistic, Norvell isn't entirely certain.

"Obviously I want to respect everybody as they're going through their process, guys playing in championship games," Norvell said. "We're going to respect the process of what that could be. Even a very short period of time, we've had some tremendous interest in positions and roles even from guys at the next level. We're going to evaluate all things just to be right ... Would it be good for guys on signing day to know exactly who's going to be in place? Yes. But I'm going to communicate as much as I possibly can with the guys that are committed to us where that journey has taken us, and we'll make the best decision when the time is right."

With the program opting to make moves during its bye week instead of weathering the storm until the end of the season, at the very least it gives Norvell a chance to get ahead of some of the turbulence of making multiple coaching changes and the aftermaths of such a weighted decision. FSU will also host official visitors in its final two home games, against Charleston Southern and Florida, before the dead period and signing day.

Having that extra time in place may reduce rash decisions on the recruiting trail and open up continued communication with the current crop of commits as to what the plan is moving forward in what will prove to be the most important few months of Mike Norvell's tenure at Florida State.

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