Mike Norvell calls recruiting locally huge for Florida State
While speaking to media on National Signing Day, Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell called local recruiting huge for Florida State.
Norvell explained that recruiting locally, particularly Big Bend and South Georgia, is special for everyone involved and that it’s even more important to land the top players from those regions.
“It’s obviously huge to be able to have those guys that are so close in proximity to come in and be a part of this program,” Mike Norvell said. “I mean, it’s special for them. It’s special for their families. It’s special for Florida State. You look through the history of our program, and all the great players that are local, that are in that Big Bend area in South Georgia, that’s why four years ago coming in it’s been such a big emphasis.”
Florida State has signed 22 players to its class this cycle. Among those signees, 17 are from either the state of Florida or Georgia.
“And it’s one thing to sign a player from an area. It’s another thing to go get the best players from those areas. And to be able to do that here locally, to be able to do that within the states of Florida and Georgia, I mean, it’s big for our program. So, I’m really proud of our staff. I’m proud of all the work that’s gone into it. Our players, our current players do such a great job of really selling the opportunity that’s here.”
One of the key things for Mike Norvell has been to have current players share the expectations that the program has of players with recruits. That is, for Norvell, a key piece to building the culture of the program.
“And as recruits come in, as they go through their own experience, I always tell our players this, be truthful, tell them exactly what they can expect when they get here because I owe it to our current players, every person I bring in the locker room, they’ve got to fit. They’ve got to be about the same things that we push
towards each and every day — that standard, the expectations — and they embrace some of those challenges. So, when our players get to share that story, the experiences, the relationships we have within our team, the culture that has been built, I mean, that does wonders.”
Florida State currently has the 11th-ranked recruiting class in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. That’s also the second-ranked class in the ACC.
‘For the guys that are close and local in proximity, they’ve been here so many times that they have really got to live it with us,” Norvell said. “It’s definitely exciting and big for the program to get those guys to jump on board.”
Mike Norvell emphasizes importance of Luke Kromenhoek, Kam Davis to recruiting class
Two of the players in the 2024 class for Florida State that Mike Norvell says are very important are Luke Kromenhoek and Kam Davis.
“For us, it really marks the official beginning, but there’s been so much time that’s gone into it, it’s just another step along the way. To see the investment in people that these guys have shown — whether it’s to each other, to this class, to the group that’s coming in — I have a lot of confidence in what this group is going to be able to accomplish because I already see the way that they interact with each other. You see the like-minded approach of which they bring,” Norvell said.
“Yes, they are very, very talented, but when you take great talent with tremendous hearts and work ethic, the sky is the limit to what you can accomplish. Kam, Luke, Charles [Lester III], a lot of those guys just spent so much energy investing in a relationship. That’s going to pay off when they’re here and when they’re not starting at ground zero. They’ve already been pouring into each other. Obviously that’s going to pay such great dividends once they start this process together.”