Mike Norvell goes in-depth on the challenges of roster management following Sam McCall situation

Drama abounds in college football, even for programs that generally have things headed in the right direction. Just ask Florida State, which stomped rival Miami 45-3 on Saturday, only to see freshman defensive back Sam McCall announce Monday he planned to enter the NCAA transfer portal before deleting the post shortly afterward.

Coach Mike Norvell addressed the Sam McCall situation shortly after, noting it’s just part of the modern reality in college athletics.

“We’ve got young freshmen. Some are playing, some are not playing at all, some want to play more,” Norvell said. “If they didn’t have that in them then they’re not supposed to be here. They’re not supposed to be at Florida State. But with that, it’s about trusting the process of that growth, trusting the process of what they’re doing and then being able to control.”

Norvell didn’t really elaborate on what McCall’s post, which was quickly deleted Monday morning, actually means or what his current status with the team is.

Instead he focused on the challenges student-athletes face in a highly reactional world with all sorts of different pressures and influences.

“Being able to control the emotional reaction of, ‘Man, this is not looking exactly like what I want it to be right now,’ but you don’t need to do this or that, but you can just continue to trust the process of what you can control to get better and to put yourself closer to ultimately what you want it to be,” he said.

Challenges of roster management apparent after Sam McCall situation

McCall’s brief announcement and subsequent deletion of his social media post perfectly underscore the challenges of roster management many college coaches now face.

Often players are announcing decisions on their future to the world before they’ve even talked to coaches (it’s unclear if McCall fits into that category, for what it’s worth). That’s where having a strong program foundation in place comes into play.

“For us, we support all of our players. It is such a hard time to play college athletics,” Norvell said. “It’s hard for everybody. It’s hard for players, it’s hard for coaches, because with social media, with all the attention, with all the different opportunities you can have just with everything that’s out there, I think it’s important that you just continue to paint the picture, you continue to be supportive, you continue to invest in these young men throughout the journey so that they can see the steps.”

Norvell said he enjoys the challenges of roster management, though.

It’s provided him ample opportunity to learn about what makes players tick these days.

“Being a head coach in today’s age of college athletics with roster management, with all the things that are going on, it’s challenging,” Norvell said. “But that’s one of my favorite parts of it. And I would have never thought that seven years ago before I was able to be in this position, because being able to paint the picture, show the vision, see the growth, see the steps, and for guys that might not have — whether it’s Trey Benson or a young player that we have — when they are able to take those steps and achieve even more than what they believed they could because of the experience they have, man, that’s what makes it such an incredible joy.

“So it’s challenging, but I embrace that and try to help them through it. It is a new age in college athletics and we’re here to go through that with these guys and help them in every way that we can.”

Norvell pointed out example of selfless play

In light of the Sam McCall situation, Norvell actually took the opportunity to highlight one of the real positives he saw in his program coming out of the Miami game.

The general theme underlying young players looking for opportunities elsewhere is they want to play. Now.

“Everybody wants more,” Norvell said.

But working toward a team goal is about a lot more than just individual statistics or accolades. Take, for example, Florida’s receivers on Saturday night.

With Florida State out to a big early lead, the best way to win the game was to take the air out of the game. Run the ball, eat clock. The Seminoles threw just 16 passes in the win.

“One of the things I commended after the game, and I said it to the team yesterday: I was so proud of our receiving group there Saturday night,” Norvell said. “We had a dominant win, and I don’t know, was it maybe, I don’t know how many catches it was that the receivers had. It was probably a handful. But the impact that they had on the game, the encouragement, the emotions. All the things that they could control they did.

“And we were extremely efficient throwing the football, had some great big plays and some impact opportunities, but they all wanted the ball every single time the ball was snapped. But it’s still about trusting the process of what we’re doing and continuing to take the steps of what we can do to make a positive impact.”

Will McCall come to that realization and stick around? That remains to be seen.

Norvell, though, is continuing to emphasize process and patience at this point.