Florida State's 2024 football season has veered miles off the rails as last week's loss to rival Miami dropped the team's record to 1-7. While those results could negatively impact recruiting, coach Mike Norvell sees an opportunity to sell prospects on a vision for the future.
Since the start of September, five 247Sports four-star recruits have decommitted from the Seminoles' 2025 signing class. Florida State now sits 48th in the 247Sports Team Rankings, putting the program below the likes of UCLA, Syracuse and Duke. That's not an ideal place for one of college football's biggest brands, but Norvell says he isn't discouraged.
Asked about the state of Florida State's recruiting on Monday, Norvell said some recruits will see the team's struggles as the chance to make an immediate impact. Norvell added that he's been in a similar position on the recruiting trail, going 8-13 in his first two seasons with the Seminoles.
"Obviously, you could look at the record and look at performance and see that as something that could potentially push away some players," Norvell said. "Some guys, they see the opportunity to come in and be a difference-maker in what we're doing and where we're going. It's still about finding the right guys. Three years ago, that's what we found because our record sucked then. We had to find guys that wanted to come in and be the difference-maker here at Florida State to get our program back to doing something great."
In those classes, Norvell landed some impactful transfers like Jermaine Johnson, Trey Benson and Jared Verse. That trio, along with a handful of others, played key roles in bringing Florida State back to the national spotlight.
According to Norvell, he will target the recruits willing to come in and do the hard work necessary to get things turned around in Tallahassee.
"The right guys are going to show up," Norvell said. "The right guys are going to be a part of getting this program back to where it deserves to be and where we expect it to be. Those are the ones I'm looking for. The right ones will say, 'Yes.' Then we'll come in here and work our butt off. It's gonna be a great story to see."
In the meantime, Florida State will try to put a crooked number in the win column this weekend when it hosts North Carolina.