Mike Norvell Urged to Change Recruiting Stance as FSU Put in Unfamiliar Territory

Florida State’s nine verbal commitments for the 2025 cycle may sparkle on paper, but a deeper dive raises tough questions about the Seminoles’ recruiting traction under Mike Norvell. The surprise addition of Gus Malzahn as OC generated plenty of buzz—his jump from UCF head coach to play-caller in Tallahassee brought both intrigue and urgency. But with FSU fans watching their rivals stack top-tier talent, the spotlight now swings sharply onto Norvell’s desk. The real story unfolding this offseason isn’t about X’s and O’s—it’s about whether Florida State still knows how to win on the recruiting trail.

Rivals recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. joined The Portal and laid the cards on the table. “You’ve got to be aggressive and play the flip game on the other side, once you create that familiarity with some of these new coaches,” Garcia said. “I don’t think it’s a lack of effort thing from Mike Norvell. He’s known for his energy. He’s known for being consistent. He’s known for being personal and being one of the great head coach recruiters in the country nationally. So I don’t think it starts with him necessarily, but obviously he’s gotta play and delegate his time very well.” So, even with Norvell’s sterling rep as a relationship builder, delegation and coordination are becoming critical as the Noles bring in new staff faces and try to maintain the tempo across multiple recruiting fronts.

And beat matters. With the bulk of top prospects making official visits during the condensed May-June window, the stakes are higher than ever. Garcia emphasized that how “well-oiled” the operation looks during these high-traffic weekends could define the Seminoles’ entire recruiting cycle. “It’s bouncing back to what you saw in 2023,” Garcia said. “That’s the belief when you talk to Florida State commitments. They believe it’s going to bounce back.”

But that hope has to convert into flips and finishes. As Garcia bluntly put it, “Cameron Brooks, …Cameron Wilson down in Miami—these guys are committed to other programs right now that on the surface look like they’re in better shape than Florida State with in-state recruits. I mean, that’s just something that can’t happen.”

Even more telling is where FSU’s recruiting ceiling currently sits—third in the ACC. “It’s just weird,” Garcia admitted. “I’m writing something about this at Rivals as we speak. It’s just weird that it feels like Florida State’s ceiling in ACC recruiting is third. And that’s just something that in my lifetime, certainly in my professional lifetime over a dozen years, has never been the case.” For a program that once strutted as the alpha dog in the ACC and a perennial top-10 recruiter nationally. Fighting for bronze behind Miami and Clemson is unfamiliar, even jarring. With Miami already grabbing the No. 1 player (Jackson Cantwell) in the country and loading up for a June surge, FSU’s fight for relevance is becoming a fight for survival.

That context makes this summer’s visitor list all the more urgent. In the Mike Norvell era, Florida State Seminoles averages 8.8 verbal commitments in June and July. In both 2023 and 2024, the Seminoles hauled in exactly nine pledges during those months. But this year’s opening weekend—starting May 30—feels light, with only six confirmed visitors. Half of them, including WR Camden Capehart and OL Jakobe Green, are already committed elsewhere. The other headline visitor is OT Johnnie Jones, a 6’6″, 305-pound mauler from Berkeley Prep with a ridiculous 7’1″ wingspan. Another key name is DB Traeviss Stevenson, currently pledged to Georgia Tech.

All are legitimate targets, all carry blue-chip labels, and all will test FSU’s ability to close. These aren’t just names—they’re benchmarks for how far Florida State has to go to reclaim its edge.

Culture over scheme? Mike Norvell’s Gus Malzahn hire turning heads

Florida State made headlines this offseason when Mike Norvell brought Gus Malzahn on board, and let’s just say… not everyone in the ACC is keeping quiet about it.

In Athlon Sports’ annual anonymous coach quote series (always a spicy read), one fellow ACC coach had a telling take: “Gus [Malzahn] is going to take it back to basics and do a lot of run-game at first. His hire was way more about culture and having the veteran in the room than it was about a particular kind of scheme.”

Whew. That’s one of those quotes that sounds casual—until you really think about it. When a coach says it’s ‘way more about culture’, it’s usually code for: ‘There’s been some internal stuff that needed fixing’. Translation? Florida State may have had a scheme, but not the locker room cohesion to back it up.

From the outside, Norvell’s been all smiles about the hire. Malzahn brings 30+ years of coaching experience and a reputation for grounding a program, both on and off the field. But if you squint a little, this move smells more like self-awareness—and possibly a nudge from higher up the chain.

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