Mike Norvell updates injuries, talks improvement ahead of Miami game

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell spoke with the media after practice on Tuesday morning, discussing this week's matchup and game plan for the Miami Hurricanes (4-4, 2-2 ACC.) The Nole’s (5-3, 3-3 ACC) are coming off a dominant performance last weekend against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. A victory down in Coral Gables this weekend would make FSU bowl-eligible for the first time in Norvell’s tenure.

He said he liked the intensity of today but that there were still some things that they need to continue to get better at.

“I thought today was a good start to the week for our physical practices. I liked the guy's intensity, (there are) some things in execution that we need to get, continue to get better at, but I thought there was some good work that showed up. We continued to focus a little bit on the early introduction of red zone; you know, we don't have much of our ultimate plan but just wanted to see us get down and be able to run, throw, cover, fit gaps, I thought the offense ran the ball really well. I thought there were some good things that showed up there.”

The defense has had a weird string of injuries up front for most of the season and could potentially field the healthiest team since the LSU game. Norvell mentioned guys coming back from injury and how much some of the younger players have grown when other guys go down.

“I think you saw glimpses of that last Saturday where the majority of the guys, and there are some guys that are dealing with things that are dealing with the rest of the year, but you see the growth and the depth and just the availability of the guys is as good as its been since the second week of the season. And really in that, guys like Pat that have emerged that are showing that they can play at a really high level.” He also gave an update on Treshaun Ward “Tre got more work, and we’ll continue to address as the week goes on, but I feel good about where he’s at.

A player who has really put in the effort after tearing his Achilles and switching positions is defensive end Leonard Warner who shined in last week’s game. Norvell spoke on his impact and improvement.

“I'm really proud of Leonard. For a young man who started his career at linebacker, as he's really grown and developed physically, to see him have that impactful game and he’s been playing really good football for us. It doesn’t always show up on the stat line, but doing his job, playing with physicality, really making sure that he’s on point in all those areas. It’s great to see him get in the stat line and be able to get sacks, a couple sacks. To be able to make those impactful plays with energy, technique, and effort, I’m just really pleased with the reps that he’s been having.”

Mike Norvell talks about player mentality and fit in the locker room, transfers, and more in his full interview below: