Interview: Florida State head coach Mike Norvell on Treshaun Ward, Seminoles vs. Miami

Florida State head coach Mike K. Norvell met with the media Wednesday morning ahead of their upcoming rivalry matchup against the Miami Hurricanes (4-4, 2-2 ACC) down south this weekend in Coral Gables.

Coming off a blazing win against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets last weekend 41-16, the Noles look to become bowl eligible and show that they can clean up some of the mistakes that have been following them throughout the season.

The win against Georgia Tech should not go unnoticed. The Noles were without starting running back Treshaun Ward for that matchup but managed to rush for 100 + yards, pass for 375+ yards, and have a receiver catch for over 100+ yards in Norvell’s high-powered offense.

“I thought today was a good work day; we were able to get into different situations, two-minute drill, we kinda put some extreme situations into it. You make sure that we’re just trying to prepare guys for whatever they might see. You’ve got good on good work, like each Wednesday. I thought that was competitive, you know, get some different looks.”

Norvell said that he tried to throw in some unexpected situations that weren’t exactly a part of the game plan to see how his team reacted to some things that they wouldn’t expect.

“I like going good on good, you know, it has nothing to do with the game plan, and so you might have a play that you’re running or a concept that you throw in there just to see it against a different look or against something that you maybe you might not expect.”

It’s not a secret how the fan base treats this game and the buzz and excitement that goes with it. Many memorable moments have come from the classic matchup, and Saturday shouldn’t be any different. Norvell said the “anything can happen in a rivalry game” mentality can be attributed to the passion and the energy that the players have alongside tradition.

“I mean, it’s, you know, when the greatest level of passion, the energy that goes around it, you know, there’s, you know, emotion is a wonderful thing, and when you just, when you pour all that you have into an opportunity, yes, that is an expectation each week, but you feel, I mean there’s no secret. I mean, you got flags hanging. You got people everywhere you go this week (who) will be talking about this game.”

Norvell also said that he expected starting running back Treshaun Ward to be available, barring something bad happening but to what extent, he didn’t know.

“I mean, as of right now, something negative would have to happen for him not to play. I mean, I feel very confident (about) where he’s heading. You know, what that looks like, we’ll see, but I do believe that you know, he’s trending the right way.”

Norvell goes over Trey Benson’s role in Ward’s absence, Fabien Lovett’s return, and more in his full interview below: