Mike Norvell talks Hurricane Ian, FSU vs. Wake Forest

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell spoke with the media Wednesday after practice halfway through Wake Forest week. Heading into the weekend the Seminoles are ranked for the first time since 2018 and are currently favored by seven points.

Norvell said he thought Wednesday was a solid day but there are still things that he wants to get corrected before this weekend’s matchup:

“I thought today was a solid day, cash down day, third down, fourth down, got a little introduction into red zone. I thought the effort was good, you know, execution has to be better. We had some missed opportunities today on both sides of the ball. We gotta continue to work and having that sense of urgency, just to the finer details of what we're doing. Like I said, I didn’t mind the mindset the guys brought, I thought they put forth good effort but the details of our execution have to improve. That was something we’ll go and we’ll coach off the film, make corrections and we’ll go apply that here tomorrow.”

With Hurricane Ian set to take its toll on south Florida, players and their families are being affected by its potential to do long-lasting damage. Norvell showed support for his players and everything that they’re going through and talked about how it could impact them.

“Anytime you have families affected by natural disasters, some of the things that we just cannot control, these guys they live life, they all have lives and all their families have things that happen and when those situations come up, we want to be there and we want to be supportive of our players and understand the feelings and emotions they go through. But when you step out on this field and you get an opportunity to, you know, not to say turn it off but to really just hone in on what we’re doing here, you know, sometimes that can be a distraction with all the other things that are going on in this world.”

He also noted the challenge it will be to remain focused:

“It’s challenging. It’s hard. A lot of these guys have families that are being impacted by the hurricane or have a potential to be impacted by the hurricane. We are there, we are supportive of them but we are gonna make sure that people are going, whether it's a situation like today, whenever they have things that are going on in their lives we want them to know that they have people to talk to. They have people to be able to rely on and are here to support them through all situations. But when it's time to step out onto this field it's a great challenge to be able to put all your focus into the opportunity that's ahead and go in and be your best.”

Florida State’s offense has had success this season with the tight end position and Norvell said newcomer Brian Courtney has made tremendous strides and will contribute this season. When asked if that opens up what he can do with the offense Norvell said:

“I think depth competition always helps. You look at the guys playing there, Markeston (Douglas) has done some good things, obviously, Cam (McDonald) has had his opportunities and had some explosive plays that have shown up, you know, Wyatt Rector, Preston has done a lot of the dirty work as he’s gone in but also has helped impact in the passing game as well.”

Norvell’s full interview can be seen below: