There’s a word you’ll hear often around Florida State football this summer: desperation. Not in the sense of panic, but as head coach Mike Norvell and his team describe it—a daily, urgent hunger. Norvell’s comments at the ACC Kickoff left the media wondering if he was trying to convince them, his players, or himself that the Noles can bounce back from an underwhelming 2024 season.
“As we're going into this off-season, it has been about bringing that daily edge, that desperation to go win on a daily basis, and in everything that we do,” Norvell said. “We wanted that sense of competition, and we wanted every day to see guys that are willing to rise to the challenge to be their best.”
For Norvell, whose program faced “the highest of highs and...the valley” in recent years, response to adversity is everything. After a 2-10 campaign and being left out of the playoffs the year before, the Seminoles are trying to redefine themselves.
“You don't come to Florida State unless you're willing to embrace the greatest of expectations, because there is a standard, and every day that standard has to show up,” Norvell said. “Ultimately, it wasn't for everybody.”
That standard, Norvell emphasizes, is built on action and not slogans. “The sacrifice, the investment, the work...there has to be work. There has to be the truest belief of being able to embrace that in all things that make up who you are.”
Now, the climb is about moving forward. “When you're climbing a mountain, there might be some times where you slip and where you stumble. But the most important step along the journey is the next one.”
For the players, “desperation” means refusing to let last year define them. Defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr., returning after NCAA waiver issues, is intent on setting a new tone. “Just the confidence I've been putting in this off-season, just coming into the season confident, and just be willing to be desperate and take that next step,” Jackson said.
Leadership is expected from every corner of the locker room. Earl Little Jr., now tasked with being a vocal leader in Tony White’s new defense, echoes the coach’s focus on daily habits. “I was asked to be a leader, just be more vocal on the team because that's what the team needs,” Little said. “Just bringing everybody up around me...just lock in, do what you've got to do. You don't got to do nothing special to be special. Just continue to be yourself, put your head down and keep working.”
For Little, the “standard” is simple: “Just playing with tremendous effort, and like Coach said, just being relentless and being desperate. Desperate to win, desperate to eat, just desperate to succeed.”
For Norvell and the Seminoles, it’s not last year’s disappointment or this year’s hype that matters, but the relentless climb: one day, one rep, one moment at a time.
“It's not about last year. It's not about anything that they've done up to this point in their career. It's about this season, with each day and every step that's in front of us, to go put it on display for what you want to be. Don't talk about it; let's go do it.”
