This was arguably the worst result for the start of the season. Florida State Seminoles That would be an understatement. Seminole Top 10 teams in preseason poll Lost 0-3 Georgia Institute of TechnologyBoston College and now Memphis, two of which will be at home. Coach Mike Norvell's position (he was rumored to be heading to Alabama after receiving a major contract extension this offseason) is looking increasingly precarious, and the schedule isn't getting any easier.
The big question here is why did it all go so badly for the Noles?
Let's start with the talent acquisition part. Coach Mike Norvell's Seminoles have typically been good at using the transfer portal. Most of last year's undefeated team was developed through the portal. QB Jordan Travis went to Louisville, RB Trey Benson to Oregon, and WR Keion Coleman to New Orleans. Michigan State UniversityWR Johnny Wilson ArizonaOn the defensive side of the ball, DE Jared Verss transferred from Albany and DT Braden Fisk transferred from Western Michigan. All of these impact players transferred through the portal in search of better opportunities. That's the great thing about the transfer portal. When the bottom of your team is built with high school recruiting, you can find gems through that passageway that can raise your team's ceiling.
But the transfer portal is a fickle place for transfers. For every gem you find, you also miss out on a key player at a key position. The Seminoles have found themselves in that situation on offense. The biggest transfer was quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. OregonThis is Uiagalelei's third move, and multiple coordinators and offensive lines are trying to answer the question: “Why is a kid that athletically gifted being so bad?” After three games, the Seminoles' offensive line still doesn't have an answer.
Uiagalelei is ranked 117th in passing rate ( Game on Paper) and is not the ground threat that Travis was last year. Whereas Travis was great at creating opportunities and making explosive plays on the ground when the pocket collapsed, Uiagalelei is a sluggish runner who cannot create opportunities under pressure. Uiagalelei is essentially a statue who lacks confidence when throwing in standard dropback situations, so the offense is limited to rollouts and half-field reads. When he is asked to throw in those standard situations, the offensive line collapses and looks like this:
It's not pretty at all.
The offensive line is a much bigger issue than the QB or any other portal additions. They were good last year, and with three of the five starters back, this experienced offensive line shouldn't be this porous. But again, it's a development issue. Some of these guys are redshirt seniors who played a lot of football, and if they're not good now, the coaching staff is to blame. When Uiagalelei was at his best at Oregon State, they had a mean, physical offensive line that could run the ball well, and Uiagalelei didn't have to carry the burden of the offense. That's not the case at FSU, because the line play is so poor. The receiver talent after Coleman and Wilson are also hit and miss, and they don't have the guys that can consistently create separation. Everything from talent identification to development has gotten worse at FSU. Florida.
This is where high school recruiting and development becomes crucial. It's very hard to win consistently if you only put transfers in your program. Transfers are a lock-in for 1-2 years, but high school recruits might be available for at least 3 years. Florida State is in a weird period where high school recruiting is going well. The Seminoles have never finished outside the top 25 in 247Sports recruiting during Norvell's tenure. But if the recruits coming in are good, but the product is still bad, the development isn't happening. That's the difference between a team like Florida State and a team like Texas or Orlando. Ohio State UniversityBoth schools recruit players at a very high level and, like FSU, utilize the transfer portal very well. The problem is that both Ohio State and Texas are very good at developing high school talent and don't need to rely on transfers at key positions like the offensive line or defensive line.
That's where the Seminoles need to improve, and it's unclear if Norvell will get the time to improve it.
