Florida State wide receiver trying out new position ahead of 2022 season

Head coach Mike Norvell announced the move on Tuesday morning.

The final week of the preseason began on Tuesday morning for Florida State and there was one big change to take notice of. According to head coach Mike Norvell, redshirt freshman wide receiver Joshua Burrell will be getting a look at running back. Burrell entered practice with the running backs to begin the week while donning No. 12. He had previously worn No. 81 over the past year.

The move comes after Norvell's announcement that walk-on running back CJ Campbell will miss the season due to an injury.

"I will announce today that CJ Campbell will be out for the year," Norvell said on Tuesday. "Unfortunate, CJ was a guy that really was coming on in the running back room and really did a phenomenal job with our special team's units. It's definitely going to be a big hit to us."

"Today we worked Josh Burrell, who's a very versatile athlete, put him back in the backfield. Looked great today, I mean it was a really good first day for him," Norvell continued. "With his size, speed, he's got great feet, he's really been coming on at receiver. I like the things that I've seen from him and we'll still have a mix of that as we're going. We want to make sure that we have all plans covered. I thought he really did a good job today."

#FSU head coach Mike Norvell tells us that WR Joshua Burrell is getting a look at the running back position now.

Burrell looked impressive today. Here’s a good look at him in his new No. 12. #Noles pic.twitter.com/fbAJ5Dtm6X

— Logan B. Robinson (@LogansTwitty) August 16, 2022

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The South Carolina native made a swift impression on the Seminoles last spring after enrolling early. It looked like he could work his way into Florida State's rotation at wide receiver before a lower-body injury limited his impact for the majority of the 2021 season. He appeared in two games and was named a Seminole Scholar while redshirting as a true freshman.

Burrell entered the offseason healthy and has had some flashes amongst Florida State's revamped wide receiver unit. The coaching staff will look to take advantage of his size out of the backfield. Standing at 6-foot-2, 217-pounds, the only running back with a frame similar to Burrell is Trey Benson (6-1, 215)

The redshirt freshman originally committed to the Seminoles in May 2020. He signed with Florida State as a member of the 2021 class and was one of two wide receivers (Malik McClain) in the group. 

With the position change, Burrell becomes Florida State's fifth scholarship running back. He joins Benson, Treshaun Ward, Lawrance Toafili, and Rodney Hill in the backfield.

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