FSU Football QB's High Expectations for 2024 Season: 'National Championship Or Bust'

Mike Norvell has been building a special program in Tallahassee as Florida State now holds steep expectations.

Since Mike Norvell arrived in Tallahassee, Florida State has seen the program turn back around to a national contender. Fresh off an ACC Championship win and near-College Football Playoff appearance, the program has made an arrival. As long as Norvell is with the program, landing top transfer portal and recruiting classes, the expectations will remain the same -- a National Championship. 

Incoming transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei understands what kind of weight is on his shoulders as the team's starting quarterback, as he revealed on Sirius XM's College Sports Radio.

“I understand the expectation when you’re a quarterback here at Florida State and as a player,” Uiagalelei said on the show. “But of course like you said, the expectation is high. That’s what you want. You want to be able to be able to be able to play at a place where the expectations are high and it’s ACC championship, national championship or bust. That’s the expectation Coach Norvell has and that’s the expectation that the team has and including a fan base." 

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For Uiagalelei to have had the career trajectory he has -- being a highly-ranked recruit at Clemson before finally blossoming at Oregon State a season ago -- his experience and knowledge within the sport could help the Seminoles transition from Jordan Travis' leadership and remain a top program.

Playing quarterback for Florida State truly means something, and to shoulder the expectation and weight of playing under center and being expected to compete at the highest level is impressive for Uiagalelei, who understands that task before even suiting up in garnet and gold.

“So for me, man, it’s an opportunity. It’s a blessing to be able to go out there and it’s a challenge you know, each and every day. You got to put your best foot forward so at the end of the season you can be smiling," Uiagalelei said.

Norvell has truly turned this program around, and a big part of that was his development of quarterback Jordan Travis, who was at the center of the program's rebuild. Now he's headed for the pros, and Uiagalelei gets to fill the void under center while underclassmen develop within the program. He knew early in the transfer process that Tallahassee was the place for him to be.

“I was excited for me and when I put my name in the portal, all my eggs in one basket, I wanted to be at Florida State,” Uiagalelei said. “And that’s where my heart, my mind was set on. So for me, man, that was where I wanted to be. I just put my faith in God. Just let him open the doors, that he was gonna open up and I’m just blessed and thankful that he opened up the door for me to be able to get an opportunity to be able to come to Florida State, compete and play coach for coach Norvell."

While the Seminoles were a top-ten team heading into the 2023 season, the program will likely be a bit lower in the initial AP Top 25 in the upcoming season, given the amount of outgoing talent to the NFL Draft.

Watching the team build chemistry and rally behind Uiagalelei in his lone season with Florida State is going to be fun to monitor over time, and the team finding out its ceiling in real time is going to be special.

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