FSU's Mike Norvell considers the advantages of spring scrimmages against other NCAA teams
The Florida State Seminoles have wrapped up practice 11 of spring camp and are getting a few days off over the Easter break this weekend. The Annual FSU Football Spring Showcase is just around the corner, and during his post-practice interview, a question was brought up to head coach Mike Norvell about his thoughts on whether or not two different NCAA teams should play a scrimmage against one another rather than separate spring games.
"I think everybody has given thought to it," Norvell said. "There's good and bad with it. The good is going against somebody else and minimizing some of the risks of the overall number of plays that some guys might play rather than going against yourself."
The idea could be a vital tool for building fan interest in the off-season and adding an exciting dynamic for coaches and players.
"If they open it up and allow us to, I'd definitely do it. I think there is some real merit," Norvell said. "I've always wondered, and especially just with the proximity of schools, I mean, even to be able to come together during a fall camp for a couple of days in some of those mixed practices, I think there could be some benefit of that."
In this new age of college football, why not give the fans excitement and the players a chance to improve against new blood?
"If there were something that became available, yeah, we definitely would explore that because I do think it's good," Norvell said. "We probably wouldn't do a whole lot of game planning with it, but there's always some interesting dynamics that would probably get involved in that."
Who wouldn't want to see an FSU vs. UCF or USF matchup? A Miami against Middle Tennesee State exhibition in the dog days of Spring? It would provide valuable experience and exposure for players to compete against different playing styles in a less-than-high-risk environment and also a chance for coaches to experiment with strategies in an atmosphere that doesn't bring all the pressure from a regular season game.
Ultimately, any decisions about playing scrimmages against other teams for spring games or during fall camp will depend on the NCAA's evaluation of the potential benefits and challenges of such a change.
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