FSU Head Coach Mike Norvell Talks Home Opener, Relationship with Will Hall
The No. 4 Florida State Seminoles are gearing up to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in their season home opener this Saturday after a landmark 45-24 victory over the LSU Tigers last week.
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Florida State wrapped up Wednesday's practice in preparation for the game and FSU head coach Mike Norvell gave insight into what he expects from Southern Miss.
Norvell and Southern Miss head coach Will Hall aren't unfamiliar with each other. The two spent time together at Norvell's previous stop in Memphis when Hall served as his associate head coach and tight ends coach helping the Tigers go to the American Athletic Conference Championship.
"I know coach Hall, and he's a great developer of quarterbacks. You know he understands, he played the position. He's a very, very smart football coach. And, they play to the quarterback's strengths at a very high level."
2023 will be year two for Southern Miss under Hall. Last season the Golden Eagles made it to their first bowl game since 2016. Although not identical, there are some similarities in rebuilding programs between the two coaches.
"We've got a great relationship. He went into a situation where he's trying to establish the foundation, the culture there in Southern Miss, and I think you see the growth in their program," Norvell said. "I mean you'll watch it, you know, just the effort that they play with, the toughness, the physicality, those are all things that are on display. And like I said, he's a great coach. He's got a really good staff with him."
Because of their history, the two have spent numerous hours in the film room and game planning together. Norvell emphasized that they are going to have to adapt their strategy in the moment if some of their history starts to play a factor.
"Ultimately these are good football coaches, so there's gonna be things we have to do and adapt and adjust throughout the course of the game and kind of go from there."
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