CHARLOTTE — Opening up the ACC Kickoff on Wednesday, Florida State coach Mike Norvell brought in quarterback Jordan Travis, defensive tackle Fabian Lovett and defensive back Jammie Robinson.
Coming off a 5-7 record in 2021, Norvell cited last year as “a year of great opportunities for us, and it didn’t start the way that we wanted. But as a football team, being able to show a response, show an identity — there were a lot of lessons that were learned, and it builds a lot of excitement for what’s ahead.”
Specific lessons from the previous season were building a foundation in which relationships through experiences were built in addition to a large returner percentage that has made for, in the words of Norvell, “an incredible offseason” full of both physical and mental development.
Following the discussion of the offseason, Norvell disclosed his expectations for a successful season.
“The daily expectation with the season is for us to go out there and be our best to improve daily,” he said, “and to go out there and not only be competitive but to push to new limits of what we are and where we are going.”
Diving into position-specific questions, when asked about how a quarterback dictates the field, Norvell responded, “As you watch quarterback growth, it is the driver of any offense.”
That perfectly segwayed into the introduction of returning quarterback Jordan Travis.
When asked about his goals for this upcoming season, Travis answered, “We have some new weapons. I’ve been just working really hard on technique. All the little parts of the game.”
With a quarterback-heavy conference, Travis disclosed that he does not compare himself but instead watches in order to learn. One of the biggest influences for Travis was former FSU quarterback McKenzie Milton, who taught him a lot through leadership. In the upcoming season, Travis will look to bring all the little things together to grow.
Switching over from offense to defense, Florida State lost a key player, sack leader Jermaine Johnson, who contributed immensely to the Seminoles’ defense. Lovett quickly communicated that Johnson was one of the players who helped lead Lovett to his breakout, showing him how to be the guy who makes plays also. Lovett continued on to say, “As far as our (defensive) ends we have (Derrick) McLendon, (Jared) Verse, Dennis Briggs, Leonard (Warner) and some young guys that will play a big role for us this year.”
Improvement was the name of the game in the Florida State press conference from all aspects of reconstructing defense to upping offensive statistics. The Seminoles are looking to capitalize on their offseason to translate to in-season triumphs.
It’s an essential year for the Seminoles to perform well based on the fact that, in previous years, the Seminoles have fallen short of ACC ranking expectations. Take 2017 for example, when the Seminoles were chosen to win the conference yet finished sixth in the Atlantic Division followed by 2018, when they were predicted to finish second in the division only to fall into sixth place for a second time.
Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center. Clemson returns one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
