TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — This is a big year for the Florida state football team. A team that was once the youngest in college football, now boasts experience. It's also year three for head coach Mike Norvell. Can this team turn things around? If the work they've put in this off-season is any indication, coach says yes.
"We all know what we want at the end of the day," said redshirt senior Robert Cooper.
Day one of fall camp Wednesday was proof of that.
"With so many returning guys, there's a standard and expectation," said Norvell. "They know what that needs to be."
"We just can't sit here and talk about we want this, we want that," added Cooper. "The thing is to actually do it with action."
The growth of this program from year one of Norvell's tenure to now is the difference.
"It's night and day for expectations. We are able to be very aggressive in installations. We now get to push it to another level of creating adversity, making them uncomfortable. That's all part of it."
Part of the steps this football team has taken to get this program back where it needs to be, and it started months ago.
"This off season was different in how we fought together," said Cooper. "Everybody commanded the best out of each other everyday."
"To be able to encourage someone and say hey, I was there a year ago or I was there two years ago, to continue to progress, you'll see those steps that are coming along," added Norvell.
That hard work coupled with experience brings a team on a mission.
"They care about it," said Norvell. "They're investing a lot of time."
"The standard has been set," added Cooper. "These past couple years, I can just tell people are getting more confident."
Confidence they're hoping leads to success this fall. Florida State opens the season August 27th.
