Something is not letting Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell sleep at night. His hot head coaching seat that comes with a clause. “You can’t follow up a 2-10 year by going like 4-8 or 5-7.” Norvell is carrying the burden of his eight-year extension that he signed in the offseason, worth $10 million per season. On top of that, Norvell failed to carry forward the legacy of his predecessors, Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher.
So, Norvell is now taking baby steps to secure his future. And what better way to do that than striding on the recruiting trail? Well, as far as their 2026 class is concerned, the progress has been slow. As per On3’s list, their 2026 class stands at No.12 with 21 recruits. However, out of all the locked-in targets, Norvell is worrying about a particular commit. That’s none other than 4-star WR commit Jasen Lopez.
Yes, the ‘no feeling is final’ narrative is haunting Norvell. On July 3, Rivals tweeted, “Multiple schools are pushing to flip newly Florida State 4-star WR commit Jasen Lopez, @BenjaminRivals reports.” And turns out that Lopez has kept his doors wide open. The 4-star commit shared, “This isn’t me shutting down my recruitment. It’s just me committed to a school verbally.” After landing the commitment from 4-star Devin Carter, flipping him from Auburn, Norvell got lucky to hunt down Lopez on June 26. The 6-foot, 185-pounder is ranked as the No. 247 player in the country and the No. 41 wide receiver by On3’s industry rankings. And what makes Norvell get scared of losing Lopez?
Multiple schools are pushing to flip newly Florida State 4-star WR commit Jasen Lopez, @BenjaminRivals reports
“This isn’t me shutting down my recruitment. It’s just me committed to a school verbally.”
Read: https://t.co/AvAhYeMqJi pic.twitter.com/5ea4jfWJxA
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 3, 2025
The young chap has raged the gridiron throughout his high school, having 70 receptions for 1,275 yards and 13 touchdowns as a freshman. In his sophomore season, Norvell’s commit racked up 73 catches for 1,222 yards and 16 scores. Lopez held offers from nearly 30 schools and took official visits to Miami, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, and NC State. However, ultimately, Norvell’s FSU and Mario Cristobal’s Miami were neck and neck for the South Florida native. As we all know, Lopez is also a high-level basketball recruit. That’s when Florida State basketball coach Luke Loucks caught hold of the opportunity and came up with a scholarship offer for a point guard position.
In this race to land Lopez, Norvell’s wide receiver coach, Tim Harris Jr., also played a huge role. The athletic department has not been afraid of bringing in multi-sport athletes. Now, even after making a risky move, will Norvell have to pay the price? Well, while the head coach figures out how to keep Lopez locked in the Seminoles’ squad, too many things are piling up on his plate.
The Michael Alford ultimatum for Mike Norvell
Last September, Paul Finebaum called Norvell a ‘superb coach.’ However, it took nine months for the tables to turn. The Seminoles’ script flipped from 13-1 to a 2-10 season. And BOOM! Norvell’s FSU turned into a hate magnet. So much so that they are now catching disrespectful glances. For instance, the Alabama-FSU season opener is set for 3:30 p.m. ET instead of a primetime slot. On that note, Finebaum commented, “That disrespect is not aimed at the University of Alabama. That is aimed at the clown show that has been going on in Tallahassee. You do remember, Florida State was the worst team in America last year?”
Can the critics be blamed? Not at all. After all, they have seen Norvell gifting Seminoles the golden times with a 13-0 winning streak, topped up with an ACC Championship in 2023. Under Norvell’s tutelage, the Seminoles became the first preseason top-10 team to start the season 0-3. Moving into the 2025 season, if he needs to save his seat, Norvell will not have to be Superman, but will have to do a little more than the bare minimum.
Florida State AD Michael Alford had set out his clear expectations for Mike Norvell on the Gramlich & Mac Lain podcast. “It’s the same expectations I have every year, improvement. We are changing our offensive philosophy. I think it’s a great move. Mike and I spoke about it for a couple years ago when he became the offensive coordinator, how long did he want to do that before we had to make another adjustment. To be able to get Gus [Malzahn] when that opportunity presented itself. You’re talking about historically one of the greatest offensive coordinators in college football. It’s just to have him now full time, just want to coach the offense, and I call him the mad scientist is one him sitting there.” Essentially, now’s the moment for Norvell to juggle like a pro — keep the recruits locked in and scrub the stench of 2-10 from memory.
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