The No. 9 Florida State Seminoles dominated the Kent State Golden Flashes on Saturday, winning 66-10 in Doak Campbell Stadium. They improved to 3-0 with the win and are now outscoring their opponents 174-30.
Head coach Mike Norvell spoke with the media after the game and discussed the performance of wide receiver Micahi Danzy, who had another excellent game.
“I’m very, very pleased with his progress, another young man that, you feel his desire, his want to, the practice habits, the push,” he said. “I mean, you could see the confidence just growing with every play that he gets.
“You’re seeing a young man that’s just growing and developing, but kind of right here before our eyes, but it’s 100 percent because of his work, and I think Coach (Tim) Harris is doing a great job with him.”
Norvell also talked about Tommy Castellanos, the offensive line, the running back rotation, and more. Here is everything he had to say after FSU’s dominant win over Kent State.
Opening Statement
Just a great night for us. Great weekend here for Florida State, you know, family weekend, you know, wonderful crowd, really proud of our players.
The work that they put in throughout the bye week, you know, coming into the night, really been challenging them, you know, tried to really force, you know, some uncomfortable situations throughout the bye week, you know, got some good speed on speed work, you know, just trying to continue to develop that growth, that edge, the, you know, just overall execution and I thought our guys rose to the challenge. I mean, you really, you know, felt them play once again, you know, I thought we were fast, we’re physical, had some explosive plays, you know, an extraordinary night, you know, offensively, you know, being able to have great balance, you know, ran for close to 500 yards, which broke a school record, you know, and what they were able to do and, you know, just really with all of the things that showed up, whether it was a lightning delay, you know, obviously some challenges that presented themselves, you know, our guys just, you know, they didn’t get, they didn’t get shook by the circumstance, they just continued to focus on the next play and, you know, I thought they did an outstanding job in their performance and it’s something that we needed to see, you know, and I’m really proud of them for what they’ve been able to do, you know, coming off our first game, having, you know, a couple games against, you know, smaller, you know, smaller schools and with the bye week right in the middle, you know, I don’t think our guys have let up at all and I think we’ve had a great focus on improvement and it puts us in the right position as we go into ACC play here on a short week, you know, leading into this week that’s ahead and so, you know, really pleased with our coaches, players, you know, everybody involved in the program for the work they did and, you know, just once again grateful for our fan base and, you know, all the Marching Chiefs were outstanding again tonight, you know, or today as we got a chance to play and, you know, you just feel their presence and, you know, there’s a great crowd here this afternoon.
On Tommy Castellanos’ injury
Obviously anytime you have any player that goes down, you know, he kind of, he came off under his own power but, you know, it’s, you don’t like to that with any, you know, individual but they went, we’re able to get him checked out, you know, we’ll see where this, where it progresses as we go into this week but, you know, I was glad to see him, you know, back and moving around and, you know, I think it’s going to be something that’s very manageable as we move forward.
On what he’s seen from the offensive line
It comes down to their work. I mean, they’ve really made a great investment into each other. I think we have great leaders in that group.
You know, the way that they, you know, that they’re taking coaching, you know, I say that, you know, Coach Hand does a remarkable job, you know, pouring into those guys. He challenges them on a daily basis and for all the experiences that they have, you know, previously and whether it’s here, whether it’s, you know, newcomers that have, you know, joined the program, you know, young guys that are growing and developing. I mean, it’s a constant push and, you know, these guys, they embrace that on a daily basis and you feel that the way that they’re gelling together, the, you know, the things that’s allowing us to do, you know, in the run game, you know, given time and protection.
You know, I’m pleased with that group and I think it’s a, you know, it’s a compliment to them and just, you know, their overall work and belief in each other.
On Micahi Danzy’s contested catch, his ceiling
I’m very, very pleased with his progress and, you know, another young man that, I mean, he, every day, I mean, you feel his desire, his want to, the practice habits, the push. I mean, you could see the confidence just growing with every play that he gets and, yes, to have three, four touchdowns already here this season.
I mean, a lot of explosive plays, but like that, that’s a big play that you can look at and say, man, that’s, yes, his speed got him behind, but man, the playmaking ability is what finished the catch and, you know, to see him and, you know, we had a couple of those in fall camp and you just, you’re seeing a young man that’s just growing and developing, but kind of right here before our eyes, but it’s 100 percent because of his work and I think Coach Harris is doing a great job with him. You know, you could, you can see that, you know, tonight, you know, Squirrel was out and, you know, it was an open door of opportunity for Micahi to show that he was ready for, you know, even more and, you know, I think that, you know, those two, the two vertical passes were big for him, but then, you know, so whenever he got the ball in his hand on the reverse, you know, he did what he’s been doing. So it was good to see that that was, that was big that he got to break the rock tonight and, you know, just a wonderful young man, you know, obviously Tallahassee native and one that, you know, I think he’s got an incredible future in front of him as he continues to progress.
On Kam Davis and Landen Thomas
I think it’s, it’s impressive to see those guys, you know, have some production that they’ve had, you know, and both those guys got a chance to play last year. You’ve got some reps under their belt and, you know, you’re seeing that, that continued growth. I think that there’s, you know, we’ve got a good number of guys, you know, Sam Singleton is another person that, you know, I know he’s a little bit older, another year older, but, you know, kind of getting more and more action and opportunities and really he’s done some great things.
You know, you see the growth in defense side of the ball with some more defensive backs, linebackers, you know, guys that have been within the program that are just continuing to push to emerge and, you know, they’re, I think coaches are doing a great job. You know, these guys are, they’ve worked really hard in the offseason to, to grow physically, mentally, you know, just the amount of passion and, you know, desire to, to go maximize that potential is really, really pleasing to us and the staff and to me.
On how the running back rotation helps the offense
I think you, when you have talented backs, you know, guys that all have, you know, different, you know, different skill sets, but, you know, being able to showcase that versatility, you know, different guys get opportunity and, you know, whenever they, you know, as you see that, that continued success and, you know, we had a lot of guys that had success, but it still comes down to the details, you know, the overall execution and I think, you know, Coach Johnson is doing a great job of being able to manage that, that group. Obviously Gus has put them in a wonderful position to showcase their talents, but, you know, I think that helps, it helps the offense as a whole.
On different players making plays each week
I think it’s, it’s, it speaks to the playmaking ability that our guys have. And I mean, you know, there’s, even within all of those plays that you see, I mean, there’s still other options depending on what, what a team does.
And, you know, you’ve got to be ready when, when your moment is there. And these guys are making plays, they’re playing fast. You know, what I think one of the great compliments is, you know, you see guys playing without the ball in their hands, whether it’s a fast motion, the guy carrying out the fake, this extra step to, you know, get a little bit more leverage or, you know, this guy’s blocking up front, you know, different skill positions blocking down the field to allow what would be a big run to be a touchdown.
You know, it’s, you never know, you never know when it’s going to be, but you’ve got to rise to the, to the occasion. And I think as we say, this is an offense and a program that’s built for playmakers. We’ve got some great playmakers within it.
And, you know, these guys are playing, you know, an unselfish brand of football, but they’re also, you know, they, they know when that ball comes their way, what they need to do with it and they’re getting a job done.
On the depth offensively
I mean, that’s, it’s been a, I think our guys have handled, handled their business to, you know, provide, you know, an open door of opportunities to play multiple players. And, you know, the guys have done a good job. There’s been, you know, some, some goods and things that, you know, we see where we need to continue to improve, but, you know, it definitely is, is nice going into conference play and the stretch that we have in front of us.
I know when the guys that might be new to the program or, or you guys are trying to really forge their own role that they have, you know, that they have some quality reps under their belt. And so, I mean, I like, I like where we are. Hopefully this next week, we’ll be able to get a couple of guys back, you know, in a full capacity and continue to push for it.
On Kam Davis’ status
Yeah, we’ll see. I mean, obviously he did, he did leave the game with a, with an injury, but we’ll see. We’ll see kind of how that progresses throughout the course of the weekend and early part of next week.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: What FSU head coach Mike Norvell said after beating Kent State
Reporting by JD McCarthy, FSU Wire / FSU Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
