Your Morning Was Not As Bad As Florida State's Was

On Monday night, I tweeted the tweet above out. I didn't think much of it, to be honest. This is what happens a lot in college football when new coaches come into a relatively strong program. Former big-time recruits end up transferring as the new coaching staff focuses their time on their recruits. 

I was thinking the "day of reckoning" was going to happen sometime after the season. I certainly did not see it coming today:

To recap for those who do not know every name in college football, Florida State lost this morning:

-Their former starting QB (James Blackmon)

-Their best player (Marvin Wilsoon)

-Their best offensive lineman

-Their best WR

2 sustained injuries. 2 left the program.

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Is this an indictment on Mike Norvell? I would say no. Florida State is in a situation similar to Mississippi State. You have to let both of these coaches come in and get their recruits before completely evaluating. Older guys in the program don't want to buy into the new regime as they are more focused on their NFL career. Leach is more open than Norvell about what is happening at his program, but I think Norvell would have a similar "we must purge malcontents" philosophy.

"Multiple players leaving FSU" will create clickbait headlines, but we must remember this won't matter much in whether Norvell will succeed in Tallahassee. If we are in year 3 or 4 and the players are leaving then we'll have an issue. I'm still a firm believer in Norvell considering what he did at Memphis. He continuously brought in top-tier athletes that others missed out on. I believe he can do the same at FSU, but he won't have to find diamonds in the rough, instead he will be able to recruit top talent and use them effectively.