ORLANDO, Fla. — Mike Norvell made sure Keon Coleman didn’t take the bait.
As soon as the question came like a meatball in a slow-pitch softball game, Florida State’s coach looked at his star receiver, shook his head and mouthed a clear message to the crowd: Don’t do it.
“How much did Brian Kelly’s pregame comments resonate in your locker room?”
Advertisem*nt
During his weekly radio show, Kelly had said LSU was “gonna go beat the heck out of Florida State.”
Coleman didn’t flinch. He reprogrammed himself like a receiver turned defensive back on a poorly thrown pass.
“When did he say that?” he replied through a smile. “I don’t recall that.”
The Seminoles played dumb in the postgame news conference. But on the field, they continued to make Norvell look brilliant.
Coleman — the latest transfer turned breakout star — caught three touchdown passes in Florida State’s 45-24 butt-whooping of Kelly’s fifth-ranked LSU Tigers on Sunday. He led the Seminoles with nine catches for 122 yards.
College football has obviously changed over the last five to six years, and Norvell isn’t the only coach using the portal to rebuild his roster. But he seems to be doing it better than anybody else. In four seasons, the 41-year-old former Central Arkansas receiver has recalibrated a college football blueblood turned sideshow circus back into a legitimate threat to win championships.
Sunday night’s win was proof Florida State deserved its preseason top-10 ranking. Coleman’s emergence in it — during a second-half blowout — is why Florida State has a chance to be a College Football Playoff team.
“That second half was a glimpse of what I think this team can do and where I think it could go,” Norvell said. “But there are a lot of things that we’re gonna have to clean up after. Obviously, there’s excitement in the locker room. That was one game. That was our first step.”
The fact Coleman starred in Florida State’s win shouldn’t surprise anyone. He led a 5-7 Michigan State team last season in catches (58), yards (798) and touchdown receptions (seven) and is ranked among the top 30 prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, he’s going to make a fool of a lot of defensive backs at this level and the next.
Advertisem*nt
What’s surprising is how Norvell went against the grain — opting to favor the use of the transfer portal over traditional recruiting pipelines — and how well the results have panned out.
Sure, Deion Sanders grabbed all the headlines for completely flipping his roster at Colorado and debuting with a shocking win over a program that just lost in the national championship game. Impressive first step, sure.
Norvell has gone at this progressively, taking his lumps, one painful step at a time. He went 3-6 and then lost his first four games in his second season, including the first game FSU ever dropped to an FCS opponent. Yet, he never deviated from his vision. For him, it’s about finding the right guys in the portal, the ones who fit his locker room and FSU’s culture. Then it’s about coaching them up, he told me at the ACC kickoff event in July.
Three of Jordan Travis’ four touchdown passes against LSU went to Keon Coleman. (Melina Myers / USA Today)
Quarterback Jordan Travis, a three-star ranked No. 889 in the Class of 2018, was already on FSU’s roster when Norvell arrived but wasn’t the starter. They molded him into one of the best college quarterbacks in the country. Travis threw a bad interception in the first half, then finished the game completing 23 of his last 31 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns. There was no panic from Norvell after the pick. Just a quick conversation on the sideline. He got it right.
“I gotta come out faster than that,” Travis said. “I started slow. I don’t know if it was first-game jitters or what it was. I just had to settle myself in. It’s easy when I’ve got a great team around me, pushing me and telling me they’ve got my back and whatnot.”
It looked easy at times last year when FSU went 10-3 and Travis could throw the ball up to 6-7 receiver Johnny Wilson, the Arizona State transfer, or could turn and hand it off to Trey Benson, the Oregon transfer. After a competitive first half Sunday, it looked really easy for Travis when his offensive line — with transfers from Colorado, Charlotte and UTEP — gave him all the time in the world to throw.
Advertisem*nt
But it looked special when Travis threw the ball to Coleman on Sunday night. Their first touchdown connection on FSU’s opening drive displayed Coleman’s ability to slip past defenders in the secondary. Their second and third hookups for scores showed off Coleman’s leaping ability, terrific hands and balance.
“He’s a really special player and special teammate,” Travis said. “I always talk about the person before the player. He’s a great teammate to have in the locker room. It’s always good vibes with him. There’s a smile on your face every single day when you walk in there and he always has energy. You love playing with guys like that.”
Sometimes infusing your roster with transfers doesn’t work out. It can blow up in your face, sending recruits to the exits and setting you back.
For some reason, it hasn’t happened with Norvell’s team yet. FSU’s climb just continues. The Seminoles took another big step Sunday.
(Top photo of Keon Coleman:Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)
Manny Navarro has been the University of Miami beat writer for The Athletic since September 2018. He's also the host of the "Wide Right" podcast. Manny's career started at The Miami Herald in October 1995 when he was a high school senior. He covered the Hurricanes, Heat, Marlins and high school sports for 23 years at the paper. He makes occasional appearances on WSVN's Sports Xtra on Sunday nights and is on the "Big O Show" with Orlando Alzugaray at 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. Follow Manny on Twitter @Manny_Navarro
