FSU Football: Portal Preview | What You Need To Know | Early QB Names | New Portal Window Dates
Despite the narrative amongst some FSU writers I believe Mike Norvell will sign a similar size portal haul yet again.
The Portal King Returns
Mike Norvell has accumulated the reputation of being one of if not the best transfer portal evaluator and recuiter In college football. He did it the first several years with brilliant evaluation and early offers on under the radar prospects he was confident he could make stars like Jermaine Johnson, Johnny Wilson and others. Following a 10-3 2022 campaign that.changed and the 2023 Portal Class was full of concensus top players including three of the initial top twelve.
Norvell proved what was possible with his ability to identify talent coupled with on field results and proven track record of success with transfers. Fast forward eleven months and the Noles are 12-0 (8-0) for the first time since 2014 with a date of the books with Louisville for the ACC Title. #Tribe24 is also currently ranked #3 with no signs except moving up the board.
The recently found success in high school recruiting has led many to believe that this year will see a reduced emphasis on the Portal with approximately ten extra scholarships going to class of 2024 high school recruits. I don't see it that way as while this is true the Noles will not return anywhere near the 87% of production it did in 2023. I've already predicted at least ten Seminoles to go pro. There will be at least five players processed off of the bottom of the roster. We will do an exhaustive scholarship count followojf the ACC Title game but I see around ten players coming in from the portal yet again and we see the greatest portal class of all-time.
The Quarterback Position
I have long held the opinion that Norvell would not go the portal route for quarterback this cycle but following the UF game I find myself wondering if I have been somewhat naive. Given the level the Noles are at on the field now versus 2020 and 2021 when it brought in it's two most experienced returning qbs maybe so.
Brock Glenn shows sparks of brilliance but is clearly a true freshman and may nkt.be ready for.nex tear and as big a fan of Rodemaker as I am Norvell may owe it to the team to kick the tires on some quarterbacks in the transfer market. Interestingly enough some names have already piqued the interest of Nole Nation.
Possible Early Entries To Watch
Utah QB - Nate Johnson
Holy Cross QB - Matthew Sluka
MsState QB - Will Rogers
Texas A&M QB - Max Johnson
Texas Tech QB - Tyler Shough
The pie in the sky name yet to announce any intentions would be Wazzu QB Cam Ward and Tulane QB. We will keep a close eye on the situation of course and keep you all regularly updated.
Dates To Know
The Portal window has shrunk consiberably from 60 days total last year with the first period only lasting 30 days this go round and spring remains at 15 days.
December 4th - January 2nd
For playoff teams there will be an additional 5 day period following that game.
Spring Portal Period
May 1st - 15th
The New Recruiting Math
For over a hundred years the lifeblood of college football was high school recruiting. Don't get me wrong it still is probably the single.most important facet of talent acquisition in college football but not like it used to. You can argue the weight of the three main factors in modern recruiting but they are all vital today.
Modern recruiting is 1/3 High-School 1/3 Transfer Portal & 1/3 Retainment. Norvell was able to get his program.to a top five level while only being elite at the latter two thirds. With the Noles currently sitting at #3 in the high school rankings folks are fired up and for good reason. In my opinion this is leading to a bit of an underestimation of the talent Norvell will accumulate through the portal and bring back from the 2023 roster.
Stay tuned…..