Florida State turned to Rick Stockstill this week after firing Mike Norvell following a 36-24 loss to Clemson that left Doak Campbell Stadium largely empty in the fourth quarter. The move comes with four games left in the season for the Seminoles to avoid a third straight losing record.
Stockstill, who last held a head coaching job at Middle Tennessee State, takes over as interim coach starting with Saturday’s road game at Boston College. The Seminoles entered the week with a 3-5 overall record and 1-4 in the ACC. University president Richard McCullough made the decision after the loss to Clemson, a game that featured a misspelled plane banner calling for Norvell’s removal.
“There’ll be some subtle changes, some little things different,” Stockstill said, adding that major schematic shifts aren’t possible this late in the year. “You can’t come in and do a lot of wholesale changes schematically, you know, in the ninth week or the 10th week of the season.”
One of the immediate adjustments involves the offensive play calling. Tim Harris Jr., who was the offensive coordinator under Norvell, will now call plays himself. Under Norvell, Harris’s role was more limited in that aspect. Harris brings experience from UCF, Florida International, and his head coaching tenure at Booker T. Washington, where his offenses leaned on the run game and used pre-snap motions and misdirection. This is not far from Norvell’s approach, but Harris is expected to simplify things.
Stockstill stressed the importance of not overloading quarterback Ashton Daniels. “He is a strong, powerful runner that can move the sticks for you. I think he does a lot of good things. And to me, we just got to, you know, don’t overload him,” Stockstill said. “To me, that’s the worst thing you can do with a quarterback is put so much on his plate, so many checks that he forgets about something simple over here because he’s thinking so much.”
Daniels, brought in by former coach Gus Malzahn, was heavily involved in the run-pass option under Norvell with mixed results. Harris’s offense might get the ball out of Daniels’s hands quicker or lean more on running backs, especially since Florida State’s depth is challenged. Injuries have sidelined wide receiver Duce Robinson and running backs Ousmane Kromah and Sam Singleton Jr. Micahi Danzy, who transitioned from running back to receiver, is likely to become a focal point in the offense.
On defense, former linebacker coach Ernie Sims steps up as interim coordinator after Tony White was dismissed alongside Norvell. This is Sims’s first time coordinating a college defense. He has previous stints on staffs at FAU, UCF, and USF before returning to Florida State.
The Seminoles’ defense, anchored by Chris Jones, has been one of the better parts of the team this season. Under White, the defense ran a 3-3-5 scheme that struggled at times, with some success in four-down fronts. Sims could simplify the defense with a 4-3 or 4-2-5 base and a mix of man-to-man and zone coverages to address coverage problems.
Sims faces challenges with injuries to linemen Deante McCray and Kevin Wynn, both listed as out on the ACC availability report. Stockstill praised Sims’s energy and work ethic. “You’re gonna get Ernie’s best every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a full-padded practice or a walkthrough. You’re gonna get great energy, great passion from Ernie,” Stockstill said. “He’s got a good rapport with his players and the defensive players. He’s got a tremendous work ethic; he’s a good communicator, and I have no doubt that he’ll do a jam-up job. He’s passionate; I love his energy. I love how much he loves Florida State football.”
The Seminoles have four games remaining: at Boston College on November 7, at Pittsburgh on November 13, home against NC State on November 21, and their season finale against Florida on November 27. Stockstill has a limited window to try and reverse the team’s fortunes and lift morale after a difficult start to the season.
According to Yahoo Sports.
