Josh Storms Discusses FSU’s Tour of Duty, Newcomers, and Leadership

The Florida State Seminoles wrapped up their annual Tour of Duty workout on March 6 as they prepare for spring camp in just under two weeks. Many new faces were added to the roster, either from the high school ranks or through the NCAA Transfer Portal.

While the basis of the strength and conditioning program has remained the same for the five years that Director of Strength and Conditioning Josh Storms has implemented it, they do tailor it to the roster's specific needs. One of the biggest differences was the number of players who had never experienced it before.

"The biggest difference this year is that you know we go out there on day one of tour duty, you have 51 guys who participated before, so it's a lot of new teaching and whatnot," Storms said to the media on Thursday. "I always view it as, like, we're most general this time of year. This is bigger, faster, stronger—those are the priorities this time of year. As we transition through spring ball, through the summer, as we start getting closer and closer to camp, it starts to become a little more specific to position, a little more specific to body type, a little more specific to what the actual game and tempo of practice are going to demand."

Players are constantly graded during Tour of Duty. The most productive players wear the team's turquoise jersey, while the ones who need to improve wear an orange one. Earning a turquoise jersey isn't just about performance; it is about being a leader and improving your teammates.

"What we do post Tour of Duty, coaches will sit down and grade Tour of Duty film just like you would grade film," Storms continued. "So there's a scoring system to it based upon, you know, did you go back on a rep, did you finish every rep, who did you lead, who did you make better? So basically, to achieve a turquoise jersey, you basically have to score a perfect 10 out of 10 on your day."

One of the players FSU brought in through the transfer portal was Boston College transfer Thomas Castellanos. Storms said Castellanos has been "phenomenal" in building bonds with his teammates and called it a "master class" on how to be new on the roster.

"That guy's been phenomenal. I mean, from the time, you know, recruiting visit to committing to immediately, post that, you know, the help of communicating with other guys. He's a guy that when he got here, his first few weeks had a goal of like, I want to be able to spend one-on-one time with, be it in the building or out of the building, with every single guy on the roster," Storms said. "So coming in, the way he went about building relationships, great personality, huge energy with that guy, and that's infectious. Guys are drawn to that, guys feed off that, and so I think what he's done has really been a master class in how you come in as a new guy somewhere."

Florida State broke ground on a new football only practice facility in 2022 with an estimated cost of $138 million and expected to be completed by the summer of 2025. The existing staff at the time had a heavy hand in the design for their respective programs and alongside the increased amenities for players, the efficiency of being so close to the practice fields, Storms said, was one of the biggest things they've gained.

"For us, with the weight room being connected to the back of the indoor, that very simple transition time from the weight room out to the field, as opposed to going back and forth like we do now, provides us a little bit of flexibility to implement some things in training that weren’t able to be done as efficiently as we’d like in the past," Storms continued. "Just the guys’ locker room being that close to the playing field as well, you're cutting down on a lot of the back and forth, a lot of transition. So I think one of the biggest things we gain is just efficiency in how we operate. It just expands the capabilities."

Storm's full interview can be seen below.

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