Former QB commit details why he decommitted from FSU, still believes in Mike Norvell

Florida State has had an interesting run with quarterbacks in the Mike Norvell era. Although the school has lost six quarterback commits in the past seven cycles, it has also produced a Heisman finalist and NFL signal-caller during his tenure.

It is difficult to find a behind-the-scenes look at the whiteboard of who the 'Noles want and who they don’t. Decommitments can come out of left field, or the writing could just be on the wall, and one disappointing season could throw a wrench in the entire class.

Former FSU commit, and 4-star quarterback Brady Smigiel detailed his reasoning to de-commit from Florida State but said he still believed in what Norvell is building in Tallahassee.

"Well, I committed before the year. I think I had a really good relationship with Coach Norvell and Coach Tokarz. They were top five in the country when I committed," Smigiel said to On3 Sports. "They had an offense that was booming at the time, and some things changed."

"It changed everything"

4⭐️ QB @BradySmigiel explains why he backed off his commitment to FSU and re-opened his recruitment.

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— Josh Newberg (@josh_newberg) February 7, 2025

Florida State followed a 2023 ACC Championship run with a 2-10 disaster of a season in 2024 resulting in the firing of both offense and defensive coordinators alongside their wide receivers coach. Norvell gave up playcalling after hiring new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and the Newbury Park High School recruit said that it "changed everything."

"Obviously, they didn't have the season we expected, but I still believe in coach Norvell. I still believe that they're going to change things around. Just some changes happened in the offseason with their staff — firing their (offensive coordinator), and I thought it was just best to open my recruitment back up."

Smigiel said that his commitment was to former offensive coordinator Alex Atkins and to Norvell's playcalling. He also said they're bringing in a different offense than the one he was interested in. Although, both Norvell and Malzahn have worked together in the past and run a very similar style of playcalling.

"At the end of the day, I committed to coach Atkins. I committed to coach Norvell, calling the plays. It changed everything. I committed because he was calling the plays, and now that he wasn't, (they're) bringing in a completely different offense."

As for the Seminoles, Norvell has shown the ability to build a championship-caliber team from scratch after coming off of a disappointing season. Maybe it is best that the players who show up on day one and participate in the climb and those who don't find better situations that suit their wants and needs.

Atkins is expected to coach tight ends at LSU, so it's a possibility we could see Smigiel in Bayou Country next year.

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