Mike Norvell comments on emotional discussion with Deuce Spann
The Seminoles beat the brakes off Miami in south Florida over the weekend. Florida State scored on its first two offensive drives and never looked back on the way to a 45-3 victory that was aided by four Hurricanes' turnovers.
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Head coach Mike Norvell preaches accountability to his players and coaches. With the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Deuce Spann was penalized for unnecessary roughness following a play that resulted in backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker being sacked.
As Spann trotted over to the sideline, Norvell was fired up. He could be seen telling the redshirt sophomore "don't do that" in regard to the penalty while repeatedly urging him to look him in the eyes. The emotions bubbled over in the moment for Spann as he pushed past wide receiver Johnny Wilson and GA Guy Lemonier Jr. toward the Florida State bench.
Clearly upset with himself, Spann appeared to let out a yell before Norvell ran up to him again. This time, a little calmer, Norvell's message appeared to click with him.
On Monday, Norvell spoke to the media to open up Syracuse week. Among the topics that the third-year head coach dove into was his conversation with Spann. The moment was captured live on ABC's broadcast of the game and received a lot of positive interaction on social media.
"I love Deuce. He's going to be such a great player for us in the future. At the time, in the moment, he had an uncharacteristic response to something that happened to him," Norvell said on Monday. "He got a 15-yard penalty, and as he was coming off the field, the reasoning was about somebody else. It was about something that happened. That's where my emotions -- I always want our players to be in control of themselves because as you go through life, you're going to experience things that people do to you or things or circumstances or situations, some things that are in your control, some things that are not. But in that moment I want them to be able to be in control of that response. It wasn't the best response by Deuce. Ultimately this is an emotional game. I'm emotional. We all go through those things, and in that moment I wanted him to understand the importance of what that response was, and he got frustrated."
"When that happens, it's about me helping to get him back to where he's in control. Part of it was just telling him to breathe," Norvell continued. "Told him to look me in the eyes and breathe, because when you're just -- when you get to that point, your mind can race to a million different places, and I just wanted him to get back, take a deep breath, be understanding of what just happened because that is something that did hurt the team in the moment, but ultimately get back to where it is and then be ready to go play the next play."
What made it even sweeter was that Norvell had an opportunity to watch Spann respond to the negative play in real time. On the first snap of Florida State's ensuing offensive possession, Rodemaker pulled the ball on an RPO and hit Spann for an eight-yard gain, his only catch of the night.
"The fact that he had an opportunity to get the ball in his hands," Norvell said. "I was glad that he was able to go, even throughout in the moment, after the game, he came up to me and he apologized for his action. I just told him I love him. I love that through that -- and I didn't know it was caught on tape, all of the things that were caught on tape, this, that, that was a moment that was critical, whether it was here on the practice field or whether it's out there on a grand stage."
"Those moments that young men go through, they need it, because we've all been there. We've all had those emotional reactions that don't necessarily -- they don't speak to who we are at that time," Norvell continued. "It's just there's some circumstance or something comes up that forces an action that maybe we're not -- we don't necessarily want to have. It's just how can we grow in those times."
The Florida native has appeared in eight games for the Seminoles this season. A converted high school quarterback, Spann's best football is still ahead of him. He's recorded 7 catches for 58 yards and 3 rushes for 18 yards.
"Like I said, Deuce came up to me afterward and I told him, man, we can all get better from that. It's going to be -- he's got a great future in front of him, and that one just happened to be on that stage, but you guys see it in practice when we get those opportunities throughout," Norvell said. "It's just when young men embrace that, they're going to be in control of all the things that are ahead."
"That's my job and that's my responsibility, to help prove to them that they can be in control even in the moment emotional situations. It's all a part of that process of growth."
Florida State returns to action on Saturday, November 12 against Syracuse at 8:00 p.m. eastern on the ACC Network.
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