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MIKE NORVELL FIRED! FSU's Shocking Fall - What Went WRONG? · FSU Football: Doak Talk

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey, it's C.J.
• 0:00
  Speaker 2: Wilson here with Dota. Of course, I'm your host. We
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: have some breaking news to report, you guys. Martin Orville
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  Speaker 2: has been fired by Florida State. Former Florida State head coach,
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  Speaker 2: seven years at the helm. Has been fired by the Seminoles.
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  Speaker 2: Before we get into it, make sure you guys hit
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  Speaker 2: that like and subscribe button to the channel. Former FSU cornerback,
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Brian McFadden, and current CBS analyst, Brian McFadden.
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  Speaker 1: How you doing, man? I'm doing good. How you doing?
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  Speaker 1: Pretty good, bro. Pretty good.
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  Speaker 2: So let's kind of dive into this and dissect it.
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  Speaker 2: So Mike Norville has been fired by Florida State. Five
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  Speaker 2: seasons under him, only two winning seasons. A big, I
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  Speaker 2: guess you'd say after the 2023 disappointment, things kind of
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  Speaker 2: took a nosedive from there. B-Mac, what's your take on
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  Speaker 2: how he got to this point to Mike Norville being
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  Speaker 2: fired over the years?
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  Speaker 1: I guess the accumulation of things and how we.
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  Speaker 2: Get to the point of actually putting the trigger now
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  Speaker 2: for Florida State.
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  Speaker 1: Well, how did we get here? Just.
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  Speaker 3: consistently missing the mark and the 2023 season provided him
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  Speaker 3: a lot of grace when you look at what has
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  Speaker 3: transpired since that great year and many people were fed
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  Speaker 3: up before this season even got started you talk about
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  Speaker 3: winning five games last year in the year before that
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  Speaker 3: we only won two that's not the standard and consistently
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  Speaker 3: having let down at the let down at the let
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  Speaker 3: down in terms of preparation, in terms of execution, in
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  Speaker 3: terms of coaching decision, in-game decisions, everything was in question.
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  Speaker 3: And those things led to loss. Just go back a
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  Speaker 3: week ago on the road against Louisville. You get out
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  Speaker 3: 14 points. You get up 14 points on the road.
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  Speaker 3: All the momentum is in your favor, and you're on
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  Speaker 3: the four-yard line, and clearly you got an opportunity to
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  Speaker 3: get guaranteed points, right?
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  Speaker 1: Instead, you decide to go for it.
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  Speaker 3: And already knowing our defense has been real leaky, So
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  Speaker 3: what they did in those first few drives against Louisville,
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  Speaker 3: you know potentially Louisville's gonna spark something, get something going.
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  Speaker 3: So points at a premium, he decides to go for it.
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  Speaker 3: And the first offensive play for Louisville, they go 97 yards.
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  Speaker 3: That snowball became so big rolling down that hill that
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  Speaker 3: Louisville ended up not just winning the ball game, but
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  Speaker 3: blowing us out. Blowing us out, just questionable decision making
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  Speaker 3: from him. When you watch the game, you're like, no, coach,
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  Speaker 3: what are you doing? Like, no, punt the ball. It
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  Speaker 3: felt like sometimes CJ, he was coaching the game like
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  Speaker 3: he was playing a video game where it really didn't matter.
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  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? He relies so much on analytics.
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  Speaker 2: He pretty much lives by the quote-unquote analytic book, but
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  Speaker 2: at a certain point in time, you've got to use
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  Speaker 2: your common sense in certain situations, right?
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  Speaker 3: I say this all the time because I have these
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  Speaker 3: analytical– debates, discussions with a lot of people in the
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  Speaker 3: media industry, former players and non-players. And this is the
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  Speaker 3: thing I say when it comes to analytics. The analytics
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  Speaker 3: never factor in how good or bad you are, how
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  Speaker 3: good or bad your offensive line is, how good or
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  Speaker 3: bad your quarterback is, or how good or bad the
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  Speaker 3: team is you're going against.
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  Speaker 1: Analytics, they don't factor.
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  Speaker 3: That into the equation. It's all about what the percentage
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  Speaker 3: say you should do X, Y, and Z. No, you
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  Speaker 3: got to understand and know your team. Like, do I
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  Speaker 3: have a very, very accurate quarterback? Is my offensive line stout?
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  Speaker 3: Do I have one of the best wide receiver units
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  Speaker 3: in college football? Or am I playing against a high
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  Speaker 3: level defensive unit with pros on the front level, on
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  Speaker 3: the second level, and the third level? Analytics doesn't factor
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  Speaker 3: that in. You got to go with the flow of
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  Speaker 3: the game. That's why I highlighted Louisville because We were
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  Speaker 3: in a position where getting three points, going up three possessions,
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  Speaker 3: three possessions is a lot better than if you roll
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  Speaker 3: the dice and you don't get it. Because if you
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  Speaker 3: don't get it instantly, momentum, and people can say whatever
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  Speaker 3: they want to say about momentum. It's a real thing,
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  Speaker 3: especially if you in the game. Momentum instantly shifted. And
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  Speaker 3: guess what? Louisville never looked back. So another way you
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  Speaker 3: talked about how we got here, we lost to Jacksonville
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  Speaker 3: State at home.
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  Speaker 2: Right?
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  Speaker 3: We were, I think that the Miami game, correct me
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  Speaker 3: if I'm wrong, we were a 20-point underdog, right?
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  Speaker 1: I got a stat here that I saw.
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  Speaker 3: Seven times FSU has been a 21-point underdog since Bobby
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  Speaker 3: Bowden took over.
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  Speaker 1: Mike Novell owns five.
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  Speaker 3: Five of those. We haven't won a ball game outside
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  Speaker 3: of Tallahassee since 2023.
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  Speaker 1: Bruh, it's 2026.
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  Speaker 3: Outside of Tallahassee, we haven't won a ball game since 2023.
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  Speaker 3: Think about that.
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  Speaker 1: And we're in the ACC, right?
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  Speaker 3: It's not like we're in a very, very competitive conference
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  Speaker 3: where you've got top and bottom teams, right?
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  Speaker 1: We're in the ACC.
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  Speaker 3: We haven't won a.
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  Speaker 1: Game outside of Tallahassee since 2023, yo. And that's one
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  Speaker 1: of the frustrating parts.
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  Speaker 2: I'm bad for interrupting you, bro, but that's one of
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  Speaker 2: the frustrating parts about the team because you just highlighted
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  Speaker 2: Some of the flashes we've seen, right? The 14-0 against Louisville.
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  Speaker 2: Going up, I think, 21-0 against Bama and that type
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  Speaker 2: of deal. Actually had a chance to beat SMU. From
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  Speaker 2: a talent standpoint, I really believe this team could have
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  Speaker 2: been undefeated this year, but underperformed in certain areas. I
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  Speaker 2: believe top to bottom, this is a nine-win roster, no question,
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  Speaker 2: but we fall short of that. So it goes to
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  Speaker 2: your point as far as the ACC. We look at
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  Speaker 2: the conference this year, hell, it's just Miami and pretty
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  Speaker 2: much everyone else. This was a prime opportunity for it
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  Speaker 2: to be You remind me at the top if you
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  Speaker 2: do what you're supposed to do.
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  Speaker 1: And a weak chin, too. I want to highlight we
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  Speaker 1: have a very weak chin.
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  Speaker 2: Whenever you mentioned the 97-yarder against Louisville, everything snowballed. Whenever
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  Speaker 2: we get punched in the mouth, we don't respond well
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  Speaker 2: at all. We don't bounce back from there first. I
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  Speaker 2: believe that starts from the top down as well, too.
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  Speaker 3: That's part of the problem, part of the issue, like
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  Speaker 3: the leadership or the lack thereof.
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  Speaker 1: If we don't swing first... it's going to get ugly.
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  Speaker 3: And we swung first against Alabama, but we just didn't
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  Speaker 3: have what it took to be able to handle when
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  Speaker 3: they started to swing. That's the definition and a proven
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  Speaker 3: sign of a team that's not good, CJ. That's all
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  Speaker 3: it is, a team that's not good. And we kept
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  Speaker 3: seeing the same thing over and over again, over and
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  Speaker 3: over again, over and over again, over and over again.
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  Speaker 1: Man, the standard is the standard.
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  Speaker 3: And, you know, people felt like it took too long
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  Speaker 3: for this to continue. But they finally got tired of
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  Speaker 3: seeing a bad. You know what, CJ? The most confusing
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  Speaker 3: part about this is that every Saturday I watch a
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  Speaker 3: lot of college football. And everywhere throughout the country I
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  Speaker 3: watch teams that play football the right way. And they
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  Speaker 3: might not win every ball game, but they do it
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  Speaker 3: the right way.
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  Speaker 2: Why do it?
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  Speaker 3: Why are we? We're totally out of whack. Like, we're
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  Speaker 3: totally out of whack. And it starts with the head
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  Speaker 3: man in charge. And Mike Novella is a really, really
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  Speaker 3: good guy. He's a really, really good dude, man. A really,
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  Speaker 3: really good dude. But something happened in terms of his
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  Speaker 3: ability to deliver a product that is competitive for four
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  Speaker 3: quarters and.
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  Speaker 1: A product that is consistent. Because you talked about, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: we got talent. People say, well, they ain't got no talent.
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  Speaker 3: No, we have talent.
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  Speaker 1: You remember DJ U? Yep.
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  Speaker 3: You remember how DJU, how he looked in the Florida
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  Speaker 3: State uniform?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: You know he's the backup quarterback for the Los Angeles
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  Speaker 3: Chargers right now?
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  Speaker 1: Yep. Chargers, yep.
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  Speaker 3: You know, he's made the roster since leaving college. As
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  Speaker 3: a free agent, he made the roster.
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  Speaker 1: And you know what?
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  Speaker 3: I saw DJU because I went and visited the Chargers
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  Speaker 3: training camp this past.
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  Speaker 1: Offseason, right, getting ready for the season. I had an opportunity.
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  Speaker 3: I spent the entire day out there with them. And
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  Speaker 3: I watched him play. This was 11-on-11 full padded practice.
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  Speaker 3: It was very, very competitive, right? I watched him play.
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  Speaker 3: And I was so amazed at the throws he was making.
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  Speaker 3: So at the end of practice, right, I introduced myself
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  Speaker 3: to him because I didn't know if he knew me.
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  Speaker 1: And he said, he remembered me. You're like, man, man,
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  Speaker 1: it's a pleasure, man, talking to you.
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  Speaker 3: And I say, bro, I just want to tell you,
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  Speaker 3: you got a shot. Because at that time, Trey Lance was,
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  Speaker 3: quote unquote, the backup quarterback. And I was just talking
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  Speaker 3: to some of the officials are tied to the team.
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  Speaker 3: They said this could be a quarterback competition for backup
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  Speaker 3: to Justin Herbert.
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  Speaker 1: I said, bro, they love you around here. You're doing
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  Speaker 1: good things.
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  Speaker 3: And I said, you look totally different as a quarterback
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  Speaker 3: now than you did when I saw you in Tallahassee.
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  Speaker 3: You know what he told me? He said, coaching matters.
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  Speaker 3: That's what he told me. And like you just said,
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  Speaker 3: he's made the roster the last two seasons. When he
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  Speaker 3: first left Florida State, I don't know if anyone of
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  Speaker 3: us who watched him at Florida State had that on
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  Speaker 3: the bingo card, like, oh, yeah, he's going to make
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  Speaker 3: a roster.
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  Speaker 1: Nope.
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  Speaker 2: And even to be an undrafted free agent, as you know,
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  Speaker 2: being a long-time NFL guy, the odds are stacked against
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  Speaker 2: you as it is. So to come in and battle
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  Speaker 2: and be in the conversation for a backup as an
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  Speaker 2: undrafted free agent, says for all the work he put
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  Speaker 2: in and OTAs and that type of deal, Ricky Minicamp
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  Speaker 2: and all of that, all of that is a buildup.
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  Speaker 2: So that's a testament to the talent he has.
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  Speaker 1: And, of course, like I said, the coaching to bring
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  Speaker 1: out the talent. If you remember.
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  Speaker 2: He looked pretty damn good at Oregon State prior to
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  Speaker 2: coming at Florida State. Like, he had a rebound from
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  Speaker 2: the Clemson situation and led Oregon State, I want to say,
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  Speaker 2: eight wins. So he looked pretty damn good at Oregon State.
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  Speaker 2: He transitioned to Florida State. He's a completely different player.
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  Speaker 2: And for you to say that, man, it tells the
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  Speaker 2: complete story.
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  Speaker 3: Man, literally, that's what he said. And all I can
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  Speaker 3: say is, when you write, you write. Because the way
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  Speaker 3: he looked, watching him then, it was like, man, no,
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  Speaker 3: this ain't the quarterback we had.
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  Speaker 1: No, it's not. But those are the things. Look at
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  Speaker 1: Lawayne McCoy. Look what he's doing at Louisville. He just
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  Speaker 1: tore us up. Look at Cam Davis. at Liberty.
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  Speaker 3: And I know sometimes every player that you sign is
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  Speaker 3: not going to register.
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  Speaker 1: It's not going to hit instantly. So you might lose
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  Speaker 1: a few.
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  Speaker 3: But it seems like every time we lose guys, they
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  Speaker 3: go off and be better.
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  Speaker 1: Little Ohio State.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: It's... I don't know, man. It's a tough spot to
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  Speaker 3: be in, and enough was enough. But the numbers, man,
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  Speaker 3: you talked about advanced stats. Like, bro, we didn't lose
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  Speaker 3: a game, win a game outside of Tallahassee in 2023.
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  Speaker 3: That alone, that alone should get your seat extremely high. Bro,
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  Speaker 3: we're in 2026.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: Come on, man. It's hilarious.
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  Speaker 2: And you made a point as far as the seven–
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: FSU has been underdog for 21 more points, and Mike
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: Norvell has seven of them, or five of the seven.
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  Speaker 1: I just made a tweet about he's always on the
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: wrong side of FSU history.