Norvells trajectory held down by DJ alone?

I thought things were looking okay for them, even with Jordan Travis being done.

They just needed to fill that spot with a transfer….

I love DJ and he really did win a bunch of games. And not everything was him.

But a lot of it was.

And obviously he even declined another level at FSU

(On the Chargers now so all good)

But the question is..Does Florida State now reenter the picture with Castellanos, or any QB that is not DJ?

My point being, DJ was uniquely bad. And it shatters a whole team.

I say “uniquely” because he did good a lot too.

A true football person can see that what Dabo did with DJ as his QB was nothing less of a miracle.

So, yeah can Norvell turn it around with a real QB?

He was "Trent Dilfer of the Ravens" good****

Nah, all that ignorant smack talk this off-season will do

Re: Nah, all that ignorant smack talk this off-season will do

Re: Norvells trajectory held down by DJ alone?

bretfsu®

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Good question. From a Nole perspective.

Jul 4, 2025, 8:19 AM

I'm giving my opinion here, but it is shared by many of my Nole friends.

Norvell made a poor judgment on DJ. But, the judgment wasn't just on DJ. The plan for 2025 was for FSU to be a running team, relying heavily on the OL to be great. The plan was to run inside zone, otside zone and counters, with a few QB powers thrown in and then to take shots down the field with DJ throwing deep.

So, here is where Norvell really made a poor judgment. He said the OL was going to be the best in the country. He said Darius Washington (starting at tackle) was going to be an AA and a first round draft pick. That was his HUGE poor judgment.

That judgment was based on the fact that during Spring and Fall practices the offense did cram the ball down the defenses throat. He also thought the defense was good. He did not realize that the defense was soft and lacked any intensity at all. He thought the practices were good on good, when in reality they were bad on worse.

So, his worst judgment was in his coaching staff. He did not realize until sometime, probably very early in the 2025 season, that the OL was maybe not the worst OL in the country, but they were the worst COACHED OL in the country. He did not realize that the defense was coached by a DC who was bland, unimaginative and predictable. (The talent on the defense - specifically two DL who were high draft picks and two LBs who were midround draft picks - covered up the defensive coaching staff shortcomings.)

So, the hope among Noles is Norvell learned his lesson. He did fire both coordinators and several other assistants. He went out and hired guys that seemingly are far superior coaches than those he fired. I hope so. But, like all Noles, I'm of the wait and see mentality.

Color me cautiously optimistic.

But, as for DJ, he received the brunt of the blame last year. He deserved some of it. But, he wasn't the major culprit in the disaster of 2024.