ETAMU

 School always came easy. As long as he showed up and sat at his desk with a modicum of attention the grades seemed to come out ok. Granted, being in a small town made paying attention a little simpler. There were no cool distractions like those big city schools. He knew every girl in town since kindergarten, and no trendy stores in town. There wasn’t a bar where everyone who worked there did not know his parents, and he could sneak in, within 50 miles. Then, it happened. His parents moved to one of those places he had only heard about and he was suddenly out of the fishbowl and  yet into the spotlight. Instantly, he had Dory problems and there were shiny objects in every room and school was no longer a dance through the dandelions. Three months in, he took the SAT and after nailing the bubble-in-name section, things went South like a Canadian goose on speed. Relying on himself for the first time in his life was not a viable option. His father sat him down and gave him two options. Hire math & English tutors or perfect his work with the family Toro because lawn service was going to become more than a hobby. After hiring two absolute stud educators, six months later young Mike aced his entry exams and grass stains were in the rearview.

It could not have been easy for Coach Norvell to make the offseason decisions that he did. Up to that exact juncture in his career, he had easily and solely been almost entirely responsible for his career trajectory. He handled the offense and his long relationship with Coach Fuller from Memphis was comfortable. Bringing his show to Tallahassee was an easy step. Then, by about late September last year, it was about as comfortable as fireants in your drawers (been there - not bloggable). He was forced to make incredibly tough decisions and instantly hire the very best offensive and defensive minds available. Sure, he went back to his roots and brought in his mentors with Gus and Herb, but give him credit for extricating a current head coach and especially for recruiting one of the best DC’s in the country away from a Big Ten program. Mike Norvell at a big school version 2.0 is off to a very, very impressive start. 

There were three items on my in-game checklist for this contest, because let’s be honest we absolutely nailed the tailgate again - so pregame has already qualified for the playoffs two games in. I wanted to see our boy Tommy throw the rock all over the yard. I was anxious to see if we could start to close some of those cavernous gaps we saw in the mid length zone coverage in the first game, and I was anxious to see if the physicality we all loved at Bama was opponent driven or a culture. Welp, Tommy loves him some Duce, so we know that soft little security blanket is tucked firmly in his crib. but that box is not fully checked yet. The zone coverages definitely improved, but there is a small chance that that these Lion wideouts may not be drafted with the same alacrity as their Tide counterparts. I love what we are attenpting to do behind the line. Our unbelievably paltry turnover numbers from the Fuller regime are in large part because our kids always had their back to the qb in our 95% press man coverage. We had 4 picks all year in 2024. We created 2 yesterday and another 3 that were in play. This back end will succeed under Coach White, but reps and communication is a work in progress. The final question on my test was passed with a bullet. Our new Lamarcus Joyner on the second play of the game threw his entire 190 pound frame at the Lion ball carrier and the Safari was over before the jeep had gas.  Love me some Earl Little. If this keeps up, he may be gone before we can fully appreciate him. 

This was a horrific football team across the sideline from your faves, but you can learn some things even in an elevated scout team scrimmage. We found out that Duce can really scoot and confirmed that any throw within his six six area code will be a connected call. We confirmed Micahi Danzy is a roadrunner in pads and Jayvon Boggs has some mad team respect as he was mobbed after a block more than the back who scored on the play. We saw for maybe the first time ever a Nole score a 40 yard touchdown and then less than five minutes later record a sack. Amaree Williams is a freak. We saw that both Brock and newbie Kevin can drive the Gus Bus. In fact the 4th down screen that Sperry hit backing up with free rushers in his face was downright encouraging. They are both extremely athletic (although not TC elusive) and they dove forward on runs so clearly that is coached. 

I talked about the importance of having these backup offensive lineman get some reps in these two contests. Again, tough to know the quality of play but just seeing them play together for almost a whole half is invaluable. With 80% of the crowd retired to tailgates or blessed AC, the end of the RB bench was in for the Noles. He was a walk-on from Crestview and his former teammates were going crazy two rows behind us as this freshman Oline opened up enough of a hole to let their man score a late TD. The selfies and hugs exploded and reminded us all that everyone on the field has parents and peers somewhere in the stands. 

When you are down to your 4th string kicker, it is either going very well or oh so badly. Fortunately, this was a good thing as the kick and kickoff team had a record setting amount of reps. We were a little surprised that the sideline crew did not make a halftime adjustment and install another shadow tent for this overused unit. Little people need hydration too.  I mean, we used 90 players this week and fans sitting to our left and right were called into action and shockingly, neither Debbie or I were given the signal. But Kent State is coming, so hope springs eternal.