CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Florida State pass rusher Jared Verse remembers watching the game footage closely, studying moves on video and absorbing every possible lesson. So, too, does star quarterback Jordan Travis, recalling those gatherings in the team meeting room.
This wasn’t about scouting an opponent ahead of a season of heightened expectations, though; it was video of some of the Seminoles’ past great teams. And it left an impression.
“You watch these teams,” Verse said, “and you’re like, ‘These guys play different.’ … We’re like, ‘All right, we’ve got to live up to this standard.'”
Consider it an example of how Mike Norvell’s program is reaching into the past to teach lessons for what could be a big season ahead. The Seminoles are trying to return to national contender status, which they held for much of the past three decades, and Norvell wants his players to dream big of matching the high level established in that footage — grainy by today’s HD standards — from years earlier.
That means having Travis envisioning himself playing well enough to win a Heisman Trophy — like forerunners Charlie Ward (1993), Chris Weinke (2000) and Jameis Winston (2013). Having the team study the edge that led to three national championships. And having former players come back to tell them how it can come together.