Seminoles embracing championship, playoff talk as 2023 season approaches

CHARLOTTE — Kalen DeLoach smiled and tried to be coy. Then after a few brief seconds Wednesday morning, the Florida State senior linebacker realized it would be no use.

When asked if the phrases “national championship” and “college playoff” have been mentioned frequently during FSU’s workouts this summer, DeLoach reluctantly acknowledged that they have.

How could they not?

After a 10-3 season and with a roster loaded with talent and experience — not to mention a Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Jordan Travis — the Seminoles are expected to enter the 2023 season in the Top 5 or 10 of preseason polls.

“We know what we’re capable of,” DeLoach said. “But we want to focus on things, more so every day. We want to focus on each game, week by week. We never look ahead. There’s a lot of people talking about it, but we’re just focused on what we need to do.”

Defensive end Jared Verse, who earned first-team All-ACC honors last season and decided to return to college despite reports he would be a first-round NFL draft pick, did not hesitate when asked if he believed Florida State could make the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2014.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt in that,” Verse said “I think if we do what we are able to do, we compete the way we are able to compete, we play the way we are able to play — and play as one — I don’t think there is anyone that can stop us. But we’ve got to be able to do those things. We have to execute.”

Verse, DeLoach and Travis are Florida State’s three player representatives at this year’s ACC Kickoff event in Charlotte.

*THE FIRST WORD: Watch Florida State Players, Mike Norvell make opening remarks on 2023 season

When Verse and his teammates reflect on the 2022 season, they take pride in the fact that Florida State won 10 games for the first time in six years and that they earned victories over rivals Florida and Miami. But they also express disappointment about not accomplishing more.

They especially lament what happened during a 14-day span in October when they dropped consecutive games to Wake Forest, N.C. State and Clemson.

“I watched the three games, the three-game span that we lost,” Verse said. “I’m watching the three games, and I’m like, ugh. It’s kind of upsetting to watch those games, because we made dumb mistakes. Some of those games were close, they shouldn’t have been close. Some of those games we lost, we shouldn’t have lost any of them.

“But at the end of the day, they’re learning things.”

The best way for the Seminoles to erase those few bad memories from 2022 will be to make a run at an ACC championship and playoff appearance this fall.

That goal will come with its own challenges, of course. The first of which is handling increased national expectations — nothing any FSU squad has really dealt with in several years.

“We kind of go through it by the expectations of, you give your all, you’re gonna get what you deserve,” Verse said. “And that’s all we do. We show up to practice, we show up to lifts, runs, everything. Just give it our all. It’s never stopped since. It’s been the same since I got here — before the expectations. It’s been the same now that we’ve got them.”

Those words likely bring a smile to the face of fourth-year head coach Mike Norvell.

After seeing the Seminoles endure 3-6 and 5-7 seasons before turning the corner in 2022, Norvell said again on Wednesday that he wants his players to embrace the expectations and celebrate their accomplishments.

More importantly, however, he wants them to remember what has taken them to this point.

“I want people to be talking about Florida State, our team, our players, each individual,” Norvell said. “I hope every player’s up for a national award. Because it’s a celebration of what you’ve done. But ultimately, you’ve got to go do it. I always watch for it in the work …

“I think our guys are all handling the outside noise. I think they’re handling it well. But I’m gonna be there to assist them if we ever lose track.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.

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