Florida State coach Mike Norvell is about to spend Saturday afternoon in a setting that ties together two very different parts of his life: his alma mater coming to town and a long-ago photo that still refuses to go away.
Central Arkansas visits Doak Campbell Stadium at 3 p.m. Saturday, and the matchup gives Norvell a return to the school where he starred as a wide receiver before moving into coaching. It also brings back the story of the cornrows photo that has followed him from Memphis to Tallahassee and everywhere in between.
The picture dates back to a youth football camp, when Norvell had long hair and made what seemed like a harmless bet. He told the story on ESPN’s former radio show Golic and Wingo in 2019.
"It was really a funny time," Norvell said. "I was going into my sophomore year, and I'm working an inner-city youth camp right before we start fall camp, and we broke up into groups that had competition."
Norvell said the group he was with made a deal: if they won, he would braid his hair.
"The group that I had said, 'Coach, if we win, we're going to braid your hair,'" Norvell recalled. "After looking at my group, I thought they had no chance to win, so I made the deal."
The wager turned against him fast. Norvell said his group won every event at the camp.
"And I tell you what, I was an unbelievable inspiration because they dominated every competition that they had," he said with a laugh.
He kept his word and returned to Conway, Arkansas, with cornrows. Then he made the choice that turned the whole thing into a lasting image.
"I decided it would be a great idea to keep the cornrows and take a picture to try to be funny," he said.
There was no social media then, and the photo was supposed to be nothing more than a joke. Instead, it became one of the most recognizable artifacts of Norvell’s college days and has resurfaced again and again during his coaching career.
The image reappeared while he was building Memphis and again when Florida State hired him in 2019, giving Seminole fans a look at a chapter of his past they probably never expected to see.
Norvell’s connection to Central Arkansas runs deeper than that one photograph. A native of Irving, Texas, he started his college career as a walk-on at Louisiana Tech in 2000 before transferring to Central Arkansas the next year.
Once there, he put together a career that landed him in the program’s record books. Norvell finished with 213 receptions for 2,611 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns, along with one rushing touchdown and two passing touchdowns.
His biggest team success came in 2005, when Central Arkansas won the Gulf South Conference title and reached the NCAA Division II quarterfinals. The Bears went 11-3 that season.
After his playing days ended, Norvell stayed at Central Arkansas as a graduate assistant, beginning the coaching path that eventually took him to Florida State.
Now he gets Central Arkansas in the opposite role, with the school that helped launch both his playing and coaching career heading into Doak Campbell Stadium and a famous old photo right there with him.
In Other News...
FSUs Coaching Future May Come Down To One Brutal Money Reality
Florida States football future is no longer just about wins and losses, because any serious conversation about Mike Norvell now runs straight into the money. The Seminoles have poured heavily into facilities and support around the program, and that commitment has made the coaching seat feel even more expensive to touch. Firing Norvell would not be a simple reset, but a major financial decision layered on top of the pressure that comes with trying to keep pace in a demanding era.
Jimbo Fishers name naturally surfaces in that kind of talk because of his history in Tallahassee and the strange economics attached to his situation at Texas A&M. The idea is tempting in a nostalgic, budget-conscious sort of way, but it also underscores how tightly Florida States next move could be tied to buyout math as much as football logic. For a program trying to chart its next step, the real issue may be whether it can afford a change before it can even decide what kind of change it wants. [Read more 🡒]
Florida States Bowl Path Already Comes With Mike Norvell Intrigue
Florida States early season has already put its bowl hopes in a tough spot, with the Seminoles sitting at 1-2 and needing to win five of their final nine games just to get back to the postseason. Avoiding another year without a bowl game is now part of the weekly conversation, and the path will likely be shaped as much by what happens in Tallahassee as by what the rest of the schedule looks like.
ESPNs Kyle Bonagura has already penciled Florida State into the Frisco Bowl against Memphis, which would add an extra layer of intrigue because the Tigers were once coached by Mike Norvell. Memphis is off to a 3-1 start under first-year coach Charles Huff and remains a program with a recent habit of reaching the postseason, so if that projection holds, it would give Seminoles fans a familiar name on the other sideline in a game with a bit more personal texture than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Norvells QB Backing Puts Florida State Under Pressure This Week
Ashton Daniels left Florida States opener with plenty of volume and even more to sort through after a 50-36 loss to Alabama, but Mike Norvell was quick to point out the positives as the Seminoles turn the page. Daniels threw for 377 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns, and even with three interceptions, Norvell highlighted the quarterbacks confidence and decision-making as reasons to believe the performance was more encouraging than the final score suggested.
Now the challenge shifts to what comes next, because Central Arkansas is the kind of opponent that can test a team in a different way. Florida State has the talent to move past the Alabama loss quickly, but it also has to show it can stay sharp and locked in against a lower-ranked team, especially with the season still in its early stages and the margin for a slow start already in the rearview mirror. [Read more 🡒]