Count Florida State football coach Mike Norvell as one of the people most excited for the matchup against Memphis on Sept. 14.
“Memphis, I think, is going to have one of the best teams in the country next year,” Norvell said on “The Gabe Kuhn Show” on 929ESPN on Wednesday. “Ryan (Silverfield) has done a great job, very experienced group. Obviously Seth (Henigan) is an awesome quarterback, some great playmakers around him. It’s going to be a heck of a matchup.”
Norvell was Memphis’ coach from 2016-19, leading the Tigers to the American Athletic Conference title in 2019 before leaving for Florida State. He was succeeded at Memphis by Silverfield, who had been the offensive line coach and assistant head coach on his staff.
When Norvell was at Florida State, he heard from then-Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch and helped set up a conversation between the two schools. Memphis was looking for an opponent on the road in 2024 because the Tigers typically play away from Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium during the second weekend of September, when the Southern Heritage Classic takes place.
“Being pretty familiar and just knowing the schedule there, usually that second weekend of September, Memphis is playing a road game,” Norvell said. “We had an open date, basically got both administrations connected and they were able to come up with a great deal for both sides.”
The Seminoles will be busy before they host the Tigers on Sept. 14. They’ll begin the season in Dublin against Georgia Tech on Aug. 24, then will host Boston College on Labor Day before facing Memphis. The Tigers will host North Alabama and Troy before the trip to Tallahassee.
On Wednesday, Norvell praised the Memphis program and said he was proud of where the Tigers have gone since he left for Tallahassee.
“We’re going to have to be hitting on all cylinders, because I think it’s one of the most experienced but also explosive teams in the the country,” he said. “I love Memphis, I love everything about the program and just the work and everything that’s gone into it. So I’m really proud of where the program’s continuing to push to. But I know it’s going to be a great challenge having to compete against it.”
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.