The college football season never runs out of poaching tactics. Right now which program is going to lose the grip of their player? It’s Dabo Swinney‘s Clemson Tigers. The player in question is the four-star athlete Shavar Young Jr. The 6-foot, 180-pound athlete had quite a lot of suitors who tried to land him. But the young chap chose the Tigers last year in August. But looks like, some suitors still have their eyes on him. That’s when Florida State Seminoles HC Mike Norvell entered the scene trying his luck in poaching. 

On February 17, Young tweeted, “FSU offered @Coach_Norvell @PrestonB49 @_DJDaniels @FSUCoachTW @psurtain23.” On3 Recruits analyst Chad Simmons later confirmed the news by retweeting with the caption, “Clemson commit picks up an offer from FSU. @Warchant.” While Norvell is late to the party, the desperation to land Young has been real. After all, why wouldn’t it be? 

Young came off as the No.6 player in Tennessee and the No.184 player in the country. The DB received offers from Penn State, Georgia, and Michigan. He came back to Knoxville after transferring from Brentwood Academy as a sophomore last season. Young had a pretty decent career graph. Before his transfer, he played at Knoxville Webb HS during his eighth-grade and freshman seasons, where, he had racked up 17 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and one interception on defense. Not only this. The junior defensive back had 84 receptions for 1,130 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on offense. 

The Seminoles rank 130th of 134 teams in rushing offense averaging 80.5 yards per game. Now this came off as a shock for most Seminoles fans. After all, in 2023, they averaged 150 yards per game. Surprisingly, Norvell’s defense too had hit rock bottom. The defense gave up an average of 398.8 yards per game and has allowed over 400 yards this season in six games. Norvell certainly sees Young as a good prospect to hold the reins and flip their narrative. But won’t it be too hard for the player to trust the Seminoles?   

Uncertainty looms in Mike Norvell’s program 

Well, we know that the 2023 version of Norvell has made Florida State a dream option for many players. After all, back then the Noles went on a 13-0 winning streak. Bagging the ACC Championship title looked like a cakewalk. But suddenly Florida State’s wheels fell off in 2024. From going undefeated in 2023, in 2024 Norvell’s boys could only bring home two wins. One against LSU Tigers (45-24) and the other against Ole Miss Rebels (45-34).

Plus, they came off as the first preseason top-10 team to start the season 0-3, that too facing unranked opponents. With this, rumors peaked that the Seminoles would get rid of their HC. Even the buyout figures, approximately $65 million. Sadly, at last, Florida State thought that this buyout would be too heavy on their pockets. So, they had no other option than to give Norvell yet another chance. But does that promise something good?

Well, it’s going to be a tricky one. That’s what analyst Budd Elliott shared on the 247Sports podcast. “Yeah you can’t follow up a 2-10 year by going like 4-8 or 5-7. I think they’ll have to bounce back because they’ve done a decent job in the transfer portal. But I certainly don’t think they’re really building towards a national title,” he said. It’ll be interesting to see whether Shavar Young Jr. will take a chance with a program weighed down by uncertainty.