Norvell's reliance on the portal has bit that program in the ***. FSU has not successfully landed blue-chip high school players at the level it did under Jimbo Fisher and it shows. For all of his faults, Fisher landed bigger fish and it paid off. You could see the talent differential when they played inferior opponents. It didn't feel that way in both games against GT and BC.
NIL matters and the difference between Uiagalelei and Cam Ward is staggering. Despite what any delusional FSU fans claimed before the start of the season, Ward was always a better QB, and by a large margin. UM landing Ward and FSU pivoting toward Uiagalelei has completely changed the trajectory of each program.
Really feels like UM has a great balance of impact portal players (Ward, Martinez, Kiko Mauigoa, Tyler Baron, etc.) along with players they've successfully recruited at the high school level and are developing (Francis Mauigoa, Anez Cooper, Mark Fletcher, Elija Lofton, etc.). Even some of the few remaining Diaz recruits that stuck around and bought in got some burn on Sunday.
Point is, talent acquisition and roster management cannot be limited exclusively to the portal. Factor that in with an FSU staff that can't recruit and very pedestrian NIL efforts, and it's a recipe for disaster.