The transfer portal is causing many college football programs to change how they handle the traditional Spring scrimmages. The reluctance to put some of their best talent on display before the end of the portal window has caused many to cancel their end-of-camp scrimmages. Florida State is taking the secrecy to a whole new level. On Monday the program announced that the media will not be allowed at Spring camp.
Changes in Tallahassee
Spring camp starts for the Seminoles on Wednesday. The school announced on Monday afternoon that for the most part, it would be closed to the media. This comes after years of the program having an open media policy during camp, both under current head coach Mike Norvell and under Jimbo Fisher prior to that. Norvell has enjoyed the reputation of being one of the more transparent coaches.
Norvell was scheduled to hold his annual press conference that comes prior to Spring camp. Just before meeting with the media, the school released a statement from Norvell. Within the statement, Norvell said, “In my first five seasons here, we provided unmatched access to members of the media to observe practices during the spring, preseason camp, and game weeks.”
The statement went on to say, “I appreciate and respect the media’s role in telling the stories of the people in our program and keeping our fans informed. In a day and age where so many people have access to our players, I want to create an atmosphere free of outside perspectives during our time of preparation and development.” He said he was doing what he felt was best for the program.
The program has 30 new players on the roster, and several new coaches on the staff, including new coordinators.
In the past, Norvell even kept some practices open to the media during the season with guidelines as to what could and could not be revealed to the public. Now there will be one scrimmage open and the TV stations will be allowed to shoot B-roll for their coverage.
Spring Games on the Chopping Blocks
The ongoing trend throughout the college football landscape is for schools to cancel their actual Spring scrimmage. Many are worried about other schools finding potential targets for inducing them to go into the transfer portal and make themselves available. Nebraska, Oklahoma, USC, Ohio State, USC, Texas, Missouri, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest are among the programs that have either canceled their Spring scrimmage or replaced it with a fan fest type of event.
Main Image: Melina Myers-Imagn Images
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