Openness, honesty key in recruiting
and Dillingham being open and honest.
“There’s no secret potion to making it happen. It’s just be who you are,” Dillingham said. “I’m going to be who I am every day that I wake up. Coach is going to be who he is every day, and the opportunity here is, in my opinion, the best in the country. You get to play at Florida State, one. You get to play in one of the top offenses in college football, two.”
It helped Norvell and Dillingham had connections to both players.
Purdy was a standout at Perry High in Gilbert, Ariz. Norvell was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Arizona State from 2012-15. Dillingham coached at Chaparral High in Arizona from 2007-2013 and then with the Sun Devils from 2014-15.
The Arizona connection made it easy for the two to get in contact with Purdy, and then they got him to officially visit FSU during the weekend and flipped him on Wednesday.
Norvell and Rodemaker already had an established connection.
Norvell offered Rodemaker when he was at Memphis. Rodemaker was one of the first players to publicly commit to FSU under Norvell.
“Those guys have been incredible in the amount of time that we’ve spent in that short period of time just getting to know them,” Norvell said. “… It wasn’t like a blind meeting, but it was definitely a lot that went into the process, and we were excited to get both those young men.”
Purdy and Rodemaker enter a quarterback room with question marks.
Wisconsin grad transfer Alex Hornibrook already has left the team and is preparing for the NFL draft. Blackman could be deciding on his future after the Sun Bowl against Arizona State on Dec. 31. Blackman could declare for April’s draft. If he decides to return, he will be the most experienced quarterback on the roster.
Travis has seen his playing time increase since interim coach Odell Haggins took over. Travis has provided a spark with his ability to run, but he is an unknown commodity as a passer at the college level.
Both Purdy and Rodemaker could come in and push whoever is in the quarterback room.
It’s why Norvell and Dillingham wanted to sign two quarterbacks during the early-signing period. They want competition at quarterback, and they found two in just 10 days whom they think fit the bill.
“Competition helps breeds success, and that’s what we’re trying to create,” Dillingham said. “And we have an open competition. We have guys here who have proven they can get it done, but at the end of the day, we want to compete.”