Florida State Closing Practices To Media Is Nothing New, But Plenty Will Make It A Big Deal

Florida State is being criticized for closing football practices to the media during fall camp, and plenty of people on social media are going at coach Mike Norvell. What they might not understand is that these viewing sessions are useless. 

For some reason, this argument over access was brought to light once again on Monday night, after it was posted that the Seminoles would not allow beat writers to watch Florida State practices, as they prepare for the upcoming season. 

Folks, this isn't groundbreaking news. 

While college football coaches act like they are hiding nuclear launch codes on the practice field, the notion that Florida State is somehow trying to cover up flaws on the team is laughable. Have you not been paying attention to college football over the past decade? 

Even though this has become the trend, it's always fun to see folks get upset about these rules that come out before fall camp begins. 

The fact is that you're not going to get much from the 10 minutes that reporters are on the field, besides which players are warming up, or who throws the best pass with nobody guarding a receiver. There are certainly plenty of schools that keep up with the tradition of having practices open to the media, but the vast majority of them have cut down on observation time. 

For instance, plenty of schools will allow media members to attend, but only for 10 minutes, which usually comes during drills that are meaningless. The main purpose of attending is to see which guys aren’t on the field, or working on the side to recover from an injury. 

It's A Game Of Cat & Mouse At College Football Practices.

And guess what? The moment media members are kicked off the field, the ‘injured’ players will magically appear to participate in practice drills. Sure, you can try and decipher which quarterbacks are receiving first-team reps, if there is a battle brewing for QB-1. But, even the coaches know how to get around that during the 10-minute period where media members are allowed to take pictures and video. 

Though I agree that having these practices open to the media would benefit the team in some capacity, with fan engagement a key part of building a narrative around the upcoming season, coaches would rather keep the depth-chart in-house. 

I promise you aren't missing anything, and if the person you follow has enough sources within your favorite program, you'll find out information once practice concludes for the day. 

This has become one of those topics that opens the door for plenty of differing opinions. Yes, it would be better for content, while also giving fans a glimpse into production for the upcoming season, I do understand why coaches are hesitant. 

Have you seen the stories coming out of the transfer portal? 

Coaches aren't going to take the risk any longer, and I promise you it's not the end of the world. The only ones that suffer are the reporters, and fans following the program.