FSU officially announces addition of former MTSU coach as director of scouting for offense

former Florida State quarterback and long-time head coach at Middle Tennessee State, is joining FSU’s football program as the director of scouting for offense.

Noles247 reported earlier in the week that this move was expected, and FSU made it official with an announcement on Monday evening.

“I am fired up to add Rick Stockstill to our coaching staff,” Mike Norvell said in a press release. “He brings a tremendous amount of football knowledge and experience to this position and will serve a vital role in our preparation as a staff. Rick’s perspective as a former player here under Coach Bowden, as well as a head coach for nearly two decades, will be valuable as he helps us continue our program’s climb. It’s clear how much Florida State means to Rick, and I’m excited we had this opportunity to bring him back to the Nole Family.”

Stockstill arrived at MTSU as a head coach in 2006, and worked there through this past season while going 113-111 over 18 seasons. This includes an 82–58 conference mark. His Blue Raiders defeated Miami 45-31 in 2022, a victory that the FSU alum took great pride in at the time.

“They averaged 1.6 yards per carry, they gave us $1.5 million, but they got 1.6 yards per carry,” Stockstill said after the win.

Stockstill was a six-time coach of the year during his time at MTSU, and was known for producing passing-centric offenses.

He played at FSU from 1977-1981 and helped the seminoles earn multiple wins over Top 10 teams during the program’s ascent to national prominence.

“I’m very appreciative and humbled for this opportunity to join Coach Norvell and his staff,” Stockstill said. “Watching him build this program and getting to know him as a person has been rewarding for me and many other former players. My time at Florida State University was crucial to my development as a person and a professional, and I’m excited to be back at a place that means so much to me. I’m looking forward to contributing to the cycle of impacting others as part of an already successful staff.”

The full release is below:

“I am fired up to add Rick Stockstill to our coaching staff,” Norvell said. “He brings a tremendous amount of football knowledge and experience to this position and will serve a vital role in our preparation as a staff. Rick’s perspective as a former player here under Coach Bowden, as well as a head coach for nearly two decades, will be valuable as he helps us continue our program’s climb. It’s clear how much Florida State means to Rick, and I’m excited we had this opportunity to bring him back to the Nole Family.”

Stockstill, who was inducted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019, completed an 18-year run as the head coach at MTSU following the 2023 season and brings 41 years of collegiate coaching experience back to Tallahassee. He produced an overall record of 113-111 at MTSU, led the Blue Raiders to 10 bowl appearances and was named his conference’s Coach of the Year three times. His 113 wins are third in MTSU history and were the sixth-most nationally at one school among head coaches active in 2023. In 2022, he led the Blue Raiders to their first win over a ranked opponent in school history with a 45-31 victory at No. 25 Miami and earned a bowl win for the second straight season, another program first, after a victory in the Hawai’i Bowl.

Stockstill coached nine All-Americans, 47 first-team all-conference performers and three conference Players of the Year at MTSU as well as six NFL Draft picks, including two-time first-team All-Pro and current Philadelphia Eagles safety Kevin Byard. Stockstill also oversaw the development of MTSU’s career record holders for passing yards, receptions, tackles, sacks and interceptions. From 2019-22, his program ranked in the top-five nationally in Graduation Success Rate, posting a score of 95 percent in each of those four years.

“I’m very appreciative and humbled for this opportunity to join Coach Norvell and his staff,” Stockstill said. “Watching him build this program and getting to know him as a person has been rewarding for me and many other former players. My time at Florida State University was crucial to my development as a person and a professional, and I’m excited to be back at a place that means so much to me. I’m looking forward to contributing to the cycle of impacting others as part of an already successful staff.”

Prior to becoming a head coach, Stockstill was an assistant coach for 23 seasons. He began his career as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Bethune-Cookman for the 1983 and 1984 seasons before moving to UCF for the next four years as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach. He then was at Clemson from 1989-2002, and during his tenure with the Tigers he coached quarterbacks and wide receivers while also spending time as passing game coordinator, co-offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He was East Carolina’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2003 before moving to serve as South Carolina’s recruiting coordinator while coaching wide receivers in 2004 and tight ends in 2005.

Stockstill played quarterback at Florida State from 1977-81. He led the Seminoles to a 10-2 record and No. 5 final ranking in 1980, a season that included a win at No. 3 Nebraska and a home victory over No. 3 Pittsburgh in consecutive weeks. Stockstill was a team captain in 1981 and led FSU to wins at No. 7 Ohio State, Notre Dame and LSU as part of a stretch of five straight road games. He finished his career with 250 completions, 2,834 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns. His touchdowns total ranked fifth on FSU’s all-time list at the end of his career, and his completions and passing yards totals both ranked sixth. Stockstill graduated from FSU in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education.