As Florida State looks to improve on last season’s 5-7 record, here are five burning questions, and answers, as the Seminoles head into 2026.
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Will Mike Norvell the play-caller save head coach Mike Norvell’s job?
A year ago, Norvell made a splash hire and landed a coaching friend, Gus Malzahn, to be FSU’s offensive coordinator. Malzahn and UCF were struggling, but it was an unusual move for a head coach to drop down to a coordinator role. Norvell seemingly embraced a CEO role, handing the keys of the offense to Malzahn.
In early February, Malzahn retired. Norvell elevated Tim Harris Jr. to offensive coordinator, but the head coach will again be the play-caller.
Head coaches need to delegate and often will offload a coordinator role or play-calling. Should they? What’s best for the coach, players and program? Norvell has decided to go back to his roots, what made him a successful young coordinator at Arizona State (2012-15) and then a promising head coach at Memphis (2016-19) before an up-and-down 38-34 record in six seasons at FSU.
Will the Ashton Daniels gamble pay off?
Norvell has picked DJ Uiagalelei, Tommy Castellanos and Ashton Daniels as quarterbacks out of the transfer portal each of the last three seasons. And FSU hasn’t been able to develop a high school quarterback in Norvell’s time. The staff inherited Jordan Travis, who transferred from Louisville prior to the arrival of Norvell and his first staff.
With little to no proven quarterback development at FSU the last two seasons, and just one marquee win over Alabama, it’s curious that Norvell would roll the dice on Daniels. At Stanford, Daniels struggled with turnovers. At Auburn, he lost a preseason quarterback battle only to earn the job back and play in four games.
Daniels was referred to as a “value” acquisition during the spring. Which leads to one of three scenarios: The staff didn’t see the quarterback market escalating beyond what was budgeted, that they liked Daniels more than Anthony Colandrea (who picked Nebraska) and DJ Lagway (who landed at Baylor) — or after two losing seasons, Daniels was the best transfer FSU could grab. Regardless, the decision to go with Daniels will be connected to Norvell and it’s part of the big-picture analysis of the quarterback shortcomings at FSU.
Daniels played relatively well in the losses at Vanderbilt and to Alabama in 2025. He cut down on the interceptions and made plays. Daniels is surrounded by playmakers — Duce Robinson is a 1,000-yard receiver, Micahi Danzy is a deep threat and FSU has a trio of talented tailbacks in Tre’ Wisner, Ousmane Kromah and Samuel Singleton Jr. — he doesn’t need to be anything more than the capable runner that he’s always been, a leader and a smart distributor of the football.
Just how functional will the offensive line be?
Herb Hand has constructed some quality offensive lines, including at UCF. He pulled off some magic a year ago, hitting the portal to bring in four new starters. But imagine this: FSU will start five new offensive linemen in the season opener. And it’s that way for a third straight season in Tallahassee.
The Seminoles have linemen with experience this fall. FSU’s four transfer offensive linemen have 104 starts at the FBS level, with Bowling Green’s Nate Pabst (38), Xavier Chaplin (37) and Bradyn Welch-Joiner (17) being multi-year starters. Chaplin played at Virginia Tech and Auburn, while Welch-Joiner started at Auburn and Purdue. Paul Bowling started 12 games as a true freshman at Troy. Chimdi Nwaiwu had 13 starts at FCS program Stephen F. Austin, too.
The other advantage is Hand has been able to develop a few younger linemen, notably redshirt junior Andre’ Otto. Hand thinks Otto could fit in at left guard.
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How cohesive this group is week to week will also help answer the first two questions.
Can FSU’s defense improve in Year 2 of Tony White’s scheme?
FSU faced the prospect of a mass exodus from the defense. At varying points, defensive linemen Mandrell Desir, Darryll Desir and Kevin Wynn, linebacker Omar Graham Jr. and cornerback Ja’Bril Rawls contemplated options elsewhere before returning. FSU still lost big pieces of the defense, with safeties Earl Little Jr. (Ohio State) and Edwin Joseph (Ole Miss), linebacker Justin Cryer (Texas), ends James Williams (Oklahoma State) and Amaree Williams (Mississippi State) moving on.
It was a chaotic offseason but also one where those who stayed could continue to learn Tony White’s 3-3-5 defense. The scheme is multiple, using three- and four-man fronts, while also featuring three safeties in the nickel secondary.
White thinks Ashlynd Barker will be an All-ACC player or perhaps an All-American at rover. He envisions Barker picking up 100 tackles and four-six interceptions. Rawls could be among the ACC’s top corners, and he was an effective run-stopper until an injury cut his 2025 seasons short. The secondary should be a strength.
FSU needed to find defensive linemen via the transfer portal and landed Texas A&M’s Rylan Kennedy and Texas State’s Jordan Sanders. Kennedy has embraced a versatile role where he can rush off the edge or move around along the front and pressure the passer. If he’s up to the job, and Sanders catches up after missing the spring due to injury, FSU will have nine linemen with Division I experience and a deep rotation.
Southern Miss transfer Chris Jones should be the most impactful linebacker at FSU since Tatum Bethune and Kalen DeLoach had their eligibility expire after the 2023 season. Jones’ grade against the run (76.8 per Pro Football Focus) was quite good last fall. He had 135 tackles and led the Sun Belt by averaging 10.3 tackles per game. But aside from Jones, there are questions.
Can FSU win on the road?
FSU went 5-2 at home with a pair of losses by a touchdown or less in 2025. The Seminoles lost their last three road games by 14, 10 and 19 points. It would be wrong to state FSU was a different team at home compared to on the road. But FSU’s self-inflicted mistakes kept showing up and were often more prevalent on the road.
Given the high turnover of football rosters in the transfer portal era, it’s difficult to project what a tough schedule looks like. But FSU will face Miami and Alabama, two College Football Playoff teams in 2025, on the road in the first seven games this fall. And then there are Friday road games at Louisville and Pittsburgh. Boston College looks relatively easy by comparison, but it’s still a challenging road slate.
FSU hasn’t won a road game since beating Florida in November 2023. And, yes, if FSU could pull off an upset at Alabama or at Miami, those wins would strengthen the perception of the program.
If the Seminoles want to return to bowl season, they will need to play better away from Tallahassee. FSU went to a bowl in 36 straight seasons (1982-2017) but now have been bowling just twice in Norvell’s six seasons. Going bowling isn’t viewed by FSU fans as a tough assignment, yet it has become one in the Norvell Era.
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