FSU football: Portal additions signal competition at every position of need

FSU football coaches have done a great job using the transfer portal to flip the roster and improve drastically on the field over the last three seasons.

Folks continue to argue whether it’s sustainable, but FSU coaches have used it the right way. They haven’t simply accumulated more talent, but it’s talent at positions of need.

The offensive line, defensive end, running back, wide receivers, and more have been transformed via the portal.

Those additions have increased competition at those postions, and we’ve seen some players on the roster elevate their games because of portal additions.

That may have been the effect FSU football coaches were going for when they landed kicker Tyler Keltner from the transfer portal Friday.

Adding a kicker via the portal is something I heard lots of fans asking about since the season ended. I didn’t think it was a necessity since Ryan Fitzgerald seemed to find his mojo again in the second half of the season(unless we’re talking from 50+ yards).

I’ve never liked settling for field goals from that distance anyway, but it is an important weapon at times. However, in thinking about it, Mike Norvell had no choice during the season except to stick with Fitzgerald because they didn’t have any viable options to replace him during games.

Frankly, there was nobody at practice to challenge Fitzgerald for his job, which meant he could have gotten complacent if he wanted.

Fitzgerald, to his credit, worked extremely hard to regain his confidence and went on to make some big field goals in the second half of the season, including the game-winner against Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl.

However, the addition of Keltner signals the coaching staff felt the need to bring in competition. He’ll be a preferred walk-on but has a career long of 54-yards and was 17 of 22 last season at East Tennessee State.

That should be good enough to let everyone know they will bring in competition at every position when needed.