Embracing The Transfer Portal
I can confidently say FSU football would be nowhere near where it is if it were not for the transfer portal. Firstly, the rule allowing players to enter the transfer portal was perfect timing to benefit FSU.
However, it was Mike Norvell’s vision to use the transfer portal to improve the roster quicker instead of going the traditional route which paid off in spades. The foresight to understand this when other teams were still going the traditional route allowed FSU to close the gap on the field much quicker.
They could get talented, physically-ready to play guys from the portal, particularly in the trenches, instead of rely on high school freshmen, who would have gotten rag-dolled and hurt with no chance to develop. It was smart of the coaching staff to avoid listening to the critics concerned with rankings of high school players (because transfer players didn’t count towards rankings at first).
The addition of Fabien Lovett, Jermaine Johnson, Jammie Robinson, Keir Thomas, and Dillan Gibbons in the trenches were game changers, as all made the All-ACC team in some fashion. Jermaine Johnson became the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and an NFL First-Round Draft pick.
His success helped FSU acquire the Jared Verse to replace him, and that success in the transfer portal continued in 2022, and with the the coaching staff’s most talented haul yet in the 2023 recruiting cycle.
The addition of Keon Coleman, Fentrell Cypress, Darrell Jackson Jr., Braden Fiske, Gilber Edmonds, Jaheim Bell, and others is why the Noles are favorites to win the ACC for the first time since 2014.