Florida State football has not been doing well over the past two seasons, where they have only been able to muster seven total wins. This is not what the fan base expects of a program that is used to competing for championships.
This 2026 season does not have high expectations from individuals since the administration decided to retain head coach Mike Norvell. The morale of the program is low because it seems to be all words and minimal signs of improvement.
Florida State will begin its spring practices on Monday, March 9th, so this should inject excitement in fans who are itching for the season to start. As a result, I want to highlight three position battles to monitor for the spring.
Quarterback
The elephant in the room is who will win the Florida State quarterback battle: Ashton Daniels or Kevin Sperry. While I don't want to discount the possibility of Malachi Marshall, he will be enrolling in the summer. It sounds like head coach Mike Norvell favors the experience of Daniels, but the potential of redshirt freshman Sperry could be difficult to ignore.
Defensive End
The name of the game for the defense is to be able to apply pressure to the opposing quarterbacks. The one bright spot was returning The Desir Twins and Kevin Wynn after they declared their intentions to enter the transfer portal. The staff only grabbed their only defensive end in Rylan Kennedy. Underclassmen will be asked to play significant snaps in 2026.
Linebacker
Florida State fans saw how important the linebacker position was when the Seminoles lost to arch-rival Florida in the season finale, where running back Jadan Baugh had a field day against the defense. Florida State added Southern Miss's Chris Jones via the portal, but it will be interesting to see how the rest of the room will pan out.