Early retentions give FSU positive momentum as portal season begins

The recently-constructed revamped front office at FSU needed some early wins, and they got them in the way of some important pieces being retained. 

Wide receiver Duce Robinson was the big story. Robinson transferred to FSU last season from USC and quickly became FSU's top option at wide receiver. The chances of the Seminoles convincing him to stay another year wasn't as surprising as some other retentions because Robinson's NFL draft stock could be improved (he was a likely Day 3 selection, maybe a fringe Day 2 guy with great testing). 

As good as Robinson was for FSU, keeping the 1,000-yard receiver was expected. But retaining two members of last year's starting secondary was a pleasant surprise.

Ja'Bril Rawls became one of the unsung heroes of the defense in 2025. The redshirt sophomore from Pensacola emerged from the pack to be a starter and difference maker even though injuries kept him off the field down the stretch. Rawls' size (6-foot-1, 190 pounds), length, athleticism and coverage ability were sorely missed when he wasn't in the lineup. He has legitimate NFL upside and, along with the expected return of Quindarrius Jones, it gives the Seminoles some scheme versatility to use both guys in complementary roles. 

Rawls' transfer marker would've been high, and he didn't come back to FSU on the cheap, so the belief from both sides that this thing will be better in 2026 is there. The same can be said of starting safety Ashlynd Barker, who is reportedly staying in Tallahassee as well. Barker, like Rawls, emerged this season as a critical piece of the secondary and with the Seminoles losing starting safeties Earl Little Jr. and Edwin Joseph, keeping Barker became a priority.

The late retentions of Rawls, Barker and grossly underused tight end Landen Thomas is a good start for the new front office of John Garrett (GM of player personnel) and Taylor Edwards (Director of football and player acquisition). It shows they identified some players on last year's roster that FSU would be better off keeping and made it happen.

Now it's time to keep that train rolling as portal season begins. It appears that FSU is going to be focused more on experience and production than upside this time around. That means they will likely be in the market for more established top-end G5 talent that they believe can level up and try to pair that with P4 transfers that they really feel good about at the right price. It's a process that has worked before for FSU and, facing a must-win season, it's worth going all-in on that formula again.