Florida State has had a productive transfer portal class during the limited window. The Seminoles need all the talent that they can get, as the program secured seven wins over the past two years.
Head football coach Mike Norvell and the front office need to ensure that it gets the best product on the field in 2026 and, more importantly, achieve long-term sustainability. The landscape of college football is so unpredictable.
Florida State had a productive offensive line under position coach Herb Hand during the 2025 season. The offense was able to run the football effectively often. The veteran transfers on the offensive line made their presence known.
Florida State's offensive line outlook in the portal
Those starting offensive trenches have exceeded their eligibility. As a result, Florida State went back to the well for more talent in the portal. The good news is that the Seminoles added Purdue's Bradyn Joiner, Bowling Green's Nate Pabst, and Troy's Paul Bowling in the portal.
With that said, all of those guys are interior offensive linemen. Florida State also needs offensive tackles, which I highlighted as a concern in a recent article.
This could have been avoided if Louisiana offensive tackle transfer Bryant Williams. The talented lineman visited Florida State recently, and Noles247's Zach Blostein even put in a crystal ball prediction in favor of the Seminoles.
However, just like when former UCF defensive tackle transfer John Walker left campus without committing, the Seminoles leave the risk of losing out on Williams.
Williams tells me that South Carolina is currently the favorite in his recruitment.
— Jordan Kaye (@jordankaye_23) January 7, 2026
He's taking a visit to Arkansas tomorrow. He said that will be his last visit. https://t.co/QOyT4erpy4
TheState Newspaper's Jordan Kaye reported that Bryant Williams listed South Carolina as a leader in his recruitment. This is someone that the Seminoles could've gotten during the visit.
This could be a situation where the Florida State coaching staff thought that they could get someone like Auburn offensive tackle transfer target Xavier Chaplin, who visited the Seminoles. However, this is someone in Williams who has multiple games of starting experience with a tremendous frame.
This is a head-scratching decision, but hopefully the coaching staff has a good idea of how they want to spend the resources on the offensive line.