![Florida head coach Jon Sumrall speaks to the team after the Orange and Blue game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 11, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2589,h_1456/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/270/01kv191fjrhz4mc4pscs.jpg "Florida head coach Jon Sumrall speaks to the team after the Orange and Blue game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 11, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Florida State football has had a really bad last couple of years. They have had six losing seasons in eight years for the Seminoles. This is not the place that the legendary Bobby Bowden built. Florida State has to get back on track in a hurry.
Head coach Mike Norvell is firmly in the mix with the hot seat. Meanwhile, the Seminoles' arch-rivals, Miami and Florida, have generated success. The Hurricanes just made the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against the Indiana Hoosiers. Then, the Gators have hired former Troy and Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall to lead the team.
Florida State cannot afford to let both of its rivals pass it up. The Seminoles want to get back to the success they had in 2022 and 2023. The administration had to feel at least a bit confident that Mike Norvell could potentially turn it around after retaining him for the 2026 season.
Florida State is putting all the pressure on Norvell to be successful as he is tasked with the play-calling duties once again after former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn unexpectedly retired this offseason.
The issue is what happens if he doesn't start the gates with generating wins? The Seminoles beat Alabama in the season opener last year, then stumbled down the stretch, where they lost seven of their last nine games to not even make a bowl game.
Florida State cannot allow that to occur this season, or Norvell will be looking for a new coaching gig. If that were to be the case, what would happen with recruiting? Could the rivals take advantage? It seems like they already have, as the Hurricanes and Gators rank in the top ten in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Arch-rival Florida Gators received bad news as four-star offensive lineman Kennedee Jackson flipped to Georgia
Florida State cannot allow first-year head coach Jon Sumrall to be ahead of them. The Seminoles lost last year to the Gators with bowl eligibility on the line. With an interim head coach and running back Jadan Baugh having a 200-yard performance, Florida defeated Florida State in blowout fashion.
Seminole fans never want to see Miami or Florida do well on the gridiron or the recruiting trail. Luckily, the Florida State faithful saw Florida receive bad news on Saturday, as four-star offensive lineman Kennedee Jackson flipped his commitment from the Florida Gators to the Georgia Bulldogs.
BREAKING: Four-Star OT Kennedee Jackson has Flipped his Commitment from Florida to Georgia, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 13, 2026
The 6’6 301 OT had been Committed to the Gators since June 2nd
He’s ranked as the No. 8 OT in the 2027 Rivals300 🐶https://t.co/24Urd3wGCf pic.twitter.com/iTWyPmm7kU
While Florida State has no room to be talking about high school recruiting while being in the "see more" section of the rankings, Florida shouldn't need a top-ten offensive tackle prospect in the country. The Seminoles don't even have an offensive lineman prospect committed to their 2027 recruiting class, even though it could have a solid shot with four-star DaJohn Yarborough.
It is surprising that Jackson already backed off his pledge with the Gators after only being committed for 11 days. However, that is the landscape of college football, plus it is nice to see a former Florida State graduate assistant and current Georgia head coach, Kirby Smart, getting the best of the Florida Gators.
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