Florida State JUCO QB's offseason workouts have more fans believing he's the future

Florida State football fans haven’t experienced great quarterback play since the days of Jordan Travis leading the Seminoles to an undefeated regular season and ACC title in the 2023 season. That feels like eons ago, and Florida State still has a question mark at the position heading into the 2026 season.

Transfer Ashton Daniels has been named the starter, but his track record between Stanford and Auburn is far from spectacular. Though he did show some improvements in a limited sample size at Auburn after starting at Stanford the two seasons before that.

If Daniels isn’t the guy, most believe redshirt freshman Kevin Sperry will get his opportunity to shine after waiting behind Thomas Castallanos last year. However, the guy who seems to have every Florida State fan enamoured is JUCO signee Malachi Marshall.

Marshall arrived in Tallahassee a few weeks ago and already has some fans buzzing about his potential this season, though it’s clear he’ll likely redshirt since he didn’t get to experience spring camp.

Those spring reps in the offense would have been invaluable in helping him learn the offense enough to pose a legitimate threat to win the starting job in 2026. That’s the only question, along with how he will handle the massive jump in competition from JUCO to ACC play.

His highlight tape was so fun to watch, and the way the ball explodes out of his hands is crazy for a guy with a slight build.

Malachi Marshall's workout videos have Florida State fans questioning if he can play in 2026

The quick release, his ability to throw on the run, and the zip on the ball all scream playmaker. However, doing it in practice with no defenders and doing it in real games against the best competition he’s ever faced is another. He also needs to add at least another 20-25 pounds. He’s listed at 6’2” and 170 pounds. I’m not sure how long he’d stay healthy at that weight if he were to get hit a few times a game.

Thomas Castellanos is a thicker guy who got banged up early last season, and that compromised a lot of what he did well, which affected everything else.

It would be fun to see Marshall in action in 2026. I wonder if the coaching staff will try to get him into up to four games to give him a chance to show what he can do? There should be a couple of games where he could get into the game, but at the same time, that’s probably a good time for Kevin Sperry to get some valuable reps and develop.

Marshall seems like a good kid with the right attitude. We heard that from multiple sources, and he seems to be the guy that young players look up to:

The lack of leadership at the quarterback position is something I mentioned in a recent post about the greatness of Jordan Travis. If Marshall continues to put in the work and can get his teammates to believe he's the guy? He very well could be the future at Florida State.

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