Welcome to Noles News, with all the important happenings in Florida State sports. This is a special edition focused on Florida State football’s first scrimmage of fall camp and all the tidbits of information we were able to glean from Mike Norvell’s comments on Tuesday night and the coordinator availabilities on Wednesday.
Tuesday night’s action was the first of three scheduled scrimmages inside Doak Campbell Stadium before FSU hosts New Mexico State there for the Week 0 season opener on August 29. Weather permitting, FSU’s next scrimmage will take place Sunday, August 9.
Until then, let’s dive into the important news from Scrimmage 1.
Quintrevion Wisner and Malachi Marshall held out
We haven’t gotten full updates on injuries suffered during the scrimmage. It appears a few players were banged up and could miss a few practices, but we likely won’t get confirmation until Norvell speaks at his next media availability on Friday.
We do know, however, a few of the players who were held out on Tuesday night, including Texas transfer running back Quintrevion Wisner and Iowa Western CC transfer quarterback Malachi Marshall. Marshall was a late arrival to Tallahassee in this year’s transfer class, so his setback likely gives Kevin Sperry a significant upper hand in the QB2 battles.
As for Wisner, he’s a veteran, so there’s no reason to expect that missing a few practices with something minor, as offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. described it, will cut into his playing time. Ousmane Kromah’s continued emergence, however, might.
Scrimmage standouts
Ousmane Kromah keeps surging
Norvell named Kromah as a player who stood out on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday, Harris highlighted his growth as a pass protector, saying that “you could feel their development” of Kromah and fellow returning running back Samuel Singleton Jr.
Jasen Lopez’s fall camp surge is real
According to Norvell, Lopez caught a deep pass from sophomore quarterback Kevin Sperry on Tuesday night. Harris highlighted his competitive nature as a main reason the two-sport star is in position to make an early-season impact. He’s been pushing Jayvan Boggs, who was limited to start camp with an injury, for the starting slot receiver role.
The Desir twins appear to have been worth keeping
There were a few Noles who went into the portal last offseason before ultimately coming back to Tallahassee. None had the fanbase more nervous than Mandrell and Darryll Desir. That may even be true of players like Earl Little Jr., who left for Ohio State through the portal.
Both had strong freshman years, though Mandrell’s numbers look much better with 6.5 sacks. However, both had considerable holes to clean up in their games. It seems they’ve done that, garnering praise from teammates and coaches alike throughout camp.
Speaking about the other side of the ball, Harris named the Desir’s among his list of standouts from Scrimmage 1.
OC Tim Harris Jr. names the Desir twins, Chris Jones, Ashlynd Barker, Quindarrius Jones, and Ja'Bril Rawls as defensive players who stood out in last night's scrimmage.
— John Evans (@_jpevans_) August 5, 2026
Chris Jones sets the tone on defense
There’s no way to get through this edition of Noles News without dropping this quote from Tony White on the defense’s physicality:
“Chris Jones, first one that comes to mind, he wants to hit the soul out of you."
Tom Herman talked down Tony White
Former Houston, Texas, and FAU head coach Tom Herman was hired to Florida State’s staff as an assistant to Mike Norvell this offseason, and it seems that he started to show his value on Tuesday night.
White spoke on Wednesday about how he fixated on the negatives of his defense’s performance during the scrimmage and needed Herman to calm him down after the Seminole offense popped a perfectly executed screen against his unit.
“Even last night, he talked me off a cliff," White told reporters on Wednesday. "They hit a play, and I'm charged up now. I'm geeked the hell up because I'm like, we ain't about that stuff this year. And he's like, 'Hey Tony, don't worry about it.' I'm like, okay, cool."
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