Florida State football finished with a 5-7 record, and the feel-good story of beating Alabama in the opener in August slowly started to diminish. The final disappointment came when the Seminoles lost to arch-rival Florida and their interim coach for the second time under Mike Norvell.
The Seminoles have a problem now in the state of Florida, as the Gators have new life with hiring former Tulane head football coach Jon Sumrall to be its leader. Meanwhile, head football coach Mario Cristobal has the Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff.
The momentum has shifted, and the fan base is starting to lose hope in Norvell and his vision for the program. The hope is that transfers also don't have that same sentiment for Florida State that is trying to compete for compete and national championships again.
The Hurricanes have connected on top quarterback transfers with Cam Ward and Carson Beck, which has brought their program success. Meanwhile, the Seminoles settled for options such as DJ Uiagalelei and Thomas Castellanos.
Uiagalelei only managed to play in a few games in 2024 before getting injured, and Florida State finished with a 2-10 record. Castellanos, on the other hand, had moments of success like beating Alabama but had inconsistencies as a passer.
We already mentioned that Florida State has communicated with West Florida's Marcus Stokes, who entered the transfer portal recently. Then, it could get interesting if Arizona State's Sam Leavitt gets in the portal.
Nonetheless, the Seminoles cannot let Miami get another talented option, such as South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers or North Carolina State's CJ Bailey (if those quarterbacks enter). They cannot allow the Florida Gators with Sumrall to get red-hot, either.
There are fans out there that would rather stick it out with redshirt freshman Kevin Sperry. I do believe the former four-star prospect is a good talent, but Florida State needs to make sure that he is the real deal because the Seminoles have had six losing seasons in eight years and this isn't the time to take the lumps and bruises of a youngster if he isn't ready.