FSU football fans expected a mass exodus of players to leave the program after the disastrous 2024 season. FSU had a mass exodus, with 23 players leaving, but the list of players didn't consist of much of the young talent many subscription sites claimed.
Frankly, most folks who entered the transfer portal needed to because they were deadweight on the roster. What I mean is that they had not and likely would not be impactful players playing significant minutes in the future. Where players transfer to is a good way to determine if the player leaving was addition by subtraction or not. That's not always the case, but it usually holds. Here's a list of where each player who entered the transfer portal committed/signed to:
- Duece Spann-Pittsburgh
- Dante Anderson-FIU
- Byron Turner-Tulsa
- Jackson West-Western Kentucky
- Tomiwa Durojaiye-Illinois
- Omarion Cooper-Memphis
- Destyn Hill-LSU
- Lamont Green Jr.-FIU
- Julian Armella-UCLA
- Brian Courtney-Tennessee Tech
- Darion Williamson-Miami Ohio
- Jerrale Powers-Stephen F. Austin
- DeMarco Ward-Memphis
- Luke Kromenhoek-Mississippi State
- Marvin Jones Jr.-Oklahoma
- Grady Kelly-Michigan State
- Shawn Murphy-South Carolina
- Patrick Payton-LSU
- Malik Benson-Oregon
- DD Holmes-Maryland
Nine players went to schools that didn't play in a major conference and two more went to schools located in their home state. Only 4-5 of these players played or contributed anything significant during their time at FSU.
FSU has 31 new players to enroll this spring. Overall, I believe FSU significantly upgraded its roster between the 16 players they took in the Winter Transfer Portal window and the 2025 high school recruiting class that will ultimately be around 24 players and a top 20 ranking nationally.