It is still quite early in the transfer portal, but what is Florida State doing? The Seminoles have seen one player after another head for presumably greener pastures after this past season. Could you really blame them? This team has won a combined six games over the last two years. Quarterback play has been part of it, but Mike Norvell seems to have lost his way once again as their head coach.
A perfect example of this is having Florida transfer DJ Lagway coming into Tallahassee for a visit...
NEW: DJ Lagway on 'cloud nine' after visiting FSU, seeing Cam Newton comparison from Seminoles OC Gus Malzahn👀
— On3 (@On3sports) January 5, 2026
(via @LaserreMatt) https://t.co/DKea5213i6 pic.twitter.com/JwAgxfotsL
Only to end up signing former Auburn and Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels shortly thereafter...
BREAKING: Auburn transfer QB Ashton Daniels has Committed to Florida State, he tells @On3Sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 6, 2026
In the 4 games he played this season, Daniels totaled 1,077 yards and 5 TDs
He’ll have 1 year of eligibility lefthttps://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/5IIhgyBzp3
In all honesty, Daniels is probably coming to Florida State to serve as as the backup to whoever else the 'Noles could land in the transfer portal Along with Lagway, Florida State has had former UNLV and Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea in for a visit as well. Like Lagway, he left Tallahassee without committing. Daniels may be a capable stop-gap guy, but he cannot lead FSU for 12 games in 2026...
If this is all that Norvell and Gus Malzahn had in store at quarterback, this should be their last season.
Florida State cannot be done addressing its quarterback room just yet
Look. It is now or never for Florida State to get back into the good graces with its rabid fanbase and make a charge in the ACC. Seeing their biggest rival in-conference in the Miami Hurricanes playing in the Fiesta Bowl has to sting so much. Arch rival Florida has made the necessary changes to move on from its ineffective head coach. Over in Orlando, this will be year two for Scott Frost leading UCF, too.
Overall, Florida State needs to get its collective stuff together. Money continues to be an issue for this university, athletic department, and of course, its football program. However, all it takes is one great season to get everything back on track. If traditional bottom-feeders across the sport like Indiana, Virginia, and to some extent, Ole Miss, can get to double-digit wins, why cannot FSU do that?
In the end, Daniels is just a guy. There is a chance he may improve now that he is back in the ACC after a forgettable one-year stint in the SEC at Auburn. However, a team in need of a spark like Florida State should probably be looking to get it at quarterback. Lagway would have provided that. Maybe Colandera could have done that, too? While they still might, Daniels comes up a distant third to both.
For now, we will just have to wait and see if another better quarterback makes his way to Tallahassee.