Florida State held its second of three scheduled scrimmages this fall camp on Sunday night at Doak Campbell, and it sounds as though it was more of the same from transfer quarterback Ashton Daniels. Long-named the Week 0 starter, Norvell has continually praised the former Auburn Tiger and Stanford Cardinal for his “ownership of the offense,” as he put it this time.
However, in his post-scrimmage media availability, Norvell expanded on Daniels’ play a bit, even hinting at some struggles before highlighting what could be his most important trait to make the FSU offense reach its ceiling in 2026 with Norvell back on the headset.
“Tonight, there were a few opportunities that, you know, he created, and then there were a few opportunities that, you know, we can continue to grow and be better at, you know, as we're mixing different personnel, different guys. I think he's got a great understanding, control, and has been highly efficient and explosive in the things we've asked him to do.”
Efficiency and explosiveness are the name of the game for any offense, but the latter will be particularly important for a QB in a Seminoles unit that’s going to lean heavily on the ground game in 2026.
FSU will keep Gus Malzahn’s run-heavy approach with Norvell calling the plays
After bringing in Gus Malzahn to call the plays last year, Norvell is re-assuming that responsibility for 2026. However, the offense may not change much, at least in terms of what it wants to major in. In 2025, Florida State’s pass-rate over expected was -3.9 percent, the third-lowest in the Power 4 ahead of only Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
That’s typical of a Malzahn offense, but even with Norvell, FSU should be expected to replicate its 59.8 percent run rate. Throughout his career, one of Daniels’ biggest strengths has been his mobility, rushing for 1,401 yards and 11 touchdowns. Plus, the Seminoles have a crowded backfield with Ousmane Kromah, Quintrevion Wisner, and Samuel Singleton Jr.
Using the quarterback in the run game puts immediate stress on the defense by forcing it to play 11-on-11. Daniels’ mobility, along with Norvell’s willingness to put two running backs on the field, almost guarantees an efficient run game, even if this offensive line overhaul isn’t quite as successful as last year’s. The question will be, in both the passing game and the run game, where do the explosives come from?
Norvell will need Ashton Daniels to provide the explosives for FSU
If you’re going to run the ball 41.3 times a game, as FSU did last season, or even more, you need a way to find explosives. That naturally lengthens drives and forces your offense to be perfect for much longer, which is largely why Florida State was No. 18 in offensive success rate and No. 26 in points per drive, a small but meaningful discrepancy.
Singleton ranked No. 13 in the FBS for breakaway run percentage by PFF. However, Kromah was 160th with only 31.9% of his rushing yardage coming on carries of 15+ yards, and Wisner was even worse at No. 207 among 300 backs with 50 or more carries, at 27.1%. Gavin Sawchuk, FSU’s second-leading rusher last season, was at 18.1, however, so Wisner represents a small upgrade.
FSU ranked No. 17 in the FBS in explosiveness by Fourth-and-short’s metric. Much of that came courtesy of Castellanos, who averaged 15.3 yards per completion and factored heavily into the run game.
Through the air, Castellanos was unable to access the middle of the field, where many explosive pass plays can come from, and yet Duce Robinson and Micahi Danzy routinely took the top off the defense. With both of those players back, and Daniels’ ability to throw, and frankly to see, over the middle of the field will be huge. If he can pair that with dynamic rushing ability, it will be even more important.
Florida State can’t nickel-and-dime its way to an elite offense. For all the praise about his efficiency, Daniels is a fifth-year player with a career 60.2% completion rate. It needs to have explosives, and unless Singleton is going to have a larger workload than 51 carries, the running backs who will be flanking him aren’t known for picking up yardage in big chunks.
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