New FSU staff made quality player retention a priority as transfer portal opened

The transfer portal officially opened Friday morning, and FSU had 26 players with intentions to enter. We discussed how the majority of the players on the list were non-contributors, but a few were worth retaining.

One of the most important jobs for college coaching staffs is retaining the top talent acquired, and FSU hired some new back-office staff members to assist in that department. Let’s just say they got to work immediately.

Ja’Bril Rawls and Ashlynd Barker were two starters in the FSU secondary in 2025 who planned to enter the transfer portal. Landen Thomas was one of the top tight end signees in the 2024 recruiting class, who would likely have a large part in the offense in 2026 with starting tight end Randy Pittman entering the portal.

All three players will now return to FSU for the 2026 season. FSU has done a good job of retaining its top talent historically, and this sign is a positive development with the new staff on board. The rest of the FSU players in the portal can easily be replaced with guys who likely have production.

The challenge for the new staff now will be talent acquisition with players who entered the portal from other teams. FSU is already setting up official visits with several targets and positions of need. The biggest is the quarterback and the offensive line, followed by linebackers and other skill positions.

The quality of the players FSU attracts will tell us all we need to know about the staff going forward. Additionally, can they persuade their top targets to commit/sign when they visit, rather than prolonging the process?  Stay tuned, things could get interesting over the next two weeks!