With a Week 0 matchup against New Mexico State, Florida State got its fall camp underway early and wrapped up on Thursday before heading into game-week preparations.
Just because fall camp is technically over doesn’t mean every position battle is decided and the depth chart is settled. But after nearly a month of practice in Tallahassee, there’s certainly more clarity about who will take the field in Week 0 and, more importantly, in Week 1 when SMU comes to town.
Plenty of coaches can take time early in the season to get things right on their roster. Mike Norvell, because of a schedule that vaults him quickly into an important ACC matchup and his struggles in 2024 and 2025, won’t be afforded the level of patience. No, he has to have this team ready to roll from the very start because if the Seminoles have a slow start, Norvell may not be around to see how they finish.
Depth chart projection:
Offense
Position | 1st-string | 2nd-string | 3rd-string |
|---|---|---|---|
QB: | Ashton Daniels | Malachi Marshall | Kevin Sperry |
RB: | Ousmane Kromah | Samuel Singleton Jr. | Quintrevion Wisner |
X-WR: | Duce Robinson | Tae'Shaun Gelsey | Brandon Bennett |
Z-WR: | Micahi Danzy | Devin Carter | Teriq Mallory |
Slot: | Jasen Lopez | or Jayvan Boggs | |
TE: | Desirrio Riles | Landen Thomas | Chase Loftin |
LT: | Xavier Chaplin | Jonathan Daniels | |
LG: | Andre Otto | Paul Bowling | |
C: | Bradyn Welch-Joiner | Chavez Thompson | |
RG: | Nate Pabst | Paul Bowling | |
RT: | Chimdia Nwaiwu | Nate Pabst | Jonathan Daniels |
Ashton Daniels was named the starter back in spring, and even Tommy Castellanos’s offseason of lawsuits and eligibility fights didn’t shake Norvell from that conviction. Behind him, though, in a close battle for QB2, it seems that JuCo transfer Malachi Marshall has already overtaken Kevin Sperry. And if he hasn’t, it may just be a matter of time.
At the skill positions, the offense is relatively settled. Duce Robinson is WR1, and Ousmane Kromah will be the workhorse back, which, in fairness, wasn’t a certainty when fall camp began. Jasen Lopez emerged as the likely starting slot receiver, but Jayvan Boggs will see playing time; that’s more of a rotation than a clear hierarchy.
Along the offensive line, though, Herb Hand doesn’t have the luxury of rotating. He needs to put out a cohesive unit, and there are still serious questions about what that will look like. Nate Pabst is going to start, but will it be at right tackle or right guard? And late in camp, it seems that another question is whether or not Paul Bowling will beat out Andre Otto at left guard.
Bowling is a true sophomore, so I’ll lean toward Florida State starting with him as a reserve, with the expectation that he can fill in either guard spot if there’s an injury. He was one of the better freshmen in the country at Troy last season, and he could be tough to keep off the field in Tallahassee.
Defense
Position | 1st-string | 2nd-string | 3rd-string |
|---|---|---|---|
DE: | Mandrell Desir | Darryll Desir | Deamontae Diggs |
DT: | Daniel Lyons | Deante McCray | Tylon Lee |
NT: | Kevin Wynn | Jordan Saunders | |
JACK: | Rylan Kennedy | Jalen Anderson | Jaemin Pinckney |
WLB: | Mikai Gbayor | Izayia Williams | Blake Nichelson |
MLB: | Chris Jones Jr. | Omar Graham Jr. | Caleb LaVallee |
NICKEL: | Ma'Khi Jones | Ricky Knight III | Jordan Crutchfield |
CB: | Ja'Bril Rawls | Nehemiah Chandler | Chuck Kennon |
CB: | Quindarrius Jones | Charles Lester III | Zae Thomas |
FS: | C.J. Richard | or K.J. Kirkland | Donny Hiebert |
SS: | Ashlynd Barker | Jordan Crutchfield | Max Redmon |
Florida State spent a lot of its resources this offseason to keep the best pieces of a bad defense. Mandrell and Darryll Desir both entered the transfer portal before coming back after strong freshman seasons. Ja’Bril Rawls is a near top-of-market corner, and Ashlynd Barker is back to fill Earl Little Jr.’s shoes after he transferred to Ohio State.
The rest of the defense will be portal additions. FSU’s linebacker group was a major issue last year, so Norvell and general manager John Garrett rebuilt it in the portal. Rylan Kennedy and Jalen Anderson at JACK, Chris Jones Jr. at MIKE, and Mikai Gbayor at WILL.
Kennedy and Anderson are relative unknowns on the edge, Kennedy transferring down from Texas A&M and Anderson up from the JuCo level. Jones was a tackling machine at Southern Miss and seemed to impress in camp, but Gbayor spent most of the preseason injured, so he may not have a firm grasp on the starting role.
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