The revolving door at FSU continued Thursday after freshman defensive back Shamar Arnoux entered the transfer portal. He has been removed from the official FSU roster already.
Arnoux was one of the few major contributors in the FSU secondary that didn't announce intentions to hit the portal shortly after former cornerbacks coach Patrick Surtain Sr. was dismissed. The Seminoles were able to get starting cornerback Ja"Bril Rawls back in the fold. However, both starting safeties from this past season — Earl Little Jr. and Edwin Joseph — remain in the portal.
BREAKING: FSU true freshman CB Shamar Arnoux is expected to enter the Transfer Portal, Noles247 has learned.
— Zach Blostein (@ZBlostein247) January 8, 2026
Arnoux played 345 snaps and started four games for FSU in his first year of college football this past season.
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FSU received a commitment from cornerback Nehemiah Chandler from South Alabama on the first weekend the portal was open and, presumably, it was for the All-Sun Belt Conference first teamer to compete with Arnoux for the starting cornerback spot opposite Rawls.
Arnoux appeared in 11 games last season. He was tabbed as starter for the final four games of the season after Rawls went down with a season-ending injury. Arnoux's 58.0 PFF grade was nothing to crow about, but there was a lot of upside to the 6-foot-2, 185-pound freshman from Fort Lauderdale. Now it appears that he'll try his luck elsewhere.
FSU's transfer portal activity remains fluid
With Arnoux making his declaration, it means Mike Norvell and staff will likely be looking for another cornerback in the portal. FSU also needs to replace both safeties and, frankly, they aren't shopping for talent with the big boys. They will either target some unproven players that were on other P4 rosters or possibly look at more experienced guys from the G5 or FCS to fill these roles.
The transfer portal window officially opened on January 2 and will close at the end of the day on January 16. FSU has signed or received commitments from nine players out of the portal, but there are over 30 players from last year's roster that are unlikely to return, so Norvell still has plenty of work to do over the next week to find players that they believe can contribute in 2026.