Florida State football didn't have an ideal last two years with the 2-10 and 5-7 seasons. This is not something that the legendary Bobby Bowden built, and it has become unrecognizable to many within the fan base.
However, this should be a time to press the panic button, as the administration allowed head coach Mike Norvell to turn this around, hoping that he can create the magic that he had in 2022 and 2023.
The issue over the last couple of years has been the quarterback position. Norvell found magic in a bottle with veteran Jordan Travis, who transferred in during the Willie Taggart era. However, the experiments with DJ Uiagalelei and Thomas Castellanos via the transfer portal were disastrous.
Quarterback transfer Ashton Daniels is hoping to prove the doubters wrong this season
Mike Norvell concluded spring by not naming a starting quarterback, but mentioned that they could be close to a decision. The thought was that they could wait until fall camp to announce so that JUCO signal-caller Malachi Marshall could get an opportunity.
However, they decided to select former Stanford and Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels to be the starter, which was not a popular choice by the fan base because some of them covet the skill sets of Kevin Sperry and/or Malachi Marshall.
Plus, the Seminole faithful have seen the blunders of transfer portal quarterbacks. Florida State hasn't seen its homegrown talent succeed at signal-caller, and it has frustrated individuals.
With that said, Ashton Daniels is a quality veteran that the coaching staff clearly trusts. Head coach Mike Norvell pointed out his improved downfield passing attack as well as his leadership in doing everything that they ask him to do.
Daniels had a breakout two-game finale with the Auburn Tigers against ranked opponents Vanderbilt and Alabama, where he completed 49 of his 83 passes (59%) for 612 yards with three touchdowns and displayed a dual-threat ability with 197 yards and two touchdowns on the ground (according to ESPN Stats and Information).
While I realize that Daniels has a career 24:22 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his college career, he flourished in the Tigers' offense against quality teams when given the opportunity. It just shows that former Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze was incapable of coaching the team after not playing him over Jackson Arnold until late in the year.
Nonetheless, this has to be what the coaching staff fell in love with in the veteran's game. While Daniels most likely won't be a Heisman-like campaign in 2026, if he plays even remotely close to what he did against Vanderbilt and Alabama, he could create a high ceiling for the Seminoles' offense.
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