Oh, what could have been. The first two selections in the 2025 NFL Draft were extremely close to being FSU football players in the Mike Norvell era.
The No. 1 overall pick of the Tennessee Titans, Cam Ward, was deciding between the rival Miami Hurricanes and FSU after entering the transfer portal from Washington State. Ward strung his recruitment along before declaring for the NFL Draft, and FSU decided to go with DJ Uiagalelei.
However, a desperate Miami team reportedly threw over four million dollars at Cam Ward to convince him to pull himself out of the draft to play one year at Miami. The gamble paid off for Ward. Miami played against a soft schedule, and he catapulted himself from a probable third-round pick to the No. 1 overall pick. Miami managed to win 10 games for the first time since 2017 but still didn't win the ACC or even make the ACC championship game.
The No. 2 overall pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Travis Hunter, was a longtime FSU commit in the 2022 recruiting cycle before breaking all of FSU's hearts by flipping to Jackson State, who was coached by former FSU standout Deion Sanders.
Hunter went on to win the Heisman with Colorado after transferring when Deion Sanders took that job.
I'm confident FSU would have met expectations if Cam Ward was the quarterback last season. The offensive line was terrible, and the receivers were suspect, but DJ Uiagalelei played nowhere close to how he played the year before at Oregon State.
FSU has had a strong secondary despite Hunter choosing not to come to FSU, but they could have used him desperately as a wide receiver, which I believe is his best position overall.
That's been the story of Mike Norvell since arriving at FSU in recruiting. He has won some recruiting battles with Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Keon Coleman, Ousmane Kromah, and Landen Thomas. However, there have been massive losses, usually when it looked like FSU was in the driver's seat.
These are two that have arguably been the biggest. If Hunter comes to FSU, it would have likely turned the tide in recruiting for Mike Norvell much quicker. If he landed Cam Ward last year, FSU wouldn't finish 2-10.
However, everything happens for a reason. FSU missed on Ward but likely upgraded at both coordinator positions. We'll get to see how it plays out on the field in 2025, but it hurts knowing FSU was that close to having two difference-makers.