Florida State football had a 2-10 record in 2024. Most fans are frustrated with what happened, and for good reason. As head football coach Mike Norvell stated earlier, this is not the standard of Florida State. This is a program that is used to being a championship contender.
The talk of the season was that the coaching staff did not properly evaluate the transfer portal prospects that were brought in. While that is a true statement, I do think that the returning players on that 2024 roster took a step back, too.
I know that fans can easily correlate that to the previous coaches. The truth is that I believe the Seminoles allowed the College Football Playoff to get to their head. The 2025 season should be much better since they do not have the same distractions.
While I am not suggesting that they can have another clunker of a season, the eyes won't be on Florida State in 2025. I believe that this could be a chance for a couple of players to play really well.
One that I am monitoring is safety Shyheim Brown. The former three-star prospect had aspirations just like defensive end Jared Verse, who was selected in the first-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Even though Brown had 70 tackles in 2024, there were several occasions where he missed tackles that he should have made. The safety was not himself. It should give fans assurance that the Seminoles have not been pursuing defensive backs in the transfer portal.
They did add signees such as Gregory Thomas, Shamar Arnoux, and Max Redmon in the 2024 recruiting cycle, but that should not impact Brown's playing time.
It is worth noting that safety Akeem Dent graduated after the 2023 season, and Brown had to be that guy in the position room. It was also fair to mention that Florida State failed to fill that second safety spot (even though KJ Kirkland showed flashes at times).
I am not saying that Brown will develop into a first-round draft pick for next year's draft, but he should play more motivated for a Florida State team that is looking to turn the corner.