Shocking transfer announcements will put FSU's new front office to the test

FSU's new revamped front office of John Garrett (General Manager of Player Personnel) and Taylor Edwards (Director of Football and Player Acquisition) is being thrown into the fire immediately and how they respond will tell us a lot about their future and the future of FSU football.

Right now, the group should be enjoying their first big win of the transfer portal season, landing a commitment from Texas running back Tre Wisner. The former Longhorn rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2024 and gives the Seminoles a proven feature back.

But there's very little for joy in Tallahassee these days and the announcement that defensive end/tight end Amaree Williams and defensive linemen Mandrell and Darryl Desir were entering the transfer portal was an immediate buzzkill.

Whether you think Williams is a loss or not, or whether you aren't fully sold on Desir twins for the future, doesn't matter. What matters is FSU football can't seem to control the frequent PR disasters coming out of the program and a lack of leverage has already put Garrett and Edwards in a tough position.

There are only a few ways to deal with this

Garrett and Edwards got here a little late, so when they arrived, cornerback JaBril Rawls, safety Ashlynd Barker, tight end Landen Thomas and a host of others had already announced their intentions to enter the portal. The new front office was able to retain Rawls, Barker and Thomas, and we have to assume it was with an increase in their financial packages. That was a necessary move.

But unfortunately, it opened the door to what you're seeing right now. Three young players that FSU values have decided to test the market. In the NFL, this is known as a holdout. In college football, the transfer portal is two weeks, so refusing to practice in the spring or skipping OTAs isn't an available leverage play.

Holdouts in the NFL aren't a big deal. More times than not, the team and the player eventually come to an agreement. But the college football version of a holdout is a public relations disaster. When a program that's won just seven games in two seasons has a mass exodus of top players, it looks terrible. It looks like the players don't respect the coach, and they don't believe in the program. And once these players reach the portal and can receive offers from other schools, FSU could lose them for nothing.

Few ever win in these types of negotiations

It stinks for FSU fans right now because the program they love looks like it's in shambles. Mike Norvell seems to be more of a figurehead than anything else and the young players have been empowered to use strong arm tactics with the new front office leadership because they've already seen it work for Rawls, Barker and Thomas. 

What happens next will set the tone for everything. If Garrett and Edwards decide to play hardball, other top FSU players could assume that they aren't being valued properly at FSU. But if they give in immediately, it will immediately establish a precedent that could lead to more strong arm tactics in the future. In this game of chess, Garrett and Edwards have to make the right move or risk losing it all.