Florida State's offense was much improved under first-year coordinator Gus Malzahn, but it wasn't rocket science to be better than what was put on the field in 2024. Some fans even argued that they could have gotten people off the street to perform as adequately.
While this isn't an opportunity to put salt on the wound of the 2-10 season in 2024, the failures started with the quarterback situation. Veteran transfer DJ Uiagalelei was not what the Seminoles thought he would be, then after the former Clemson and Oregon State transfer got injured, the staff went with youngsters Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek.
That didn't work either.
The harsh reality is that individuals haven't seen Mike Norvell and this Florida State squad productive unless former signal-caller Jordan Travis was under center. I get it, good quarterback play wins football games. However, Norvell has to be able to develop quarterbacks at a higher clip.
The Seminoles tried their hand with former UCF and Boston College quarterback transfer Thomas Castellanos, which had bright (beating Alabama) and dark (losing to Stanford) moments. Nonetheless, it was a mixed bag of results from a veteran that the staff thought would be wildly successful, being reunited with Coach Malzahn.
Meanwhile, true freshman Kevin Sperry is sitting there waiting in the distance, while the offense struggles to move the football consistently in the back half of the season. Gus Malzahn talked about how much he liked the former four-star prospect, but they ultimately decided to preserve his redshirt.
The decision to save a quarterback burned Florida State last season, as former five-star prospect Luke Kromenhoek elected to transfer to Mississippi State last offseason (doesn't look like the greatest decision right now).
If Castellanos doesn't get his fifth year waiver by the NCAA, the Seminoles will be left with Kevin Sperry, Brock Glenn, newly-acquired Jaden O'Neal, as well as preferred walk-on options such as Jaylen King and Michael Grant. The fan base probably cannot take the fact that the Seminoles could be in the running to get a third straight transfer.
This is a situation where I can see it both ways, because Norvell is virtually on the hot seat where he is fighting for his job. He probably doesn't want to rely on a redshirt freshman to put the decision in his hands. This is important to note that Jameis Winston and Deondre Francois were redshirt freshmen when they started at Florida State. Why can't Sperry be the next in line?
The Seminoles need to look at all of their options. If a top quarterback enters the transfer portal, the staff can't be twiddling their thumbs while other schools pursue. When Florida State wants a talented transfer, they need to pay up for his services instead of nickel-and-dime.
On the other hand, if Sperry is ready to contribute, don't bring another option in to make the situation messy. Be confident in the homegrown guy that you recruited out of high school.