The 2025 Florida State football season was disappointing on multiple fronts, and the offense, or lack thereof, in the red zone cost the Noles several wins. A lot of those issues fell on quarterback Thomas Castellanos and his inability to see the field or propensity to turn the ball over.
Florida State will have much different offensive personnel when they take the field for the first time against New Mexico State on August 29th. Most of the attention will focus on quarterback Ashton Daniels and Duce Robinson, an All-ACC performer. However, one of the most important returning pieces is wide receiver Micah Danzy. Florida State head coach Mike Norvell will resume calling plays in 2026, and Micah Danzy is a guy Norvell could use to give opposing defenses nightmares.
Mike Norvell's offense is incredibly similar to Gus Malzahn's. Below is a highlight session of Danzy in action as a redshirt freshman:
Micah Danzy should be one of Florida State's biggest playmakers in 2026
What I think most Florida State fans forget is that last year was Danzy’s first year playing receiver after transitioning from running back. His jump in production from year one to year two in a new position bodes well for another massive jump in 2026. He should have much more confidence in what he can do; he’ll have another year of physical maturity, and a playcaller in Mike Norvell who’s great at exploiting opposing defenses. I know some folks will point to the 2024 offense, but Norvell had guys running wide open nearly every game. Poor quarterback play, poor offensive line play, turnovers, and players dropping wide-open passes doomed that offense.
One of the most dangerous aspects of Micah Danzy’s game is that he’s a triple threat. His speed makes opposing defenses have to respect every facet. He can beat teams deep on post routes. He can take a short slant or hitch and get yards. He can be used in the screen game and the end-around play that Gus Malzahn abused last year. Danzy is a player who can line up in different positions and be put in motion. Mike Norvell will likely have counters to some of the plays that Danzy had a lot of success with last year, since teams will look at that film in preparation for the upcoming year.
Most defenses will likely lock in on Duce Robinson and try to take him away, but Danzy has the potential to negate some of that.
Another facet that will be different than last year is that Ashton Daniels looks comfortable throwing over the middle and can actually see over the offensive line. He generally gets the ball out quickly, and getting the ball to Danzy in space in one-on-one opportunities should be an advantage to Florida State. Danzy had 27 receptions for 571 yards with three touchdowns last year. That was in a run-heavy Gus Malzahn offense. Mike Norvell tends to be a little more balanced, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see those numbers be closer to 40 receptions for 750 yards in 2026.
Mike Norvell likes to call his offense “Built For Playmakers”, and when the ball is in the air, it should be going to Duce Robinson and Micah Danzy as often as possible.
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