Florida State football had a season to forget in 2025, where they finished with a 5-7 record. This is not what the Seminole faithful wanted to see after they had a disaster in 2024 with the 2-10 record.
Florida State is used to competing for national championships and is a place that the legendary head football coach Bobby Bowden built. It should not be dismissed that Mike Norvell had two tremendous seasons in 2022 and 2023, but that feels like a lifetime ago.
When the Seminoles defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in the season opener by a score of 31-17, some individuals thought the program could be a College Football Playoff contender. The energy was sky-high for the program, but then they crashed and burned down the stretch.
Florida State football keeps getting defensive back transfers in the portal
Florida State football had to acquire an abundance of talent in the transfer portal after many of the current players elected to leave the university. This is the nature of the college football landscape nowadays.
Mike Norvell used to be considered one of the best evaluators in the transfer portal, along with LSU head football coach Lane Kiffin. However, the 2024 transfer portal haul was such a failure that many people decided to erase that thought process about Norvell and his ability to evaluate talent there.
The Seminoles have landed fifteen transfers during this cycle, which is a solid class. I really like what offensive line coach Herb Hand is doing with his pickups. However, the offensive and defensive trenches (as well as linebacker) are something that Florida State needs to focus on to get the roster better in a hurry.
It doesn't seem like the Seminoles are following that approach, as they have grabbed four defensive backs in the portal with South Alabama's Nehemiah Chandler, Notre Dame's Karson Hobbs, Illinois State's CJ Richard Jr., and Ma'Khi Jones.
Florida State returned Ja'Bril Rawls and Ashlynd Barker this offseason after the Seminoles dismissed defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain Sr. When Rawls and Barker came back, it didn't look like the secondary was much of an issue.
Florida State went out and grabbed four in the secondary when maybe they could have allocated resources to other needs, like linebacker and defensive line. This isn't to say the defensive back transfers that they got from the portal won't be solid contributors. Plus, I realize that the Seminoles are bringing in other linebackers this week from the portal.
However, defensive coordinator Tony White is known for running a 3-3-5 defensive scheme, and he might have to run a 1-1-9 defensive scheme in 2026.