TRANSFER PORTAL
I was on record saying that Florida State head football coach Mike Norvell and Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin were the transfer portal kings of the college football landscape.
However, after Norvell had his fiasco of what transpired in 2024, some individuals had to reconsider their rankings. What made Norvell so good at constructing his roster in the transfer portal was that he had a high hit-rate of successful players, and they fit his culture.
However, he got a grip of reality this past season where only about 15% of the transfers panned out to a degree (it is generous because that number could have been lower). With that being said, it was an issue that some noticed early because individuals thought Norvell couldn't recruit in the high school ranks.
Florida State had a highly successful 2025 cycle where they landed several recruits; then they added transfers such as Thomas Castellanos, Duce Robinson, Micah Pettus, Adrian Medley, Gunnar Hansen, James Williams, Randy Pittman, and others.
Production is the name of the game this year, where they were no longer taking transfers that were highly regarded out of high school. They wanted players who could help right away in 2025. I believe that the coaching staff did that this offseason to elevate the floor of the team.