Florida State football had to retool its roster and the coaching staff this offseason. This is what happens when you have four losing seasons in six years. The program is attempting to locate sustainable success that fans can be happy with.
With that said, the Seminoles face a difficult challenge early on, with games against SMU at home and Alabama on the road in the first three games of the season. As a result, it will be important for Florida State to be hot out of the game.
Head football coach Mike Norvell is thrust back into a familiar role of playcalling duties after offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn unexpectedly retired. This isn't the end of the world because Norvell's offense has a resemblence of Malzahn's to a degree.
Florida State will heavily use transfer Quintrevion Wisner as a running back in 2026
Norvell's and Malzahn's offense still has a core foundation of establishing the running game. During the 2025 season, Florida State has a solid rushing yards per game average with the help of Gavin Sawchuk, Ousmane Kromah, Samuel Singleton Jr., and even Thomas Castellanos, but they struggled to run when they reached the red zone.
The Seminoles surprisingly added Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner via the transfer portal this offseason. Fans didn't understand why because the program had weapons like Ousmane Kromah, Samuel Singleton Jr., and Amari Thomas.
Wisner was too good for the coaching staff to pass up. Wisner had rushed for 1,661 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns, as well as 66 receptions for 457 yards and two touchdowns through the air during the last two years with the Longhorns (according to ESPN Stats and Information).
While I understand that Kromah and Singleton Jr. are two very talented players, the Seminoles have to do what's best for the program. When production like Wisner comes in the portal, you cannot turn that experience away, especially when you have a ton of pressure to win in 2026. Wisner has a chance to be productive like Trey Benson was for the Seminoles in 2022.
The fan base is probably tired of acquiring talent in the portal instead of relying on homegrown talent, but this is the reality of what Florida State is facing this upcoming year.