FSU football coaches knew they needed a quarterback from the transfer portal since they only had redshirt freshman Kevin Sperry on the roster, and incoming freshman Jaden O’Neal had an injury that would cause him to miss all of 2026. It’s why we dismissed the notion of folks saying FSU should only roll with Sperry as the starter, because they literally had no depth at the position.
Sperry only played in a handful of games and doesn’t have much experience, but Daniels has been in college a long time. As Mike Norvell pointed out, it’s a good thing he’s had to learn four different offenses since he’s been in college.
It allows Mike Norvell and his staff to select the concepts they like and excel in, and to discard those where they are weaker. Norvell said there isn’t much they are asking him to do that’s totally different than what he’s done in the past. The book on Ashton Daniels is that he turns the ball over a lot and isn’t an accurate passer. It was the first day of spring practice, but what Mike Norvell said about Daniels sounded great:
Daniels has a skillset that can be productive in the right system
“I thought he threw the ball really well today...he was able to locate it, you could tell the receivers and quarterbacks for the first day...you could see the work that they have done on their own. It was pretty clean when it came to that, and he had really good control...I thought he played fast, and it’s what you want for a first day.”
It sounds like Ashton Daniels has taken to the leadership role bestowed upon the quarterback position. The fact he got guys to put in work outside of practice on their own is a positive. That's where having some experience comes into play. He has some traits similar to Jordan Travis, and it's all about not turning the ball over and making smart decisions with the ball.
If he can do that and incorporate his legs like he has in the past? His production could shock some poeple in 2026.