Player development is largely the responsibility of the coaches, according to some Florida State fans. As a former college athlete who started all four years, I’d argue that player development is mostly on the player. I wrote about why I think the player development has been lacking during the Mike Norvell era here.
To add more support to my narrative that player development is mostly on the player, let’s dive into why most of the blue-chip players signed by FSU don’t find success elsewhere after transferring.
After all, if folks believe the FSU staff sucks at player development, and coaches are largely responsible for player development, then these talented players should have gotten developed at their next stop and produced, right? However, that hasn’t been the case. Here’s a running list of former composite blue-chip recruits who transferred away from FSU since 2023:
2023 Outgoing Transfers (Former Blue-Chip Signees)
- Travis Jay ( No. 143 player nationally)
- Omarion Cooper ( No. 289 player nationally)
- Stephen Dix Jr. ( No. 244 player nationally)
- Brendan Gant ( No. 117 player nationally)
- Malik McClain ( No. 283 player nationally)
- Demorie Tate ( No. 35 player nationally)
- Sam McCall ( No. 48 player nationally)
- George Wilson ( No. 366 player nationally)
- Rod Orr Jr. ( No. 330 player nationally)
- Shambre Jackson ( No. 287 player nationally)
- Amari Gainer ( No. 239 player nationally)
Amari Gainer is the only player on this list who transferred to another P4 school and produced anything worth mentioning. Several transferred to Colorado (self-explanatory). McClain went to Penn State and did nothing before transferring again to rejoin Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State. He had 22 receptions for 378 yards in his fifth year. The rest transferred to lower-level schools.
2024 Outgoing Transfers (Former Blue-Chip Recruits Signees)
- Vandrevius Jacobs ( No. 300 player nationally)
- Dennis Briggs Jr. ( No. 324 player nationally)
- Qae’Shon Sapp ( No. 356 player nationally)
- AJ Duffy ( No. 176 player nationally)
Jacobs transferred to South Carolina and was their second-leading receiver with 32 receptions for 548 yards and four touchdowns this season, building on his 12 receptions and 181 yards his first year after leaving FSU. Briggs had a solid year at Illinois after battling injuries much of his time at FSU. Sapp and Duffy tranferred to lower-level schools. Sapp is back in the transfer portal.
2025 Outgoing Transfers (Former Blue-Chip Signees)
- Hykeem Williams ( No. 30 player nationally)
- Jaylen Early ( No. 366 player nationally)
- Trever Jackson ( No. 393 player nationally)
- DD Holmes ( No. 329 player nationally)
- Patrick Payton ( No. 329 player nationally)
- Luke Kromenhoek ( No. 59 player nationally)
- Julian Armella ( No. 152 player nationally)
- Lamont Green Jr. ( No. 299 player nationally)
- Destyn Hill ( No. 113 player nationally)
- Dante Anderson ( No. 400 player nationally)
Williams transferred to Colorado and said he was getting developed more there, but had less production this year than his previous year at FSU. Early transferred to Missouri and didn't play this year. Jackson and Holmes didn't do much in year one Arkansas and Maryland. Patrick Payton saw his production decrease at LSU. Luke Kromenhoek is back in the transfer portal after only appearing in two games at Mississippi State. Julian Armella played in all 12 games and made four starts at UCLA. Lamont Green Jr. transferred to FIU and played in two games. Destyn Hill appeared in eight games at LSU, and had two receptions for 22 yards. Dante Anderson transferred to FIU and had 14 tackles, five TFL, and three sacks.
Overall Thoughts
I think these things proof a few things. That high school recruiting rankings are a scam. There's no way these recruiting sites can accurately rank thousands of players because they don't have the resources to do it. I pointed out some recruiting ranking craziness stuff here a couple of days ago.
These lists consist of 25 former composite blue-chip signees out of high school. If my math is right, only 16 percent went on to do anything noteworthy at another P4 school. So either every school these players transferred to has coaching staff that can't develop players, the recruiting rankings suck, or the players didn't put the work in to develop. It's likely a combination of all three, but I'd venture to say it's mostly the latter.
The players who transferred to lower-level schools could have used that opportunity to develop, produce stats, to re-enter the transfer portal for another chance at a P4 school. However, most of them didn't do that. A former top 100 player like Sam McCall is back in the transfer portal for the third time after producing next to nothing at Georgia State. So the coaches at FSU, Texas A&M, and Georgia State can't develop players? No, it's on Sam McCall to put in the work to develop, just like it is for every player.