Florida State wrapped up the first week of spring camp Friday with its first padded practice, with coach Mike Norvell pointing to several newcomers who have made early impressions on a roster still taking shape. “There were some good things that we did and there’s some ugly moments, and some really good responses throughout the course of practice,” Norvell said. “Some big plays showed up both sides of the ball.” We were aggressive in our installations, just trying to force guys with their study, their process, and the application of the things we put in,” he said. “I felt the winter program prepared them.” The linebacker room drew particular praise. Freshman Noah LaVallee forced a fumble in the opening practice Monday and followed with open-field tackles on Friday. Norvell also mentioned freshmen Karon Maycock and Daylen Green as contributors in the early going. Linebacker Izayia Williams remains sidelined working back from a knee injury but has been present in meetings. Veteran linebacker Chris Jones said the first day in pads brought a different kind of energy to the group. “I love to hit, so it was just good to be back in pads for sure,” Jones said. He also credited the group’s “gradership program” under position coach Coach Sims, where upperclassmen are tasked with pulling younger players aside and coaching them up throughout practice: “That one thing you tell him that one time, he can remember that and that’ll make him better.” On the defensive line, Norvell said Franklin Whitley has shown natural strength despite limited football experience, while Earnest Rankins drew praise Friday after being challenged heading into the padded session. “We’ve got big expectations for him,” Norvell said of Rankins. Norvell also singled out edge rusher Deamontae Diggs, who missed most of last season with an injury, as a standout Friday. “He’s not fully there, but if he keeps taking steps, he’s going to provide a real presence on the edge.” First-year edge coach Nick Williams also drew praise. “I love his energy,” Norvell said. “He’s going to push guys to an expectation of what it needs to be, and he does that for himself.” Legacy wide receiver Devin Carter has also caught Norvell’s eye. “He’s a good worker. He really loves the game. You could tell he’s a technician of the game,” Norvell said. “Not everything has gone well for him this week, but even in the moments where it wasn’t a great play, you can feel his urgency to go get better.” Wide receivers Darryon Williams and EJ White have also been seeing reps, with Norvell noting good moments alongside areas still to develop. In the backfield, Norvell called transfer Tre Wisner “about all the right things that you want,” pointing specifically to his leadership, football IQ and work in pass protection. “He’s smart, he studies, he’s got versatility — protections are something that’s important to him,” Norvell said. Sophomore Ousmane Kromah was quick to echo the praise, saying that “he really does take care of everybody.” Participating in his first spring camp after arriving last summer as true freshmen, Kromah said Wisner has helped him process the game faster. “My game has grown in majority vision,” Kromah said. Kromah also praised four-star freshman Amari Thomas, saying the room has barely scratched the surface with him. “Just wait till we actually groom him and teach him how to do certain things,” Kromah said. “It’s over.” At quarterback, Norvell said Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels has produced at least one explosive vertical play in each of the first three practices. “For a guy that has a lot of recognition for his movement skills, he’s been able to locate the ball and put it in good places,” Norvell said. Freshman Jaden O’Neal, out for the season due to injury, has remained active in the meeting room, something Norvell said he’s been pleased with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FSU football hit the field on Monday for the first day of spring camp, piecing together a practice that head coach Mike Norvell said was “what you want from a first day.” “I thought it was a very productive first day,” he said. “There were some shots on ball defensively that I liked. I think we were able to jar one free [from] one of our young freshmen offensive players, so that’s something they could definitely learn from. Had a couple hands on ball in the defensive backfield.” “I thought the quarterbacks really did a really good job, being able to go and have control of what we did today. Located the ball well. I mean, there's a couple explosive plays that showed up down the field. But all in all, I think it felt like it was a team that came with a good understanding of day one and now we get to continue to work on the details of what's necessary and going to get better. Just in helmets, so only, there's very limited contact at all and obviously we'll build up for Friday to see the physical element of it but the guys moved well and moved confident.” Norvell also confirmed that defensive lineman Jordan Sanders will be out for the spring, defensive end Cam Brooks out until at least mid-season with hopes to get him in action and true freshman quarterback Jaden O’Neal will be out of the season. When asked about what he’s looking to see from quarterback Ashton Daniels, Norvell told local media that the priorities are locking in his “command and control of the things he’s being asked to do.” “This is really his fourth offense since he’s been in college he has to learn, and that is a good thing when it comes to a lot of things that you can fall back on,” he said. “There's not much that we're asking him to do that's totally different than something that he's done before, there are some foundational elements that he can pull upon but now it’s how we do it and the finer details — where we want eyes, the locations, reads all those things we kind of work together.” “I thought he threw the ball really well today. He's able to locate it, you could tell that those guys, receivers, quarterbacks, I mean, for the first day, I mean, you could see the work that they've done on their own. And so it was pretty clean when it came to that. And he had a really good control. I thought he played fast.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time in 22 years, Florida State basketball will be led by a new head basketball coach. Luke Loucks, returning back to his alma mater to replace longtime legend Leonard Hamilton, has hit reset in Tallahassee, bringing in a new staff and essentially an entire new roster as he looks to revitlize a program that’s been stuck in neutral (and reverse, on too many occasions) for the past few seasons. On the latest episode of The Gospel of Ham (listen, the man earned the podcast title), Matt Minnick and Michael Rogner break down this year’s edition of the Seminoles, ranging from the staff that Loucks has put together, the players that’ll be taking the court this season and the schedule they’ll be going up against. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Florida State had a major summer on the recruiting trail, vaulting into the top 15 of the composite rankings after a slow start following last year's debacle. It’s easy to build up classes before recruits see games get played, and so heading into August, the question then became whether the Seminoles were going to be able to maintain that momentum once the season rolled around. A 2-0 start that includes a season-redefining win over Alabama and a record-setting 74-point victory helps answer that. On the latest episode of the Florida State of Recruiting podcast, the Three Stars (Josh Pick, NoleThruandThru and Tim Alumbaugh) break down how the Seminoles’ on-field success is translating to the trail, which positions remain key priorities, names to watch and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a dominant Week 1 victory over Alabama, Florida State is riding high and reasserting itself on the national stage. The Seminoles thoroughly defeated the Tide by dominating both lines of scrimmage and being “the aggressor,” in the words of Mike Norvell. In one weekend, the Seminoles went from a question mark to sitting inside the Top 25 with their schedule about to open up. Listen in today, and every Tuesday throughout the season, as the Seminole Wrap team, Perry Kostidakis, Jacob Smith, and Jordan Silversmith break down FSU’s game over the weekend, along with a host of other topics. In this episode, the team discusses the players of the game, new expectations for FSU heading into the rest of the season, and the cathartic atmosphere inside Doak Campbell Stadium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last week, a common complaint has found a home amidst head coach Mike Norvell’s practice evaluations — missed opportunities. Even when complimentary of his team’s mindset, approach, execution and potential, he’s found himself repeatedly expressing disappointment in the lack of fully taking advantage of moments that hold even more weight when the season rolls around, particularly on the defensive side. “We’ve had some opportunities to to create takeaways defensively, left a few of them out there, really within all three groups,” he said following Thursday’s practice in Jacksonville. “Plenty of people are happy with PBU. We’re not PBU University. We’re DBU University. You got to go make the play. Go finish the play, put yourself in position. You have to be able to finish in those moments — when you’re back there [during a game], the entire stadium when a defensive player is “oh, oh man.” Those are game-changers, ones that absolutely impact the course of all things, so it’s one of the things we’re really emphasizing — the focus to the finish.“ The hope is that the Seminoles’ road trip to Jacksonville, an annual excursion under Norvell, will accelerate both the understanding of expectations and the team-building that occurs in the dog days of summer. “They understand the opportunity that we have,” Norvell said. “You get an opportunity to come be in a place where it’s just us and our guys know that. Everybody’s got their own unique journey, our own backstories and when you get to spend time together and get to know a little bit more of somebody’s why, when you get to really spend more of that quality time, it just continues to bring you together.” Defensive line coach Terrance Knighton’s backstory includes Jacksonville, where he spent three years after being selected by the Jaguars in the 2009 NFL Draft, a fact not lost on lineman Deante McCray — himself having spent time in Duval. “It’s awesome to be in a room like that,” McCray said. “Like he’s been where we’re all trying to get to. So, we’re going to listen to what he says. He’s really relatable. He’s seen it. He’s coached it. He’s seen it all. Like, you know what I’m saying? That’s a guy where you believe everything he says. No question. Like, he wants you to run in a wall 100 miles per hour, you gonna run into a wall 100 miles per hour.” Knighton has seen his example embraced by his unit, to a degree that they’ve begun emulating his personality. Asked if he brought up any tales from his days in a Jaguars uniform, he said his players beat him to the punch. “They do it all the time. They give me crap about it,” he joked, saying “they pull up old YouTube videos and things like that — obviously I tell them I was the best ever, so they go and look for film on it. We have a good time with it, they were like, “Oh, coach, you’re back in Jacksonville. Are you going to cry?” And then all you know, all this stuff. But we have a good time, man, you always know your group as a position coach takes on your personality. So, I’m used to the banter and the locker room talk. So, we’re having a lot of fun with it.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Florida State football, with 24 days remaining until the season opener against the Alabama Crimson Tide, is in the midst of what head coach Mike Norvell called a “critical, critical week” following Tuesday’s scrimmage. Strapping up in full pads for the first time this fall, the Seminoles are now hoping to build upon the initial foundation established through six days of camp and chip away at the mental mistakes that Norvell says are keeping the team from fully elevating to the standard he’s seeking. "You felt guys playing emotional, with energy, excitement,” he said on a post-scrimmage video conference with the media. “There were some things we absolutely gotta get cleaned up, had some foolish penalties that showed up tonight that kind of cost the team in moments. We gotta be more disciplined in some aspects of that, but I thought it was a good first scrimmage. You kind of get a sense of exactly where we are.” Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and defensive coordinator Tony White, both in their first years in Tallahassee, spoke with the media today to offer their own insight into the scrimmage and what they’ve seen from the team so far. Tuesday’s scrimmage reportedly featured the offense getting to a hot start, taking advantage of second-chances provided by slip-ups on the defensive side. While they managed to regain their footing as the night continued, White said the self-inflicted issues had a lingering impression on his evaluation of their performance. “First scrimmages, you’re always going to have some good plays and bad plays,” White said. “I think there are some just the thing that stands out are certain performances, some guys that you thought may play a little bit better did not, and some guys who you didn’t know how they were going to play really perform well. “And so the biggest disturbing thing was the penalties. I think we had a couple unsportsmanlike penalties, lined up offside a couple times, misalignments, things like that that really bug you. They extend drives. Two of those penalties actually ended up where we stop them, we get a penalty and then they go on to score. So those really those are the things that you need to control, which you can.” Malzahn said the scrimmage featured the first time that “our 11 guys were out there togther,” alluding to the health issues that plagued the team in the spring and potentially hitting that the depth chart is on its way to being solidified, as well as acknowledging that the early hot start was intentional, saying “the first half was pretty basic with what they did defensively so we could really evaluate our guys.” “The second half, everybody played football,” he continued. “From a big picture standpoint, it was good for us from an evaluation standpoint to see what guys could do, who’s ready, who’s not, who needs work — just really putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I mean, what are we 23 24 days away? The urgency of putting everything together because the way things went in the spring is really high, so these next six practices are going to be very very important before we really start turning the page for Alabama.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Florida State kicked off preseason camp on Wednesday, officially kicking off prep for the season opener vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide. A hot day that saw temperatures hit 95, per myself and an embarrassing amount of sweat that will never truly leave me, head coach Mike Norvell was pleased with the intial showing from his squad but is looking for good to become great as kickoff comes closer. “It was good to see the players get out there, communicate, and work to execute. I thought that was something positive throughout the day. You didn’t see a ton of mistakes from guys who were here in the spring. Some of the older newcomers also did a good job. Some of the summer transfers and young guys showed up and did well. It was good to see them in their first practice. I do think we’ll see a big step from today to tomorrow. That first day brings a lot of anxiety and excitement. I thought the workflow was good, but there’s definitely a lot of improvement we need from day one to day two.” Wide receiver Duce Robinson and offensive lineman Luke Petitbon, each offering their vote of confidence in what the offense is capable of this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a tumultuous 2–10 season and major offseason staff turnover, many expected Florida State’s 2025 recruiting class to reflect the chaos. Instead, the Seminoles have quietly rebounded with a strong summer stretch and currently hold the No. 15-ranked class in the country per the 247Sports Composite. With 22 commits already in the fold, the Three Stars (Josh Pick, NoleThruandThru and Tim Alumbaugh) are here with another episode of the Florida State of Recruiting podcast to break down the players who have joined FSU’s 2026 recruiting class. The trio talk the Seminoles’ summer surge as well as taking a look at the class as a whole — what’s improved since last season, where are the hits and misses are and what position groups and players are their favorite. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Florida State is off to Super Regionals, set to face off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders following a dramatic victory over the Auburn Tigers in two games in Tallahassee to kick off NCAA Tournament competition. On this episode of the Seminole Softball Wrap, Brian and Gwyn break down the Seminoles' regionals performance as well as their matchup vs. Texas Tech. The duo review results from the rest of the field -- including some unexpected upsets -- and look at the road to Oklahoma City for the country at large. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices