Spring football is wrapping up at many schools, with the likes of Florida and Alabama holding games on Saturday. Clemson wrapped up spring early on March 28, while SMU will hold a game on Friday, and Miami will hold a game on Saturday.
We’ll take a quick look at FSU’s first three opponents — New Mexico State, SMU and Alabama — and some key storylines from the spring. We also have a few nuggets about Clemson and Florida.
New Mexico State
The quarterback competition is wide open for New Mexico State, FSU's first opponent on Aug. 29 in a Week 0 game in Tallahassee. Trey Hedden, a three-star prospect from Tampa Catholic, is in the mix. Hedden had a breakout sophomore season at Furman with 2,967 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
New Mexico State had the nation's worst rush offense in 2025 but feel considerably more confident about the group as a result of an influx of transfers. Coach Tony Sanchez praised James Jones (Delaware State) and Iowa transfer TJ Washington for how they've developed this spring behind a line filled with transfers.
“The biggest improvement I’ve seen is the offensive line,” Sanchez told a local TV station. “It is a much deeper and more competitive group.”
SMU
The Mustangs will hold an open spring practice on Friday night (no television or live stream). SMU coach Rhett Lashlee thinks this year’s team is bigger and more athletic.
Quarterback Kevin Jennings has gone from one offer out of high school to picking SMU, being third on the depth chart and now set to begin his third season as the Mustangs’ starter. Jennings has back-to-back 3,000-yard passing seasons but he also has a propensity for mistakes (13 interceptions in 2025 and 11 interceptions in 2024).
The Mustangs will also have a familiar face in FSU transfer tight end Randy Pittman. There’s plenty of confidence around SMU as a contender for the ACC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff, especially surrounding a Mustangs program that is 14-2 since joining the league in 2024.
SMU opens the 2026 season at FSU on Sept. 7 (Labor Day) in a primetime game.
Alabama
The Crimson Tide have an open quarterback battle between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said Mack is "dinged up" but that he's "alright," which sounds like coachspeak for not an injury that will impact him by the time preseason camp starts. Russell was viewed as the "more talented quarterback" by one beat writer at Saturday's Alabama spring game, but he also views the competition as an open one.
Alabama needs receiver Ryan Williams to have more consistent hands. DeBoer praised Williams, who had a breakout freshman season (48 catches, 865 yards, eight touchdowns) but didn't build off of it as a sophomore (49 catches, 689 yards, four touchdowns). Williams had three of his 10 drops against FSU, and the Seminoles held him to just five catches for 30 yards (plus 22 yards after the catch).
"Ryan's consistency was something all spring long that I know he should be feeling good about. But, Ryan's expectations are just like all of ours. He expects an elite performance," DeBoer said after the spring game. "... There has been a consistency and I know people are always going to ask about catching the ball and that is what I am talking about. I am talking about the consistency there. Not making just the easy ones, making the hard ones as we have seen him get accustomed to and making."
Alabama was shorthanded on the defensive front in the scrimmage, so it's tough to gauge the group's ability to pressure quarterbacks (and the passers were wearing green, non-contact jerseys). It was noted by one Alabama writer that the defense used a variety of alignments, from a 3-3-5 to a 3-4-4 and a 2-4-5.
FSU will play its first road game at Alabama on Sept. 19.
Clemson
There's no debating who will be Clemson's quarterback — it's Christopher Vizzina. The surprise was true freshman Tait Reynolds earning the backup job.
"We came out of spring, CV's one, and Tait's two, and it's not close," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after the spring game. "Those two guys separated, and that's where we are. He was the lead horse coming in, and he still got the pole position."
Clemson will feature an up-tempo offense under new coordinator Chad Morris, who was a Tigers assistant from 2011-14 before he became a head coach at SMU (2015-17) and Arkansas (2018-19). Swinney said he also feels confident in the secondary after the spring.
Florida
Coach Jon Sumrall has not declared a No. 1 quarterback but has two options who competed with mixed results in the spring game.
Florida displayed some offense in a 45-45 Orange and Blue game on Saturday. Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo completed 75 percent of his passes but had two interceptions. Philo also fumbled once.
"I believe I can make a lot of throws on the field, which sometimes probably gets me in a little trouble," Philo told writers postgame. "I need to be better about checking the ball down when it's not there."
Tramell Jones completed 13 of 17 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Micah Mays Jr. and a 38-yard touchdown pass to Eric Singleton. Jones was committed to FSU until late in his senior season, when he opted to de-commit and then later chose Florida.
