From coast to coast, there are 68 Power 4 college football programs. For transfers who were late bloomers, seeking a fresh start, wanting to compete closer to home or improving their draft prospects, there are opportunities.
When it comes to the portal, we tend to think of coaches filling needs. We think of transfers seeking a quicker opportunity to get on the field and development (and, yes, dollars). We think of fans searching for optimism in win-loss improvement or a turnaround, projecting a transfer’s potential in their team’s offense or defense.
We should also think about this when it comes to the transfers who picked FSU: They want to be here, working through an offseason at a program that went 2-10 a year ago. They could have picked any number of Power 4 schools, including those where the road to a conference title or College Football Playoff spot is more direct.
We’ll go out on a limb here and argue FSU won’t be in the CFP in 2025. And to acknowledge that Clemson is a clear-cut favorite to win the ACC, in the driver’s seat with everyone else in the rear-view mirror. Perhaps the summer sun is extremely bright, but the visual is one where the objects in Clemson’s rear-view mirror really aren’t as close as they appear.
Coming off the struggles of 2024, just a few weeks later, Mike Norvell and the coaching staff began assembling a transfer class for the turnaround in 2025. What’s perhaps more impressive — more than the athleticism or stats — is that they have a year (or two) of eligibility left and picked a brand program, albeit one coming off a 2-10 season.
They had other choices. And we can cynically counter all of this by saying “FSU is paying them good money.” But these transfers, who we should view more like NFL free agents nowadays, didn’t pick a team in the mix for the playoffs.
They picked the road less traveled. To be productive. To lead. To be part of a significant turnaround, optimistically one where FSU wins four, five or even more games than it did last fall.
They want to be here. We can take the alternate view of many of the 2024 Seminoles: How often did it look like they didn’t want to be here? That they were frustrated with the losses, some perhaps mailing it in? That’s not a blanket statement, one that encompasses every player.
There will be plenty of storylines in 2025 that we’ll be watching. There will be Tommy Castellanos’ fit in the Gus Malzahn offense. There will be one of physicality on the offensive and defensive fronts. There will be curiosity of the 3-3-5 alignment in Tony White’s defense.
I’m in on all of them. You should be curious, too. We live curious about each game and each matchup. Ok, maybe not each matchup with September home games against East Texas A&M and Kent State. But curious to see how the team responds after an emotional and physical opener (win or loss) against Alabama, wanting to see the next steps as players on offense and defense grow.
Add this among the storylines: Transfers, returning players and six new assistant coaches had choices to play and coach elsewhere, where they would have been paid, too. They picked FSU, a program with three national titles and an ACC championship as recently as December 2023, but one that is coming off the worst season in 50 years.
We could argue Castellanos didn’t have a ton of options. Or that Randy Pittman wanted to be here, playing closer to his Panama City home and with Gus Malzahn. Or that James Williams loves White and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton and was going to come to FSU to follow his Nebraska coaches anyway.
But we also have to acknowledge that experience, productive pass rushers are valued by every college team. Williams could have stayed at Nebraska or landed elsewhere in the SEC or Big Ten and earned good money while competing for a conference title and a spot in the CFP.
They all picked this journey. And it’s one thing to make the decision, put in the offseason work and build relationships. It’s another to endure a season that will include struggles and losses. Conversely, how will they maintain a level head after confidence-building wins?
We have similar questions about Norvell’s two coordinator hires — coaches that are at different phases of their careers.
Malzahn is 59 and has been a head coach at Arkansas State, Auburn and UCF. Frustrated by the demands of being a head coach (his admission), Malzahn is here to help an old friend in Norvell. Perhaps Malzahn was frustrated by transfer portal recruiting, NIL / revenue sharing challenges at UCF (my view) and made the move to FSU to be more of a coach.
Doesn’t this sound like a road less traveled?
White is just 46, although he could easily pass for 36. He has embraced a 3-3-5 defense that is familiar to him but less so to FSU fans. But he’s confident in its multiplicity and the players he has assembled in Tallahassee. If it works in the Seminoles’ favor, we could quickly see White land a head coaching job in a few years. But he also could have been on a similar track at Nebraska, which had a top 25 defense in 2024.
Doesn’t this sound like a road less traveled?
A group of new transfers and six new assistant coaches is just the infusion of new we think the Seminoles needed. But it’s not enough week in and week out if we don’t see more from the returning players, too.
What do we see from Jaylin Lucas, Roydell Williams and Richie Leonard, all of whom were lost early in 2024 to injuries? Are they motivated? What do we see from Darrell Jackson, who can be as good as he is driven to be?
We have so many questions about this 2025 team. There are many days where I wish we could hit the fast forward button and get to Aug. 30, to get to the games. But they’ll be here soon enough, and we can say it’s July: The games will be here next month.
It’s good to be curious — about the athletes and what they will do on the field, about the assistants and how they coach and develop. But count me among those who are looking to see their mindset, internal drive and how they all handle the pressures this fall.
