A ritual of game week — the release of a two-deep depth chart — has gone away at Florida State.

Coach Mike Norvell met with the media on Monday for his usual game-week press conference, previewing FSU’s opener against New Mexico State on Saturday (7 p.m. on CW Network) in a Week Zero game. Norvell said he doesn’t see much value in depth charts, even if they are valued by fans.

Norvell also said he wanted the competition to continue through practices, those leading up to the opener as well as throughout the season. He does not plan to release a depth chart on Mondays in 2026, halting what had become standard in his first six years at FSU.

“For us, practice matters. There are competitive situations,” Norvell said. “We got four main personnel groupings that we can live in offensively. We can put 15 positions up there and say, ‘This guy is a starter and this and this.’ Defensively, same thing.

“Right now, guys know where they are. Every player wants more. You should want to be the starter. You should want to be the guy that plays the most plays. It needs to show up and we got to produce and we got to go play.”

FSU’s offseason has operated mostly behind closed doors. With no spring game / showcase in April and limited access to two preseason practices, fans have seen just highlights from media outlets as well as what FSU’s video team released on social media from closed practices.

Fans have seen video interviews and read stories in the Osceola, as well as other outlets. But they’ll have to wait until Saturday to get their first look at the 62 new players (35 freshmen, 23 four-year transfers and four junior college transfers).

Later in his comments about the depth charts, Norvell stated the obvious: The best players going to play.

It’s tough to gauge how many football teams aren’t releasing a depth chart this fall. But it’s the opposite of the buzz generated at MLB spring training and NFL preseason games, where games on TV and in front of fans give them an indication of who is on the first and second teams, for example.

Norvell said he has seen “great competition across the board” in FSU’s camp, which symbolically wrapped up when quarterback Ashton Daniels broke the rock on Saturday.

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