Florida State’s defense created opportunities and made the most of quarterbacks’ mistakes in the second spring scrimmage on Saturday.

Coach Mike Norvell said the first chunk of the scrimmage was controlled by the defense.

“I thought the defense built off of what they showed there on Thursday,” Norvell said. “Had a really good practice Thursday and carried that over in this scrimmage. Started fast, were able to create havoc there, starting on the defensive front. I thought the D-line played probably as impactful as what they've been throughout spring. You really felt their presence.”

Norvell referenced three takeaways, a few of them tipped passes, and one bad decision by a quarterback (he didn’t specify who threw the pass). But the interception was grabbed by defensive end Rylan Kennedy, who said earlier this spring he embraced his ‘positionless’ role in Tony White’s defensive scheme.

“I like what I'm seeing from him,” Norvell said. “I thought today he made a couple plays in pass rush but he was actually the one that had the interception. A little pressure scheme where he was able to drop into coverage. You saw his athleticism, his range, the versatility of things that he can do in this defense.

“This is something we were excited about when he came in. But I would say this last week, he's really taken some positive strides.”

Mistakes add up on offense

Norvell mentioned the volume of negatives, from turnovers to penalties to mental mistakes by younger players in the scrimmage. Often that set up FSU’s first- and second-team offense in long-yardage situations.

“And then when there were some explosive plays, things that were called back due to penalties or alignment issues,” Norvell said. “We got some young guys that are really getting the most extensive work that they've they've gotten. And we just got to clean up some of those details.”

Quarterback competition

All of those mistakes on offense prompted Norvell at one point to say that the offense has to play better around the quarterback. He was asked a number of questions about the battle between Ashton Daniels and Kevin Sperry as FSU is now through 10 practices.

“Each quarterback had a couple decisions that they have to learn from them, they’ve got to be better from,” Norvell said. “There were some good plays, some explosive plays that did show up later, guys pushed the ball down the field.”

But when it comes to separation between Daniels and Sperry and declaring a No. 1 quarterback, Norvell said he’s not there after eight practices and two scrimmages. He called it a “competitive room” and that the battle would resolve in time, whether that’s by the end of spring practice (April 15) or continues in preseason camp.

“We'll see as we get here through spring practice where those things stack up. We'll have 15 practices of work,” Norvell said. “And then if we're ready to make a decision there, we'll be willing to. If it's something that's going to stretch into fall camp, obviously that's something we'll evaluate as we continue to get closer.”

As a reminder, there’s no spring transfer portal window. So there’s no worry about a quarterback moving on in April or May.

Norvell’s comments underscored what the Osceola staff has written in previous weeks and leading into the spring: Daniels has been the presumptive favorite, and often the front runner but Sperry would be battling in an open competition.

He discussed both quarterback’s development. Sperry had limited game opportunities as a true freshman in 2025 but Norvell has seen his progress.

“When you see Kevin, you know he's continuing to grow and the things that he's being asked to do, you know he's driving the ball with more and more confidence of where it needs to go, what it needs to look like,” Norvell said.

Daniels has thrown 721 college passes in his time at Stanford and in 2025 at Auburn, where he played four games and started at Vanderbilt and against Alabama.

“Ashton has come in and done a great job in learning the offense,” Norvell said. “There's still some of the finer details that we can he can grow from. He's done really well for the bulk of this spring ball. I'm pleased with his progression and where that's at.”

Injury updates

Norvell said Nebraska-UNC transfer linebacker Mikai Gbayor will miss the rest of the spring due to injury. But Gbayor is not expected to miss time in camp or the fall, Norvell said. He also indicated that Southern Miss transfer linebacker Chris Jones was limited in scrimmage No. 2.

At cornerback, Norvell noted that Quindarrius Jones is back on the field but limited after missing the back half of 2025 due to injury. And Ja’Bril Rawls is also “getting some work in.”

Special teams

Norvell praised kicker Gabe Panikowski for being “extremely consistent” on field-goal attempts. He also mentioned the Seminoles did some kick return work, but Norvell didn’t mention specific names. On Thursday, special teams coordinator Adam Scheier noted that Samuel Singleton Jr. and Micahi Danzy had been the standouts on kick returns. Danzy’s time this spring has been split between football and track.

Thanks for reading the Osceola. Subscribe now for 40 percent off to enjoy a full year of coverage of FSU athletics. You’ll also earn a $15 gift card at the Osceola’s merch store.