Florida State interim head coach Rick Stockstill didn’t waste time Wednesday. With Saturday’s noon kickoff at Boston College looming, he opened his final media availability by addressing the injury news that had already surfaced Tuesday: Duce Robinson is done for the season.
“Duce Robinson is out for the year. He hurt his knee and he’ll end up having surgery,”
Stockstill said Robinson’s loss hits hard, but he made clear he expects the player to bounce back.
“A phenomenal player, a phenomenal man, a phenomenal person. My heart, my prayers go out to him, but he’ll be back. He’ll recover from this and he’ll be as good as ever.”
From there, Stockstill shifted to the first two practices since he took over and said the response has been exactly what he wanted to see.
“Been really pleased with how things have gone, how they’ve responded. Their work ethic, the leadership that we’re getting from our players, from our coaches. Proud of their response and how they’ve handled this situation.”
He also told the team what he expects from them over the next stretch.
“I told them, I gave my heart and soul to this program a long time ago and I’m going to give my heart and soul to them for these next two months and that’s what I ask from them in return. I couldn’t have asked for a better response after two days.”
Stockstill described the interim job itself as something that still feels a little unreal.
“Very surreal, very humbling. I was giddy. I texted (my son and daughter), I said, ‘Can you believe I’m the freaking head coach at Florida State?’”
As for Boston College, Stockstill made the matchup sound exactly like the kind of game Florida State should expect on the road.
“You go on the road, you got to pack your toughness. They pride themselves on physicality, that lunchbox mentality.
They’re big, they’re physical. It’s going to be a street fight.
Play with a relentless effort. … When that game’s over, you couldn’t go one more play because you ain’t got nothing left.
Passion, that’s your juice, that’s your motor.”
He also spoke about Ashton Daniels and said he believes the quarterback can deliver if the offense lets him settle in.
“I got a lot of confidence in Ashton. Sometimes we put too much on his plate and we don’t give him the opportunity to play free.
He’s a competitor. He’s a worker.
I believe this week he’ll come out and he’s going to play lights out.”
In Other News...
Florida State Fans Can Cross One More Name Off The Search List
The Florida State coaching search picked up another layer of clarity this week when Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz addressed the speculation head-on before his teams matchup with Texas. Rather than letting the rumor mill keep spinning, Drinkwitz said publicly that he is not a candidate for the Seminoles opening, while shifting the focus back to Missouris preparation and the challenge of slowing down Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
Drinkwitz has been at Missouri since 2020 and recently signed a six-year contract extension, two details that already made the fit look complicated for Florida State. Even so, his name had lingered in the conversation as the Seminoles sorted through possibilities, and his comments now remove one more prominent option from the list as the search continues to unfold. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State May Have Found Its Dan Lanning Style Hire
Florida States coaching search is starting to take on the shape of a familiar modern blueprint, with Glenn Schumann emerging as a name that fits the profile of a program looking for both continuity and edge. After Dan Lanning left Georgia for Oregon, Schumann stepped into the defensive coordinator role and helped guide a top-ranked unit during Georgias national championship run, adding another layer to a rsum already built on championship environments and high-level development.
For the Seminoles, the appeal goes beyond the scheme. Schumann has spent years helping mold NFL-caliber linebackers and has been part of multiple title teams at Alabama and Georgia, which gives him the kind of credibility programs lean on when they want a proven builder rather than a gamble. With Florida State searching for its next head coach after firing Mike Norvell, Schumann stands out as the sort of defensive-minded hire that could bring a clear identity from day one. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State's Coaching Search Just Hit A Brutal Reality Check
Florida States coaching search is already running into the kind of public resistance that tends to come with a high-profile opening. Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz addressed the speculation directly and said he is not interested in the Seminoles job, a notable development as Florida State works through a national search after firing Mike Norvell.
Even with a firm denial on the record, the situation is rarely that simple in a search of this magnitude. Florida State would still have to navigate the financial and contractual realities of making a hire like Drinkwitz, and the broader truth of coaching searches is that public comments do not always end the conversation. [Read more 🡒]