Florida State doesn’t seem to have found a typical freshman in Jasen Lopez. It found a player whose approach has already pushed him into a real role.
Lopez has become the Seminoles’ first option to return punts, and he’s also carved out a place in a receiver group that includes All-ACC selection Duce Robinson and Freaks List member Micahi Danzy. That’s not the kind of footing most first-year players earn this quickly, but Florida State’s coaches keep coming back to the same thing: he shows up ready, takes coaching and keeps improving.
“He's willing to do anything that we ask of him, and he's going to put his all into it,” Robinson said. “Obviously, he makes freakish catches, he runs really good routes, and he's gonna come down with anything thrown his way.
But then he's willing to listen. He's willing to adapt.
He's willing to know he's not perfect, and he's always looking for ways to get better, which I think is about as much as you could ask of someone that young.”
Special teams coach Adam Scheier put it more simply, saying Lopez has “moxie,” something he doesn’t usually see from freshmen. Head coach Mike Norvell has noticed the same thing, pointing to Lopez’s day-to-day consistency.
“It's just consistency,” Norvell said. “I think that's one of the biggest challenges for a freshman coming in.”
Lopez got his opening when expected slot starter Jayvan Boggs was injured in the spring and limited through the start of fall camp. From there, he kept making plays and never gave the staff much reason to pull him back.
His path to campus was a little different, too. Lopez was a late addition to the spring roster after enrolling early to practice with Florida State’s basketball team. He was a prized recruit on the hardwood as well, and he sees the two sports as connected rather than separate.
“The DB coaches always say, 'You've gotta be careful, he's a basketball guy.' Whatever that means,” Lopez said with a chuckle. “I guess it's like the releases, and it definitely plays a part in when I do talk to my receiver coaches and stuff - they say it's like I'm doing a between-the-legs.”
At 6-feet and 186 pounds, Lopez has still stood out in camp for winning contested catches against the 6-foot-5 Robinson and for showing off strong foot control along the sideline. Coaches have also liked how he plays bigger than his frame.
On the basketball court, Lopez handled the ball at the point, attacked the lane and chased rebounds. He says that background shows up in football when the ball is in the air.
“It's just like grabbing rebounds, and it's like the timing of it, to be honest,” Lopez said. “Catching it at the highest point, that's the biggest part.
And it's the same thing with a rebound. So just getting the timing of the catch and being able to have a feel for defenders in the middle of the field, stuff like that, I feel like it plays a part from basketball as well.
“You're driving into the lane, you have guys on the sides. You can definitely feel it, and then it translates over to football when I'm running in the middle of the field. I have to get through a linebacker, jump up for a catch, and protect myself.”
Lopez is still part of the Seminoles basketball team, but his attention has shifted fully to football. He’s been around the team dinners and some activities as he gets to know his new teammates, and he spent the summer working to get physically ready for this fall.
That commitment has stood out to Florida State’s coaches since the first day he got on the field this spring. Lopez said he never let his status as a prospect in either sport change how he carried himself, because he knew things can turn quickly.
“It was just me trying to be consistent on a day-to-day basis,” Lopez said. “In the spring, I was just getting adjusted to everything, like just the plays and stuff like that. And then over the summer, I just kept growing, and I kept seeing myself in the rotation, making plays.”
“I've always been confident in myself to be able to go out there and make plays. So, since I stepped foot on campus, I was always ready.”
Florida State opens against New Mexico State on Saturday, and even though the team did not release a depth chart ahead of Week 0, Lopez is set to have a meaningful role in the offense right away. That role should only grow as the season goes on.
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Florida State added a fresh corporate wrinkle to one of college footballs most watched rivalries this week, announcing Progressive Insurance as the presenting sponsor of the Florida State-Miami game. The deal was unveiled in a press release Aug. 27, just before the Seminoles open the season, and it comes with more than a simple title change for a marquee matchup that already carries plenty of baggage and attention.
Progressives logo will also be painted on the 25-yard line at Bobby Bowden Field for every home game, with additional in-stadium signage and activations planned throughout the year. For fans who care about the look and feel of a Saturday in Tallahassee, it is another sign of how much the game-day experience continues to evolve, especially when one of the sports biggest annual rivalries is involved. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger immediate concern now sits on the other side of the depth chart, where Norvell offered a less certain injury picture for the upcoming opener. He said some players could end up being game-time decisions, including true freshman Devin Carter, leaving Florida State with at least one late-week question even as it celebrates Robinson's return. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Suddenly Has A Receiver Problem Before Its First Test
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Duce Robinson spoke with Norvell before the opener, and his presence only underscores how much the Seminoles may need the rest of that receiver group to come together fast. The timing is less than ideal for Florida State, which has spent camp sorting out options and now has to do it without one of its more intriguing young pieces. [Read more 🡒]