Florida State got a win over New Mexico State, and Mike Norvell sounded encouraged afterward about one specific part of the offense: the tight ends. Asked about their blocking, he said, “I thought they did a really good job.”
That assessment may have held up against the expectations attached to Desirrio Riles, Landen Thomas, and Chase Loftin, especially in a game where Florida State leaned on split-zone duo in the second half and used those tight ends on backside kick-out blocks. But there’s a bigger issue baked into this roster, and it showed through even in a 34-17 win: none of those tight ends look like true impact blockers, particularly against Power Conference competition.
That matters because Florida State’s offense has a specific problem it needs help solving, and the tight ends aren’t built to solve it.
The trouble starts at right tackle, where Stephen F. Austin transfer Chimdia Nwaiwu was overwhelmed in his Florida State debut.
That could push Norvell and offensive line coach Herb Hand toward a shuffle, with right guard Nate Pabst moving outside and Troy transfer Paul Bowling stepping in at right guard. Even then, Pabst would still need help on true pass sets.
That’s where the tight end issue becomes a real limitation. Riles and Thomas can do enough to stay on the field, but they don’t offer much assistance if the goal is to patch over right tackle.
Riles, listed at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, has a compact frame and not much length. He can land a decent blow on a wham block, but longer defenders can stack him, shed him, and win the hand fight in pass protection.
Thomas, at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, has the opposite problem: his length helps him stay attached as a pass-blocker, but his upright posture makes him easy to evade, and he gives up leverage quickly.
Loftin had seven run-blocking reps in Week 0, but Riles and Thomas were the main tight ends Florida State used. And while plenty of college tight ends are basically receivers who moonlight as blockers, the issue here is that both Riles and Thomas function more like H-backs than in-line tight ends. That narrows what Norvell can do when he wants to solve a problem on offense.
It also affects personnel choices across the board. Florida State’s biggest offensive strength is its collection of weapons at wide receiver and tight end, but every time the staff puts an extra tight end on the field, Samuel Singleton Jr., Jayvan Boggs, Jasen Lopez, or another top skill player has to come off. That’s a tradeoff, and it gets tougher to justify when the tight ends aren’t strong enough blockers to compensate.
In that sense, the offseason decision stands out. Norvell and general manager John Garrett had to know the right tackle spot could be an issue, which makes the choice to add Riles instead of a more traditional blocking tight end look questionable in hindsight.
There is a version of this offense that works with heavier personnel. Florida State could use those looks to force defenses to crowd the box and create opportunities for Ashton Daniels to throw deep to Duce Robinson and Micahi Danzy. Norvell could alternate between heavy sets and spread formations, using quick-game concepts or max protection depending on the matchup.
But after what Riles and Thomas showed in Week 0, that version of the offense may not be realistic.
Florida State could still build something similar with 21-personnel and two-running back sets to create stress for defenses. The problem is that, over a full season, a team without a dependable blocking tight end can become predictable fast.
In Other News...
FSU Football Is About To Wear Something Fans Never Had To See
Florida State is set to take another visible step into the new era of college sports sponsorship, with Florida State Athletics and Kin Insurance announcing a four-year partnership beginning with the 2026-27 season. The deal will make Kin the preferred insurance partner of FSU Athletics and extend well beyond football, reaching 17 additional Seminole teams as the athletic department keeps broadening its commercial reach under the NCAAs updated rules.
The most noticeable change for fans will come on the football side, where the Kin logo is scheduled to appear as a jersey patch during the ACC opener against SMU. It is the kind of uniform addition that would have felt unthinkable not long ago, but now it is part of the evolving business of major college athletics, and Florida State is moving early in a space that is likely to keep growing. [Read more 🡒]
USC Fans May Not Love This Name In The Next Coaching Cycle
The early weeks of a college football season tend to sharpen the talk around the next coaching cycle, and once again a familiar set of names is starting to surface. Kliff Kingsbury, Mike Norvell and Kalani Sitake are all being viewed as potential fits if major jobs open, a reminder that the carousel is never far away when programs start thinking about the future.
For Florida State, Norvells presence in that conversation is the part worth watching. He has built enough of a recent track record to stay in the mix for bigger opportunities, even if nothing concrete is on the table right now, and that kind of attention usually follows a coach only until the next move in the market brings a clearer picture. For USC fans, the broader point is simple: if the next round of openings develops the way it could, this cycle may not stay comfortable for long. [Read more 🡒]
FSU Just Made A Branding Move Fans Will Definitely Debate
Florida States athletic department is stepping into a new era of visible sponsorship, announcing a multi-year partnership with Kin Insurance that will put the companys logo on uniforms across 18 sports programs. The deal makes Kin the first brand to show up as a jersey patch sponsor for the Seminoles, with the placement set to begin Sept. 7 and extend beyond football to the rest of FSUs athletic department.
For a school with one of the more recognizable brands in college sports, the move is bound to spark some conversation among fans who have long associated Florida State uniforms with tradition first. Kin, a Florida-based company best known for home and auto insurance, brings a local angle to the partnership, and its biggest market is already the state where the Seminoles compete for attention. The broader question now is how the patch will look, feel and be received once its on game uniforms across so many different sports. [Read more 🡒]