Florida State’s recruiting hit from last fall is still lingering, and Ryan Day just poked the bruise.
Jay Timmons, the five-star defensive back who was committed to FSU in June 2025 before Ohio State flipped him in November, is already turning heads in Columbus. Day praised him on Saturday after his first fall camp work, saying, "His ability to make plays.
He's super competitive. He's edgy.
He just has a knack for the game, and he's got really good instincts," Day told reporters on Saturday when asked about Timmons.
That’s the kind of quote that makes Seminoles fans wince, because Timmons looked like a major piece of Florida State’s 2026 class before the Buckeyes got involved. After a standout senior season at Pine Richland High School, he finished as the No. 25 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite.
FSU did land a strong 2026 haul in the end, adding 34 players and sitting at 33 on the roster for the upcoming season. The class checks in at No. 17 nationally, a solid step for a program that badly needed momentum after back-to-back losing seasons. But Timmons would have made it even better.
The timing of Ohio State’s flip matters, too, because Timmons is working at nickel - the exact spot that suddenly needs help in Tallahassee. Florida State has made it through most of fall camp healthy, but Notre Dame transfer Karson Hobbs tore his ACL and will miss the season.
At 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Timmons has been lining up primarily at nickel under defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. He brings a downhill style, tackles willingly, and reacts fast out of zone coverage. He profiles more as a safety moving inside than as a true outside corner, which makes the fit sting a little more for FSU.
Right now, Ma’Khi Jones, the Duke transfer, looks like the first man up at nickel for the Seminoles this season. South Alabama transfer Nehemiah Chandler could also slide inside, and Mike Norvell specifically mentioned Ricky Knight III as another player pushing for time there as he enters his junior season.
What makes the Timmons miss feel even sharper is that Florida State’s top remaining defensive back in the class, four-star cornerback Chuck Kennon, isn’t the same kind of player. Kennon ended up as the Seminoles’ highest-ranked commit after Timmons left, but he’s a boundary corner at 6-foot-2 and 186 pounds, not a nickel option.
Kennon, the No. 60 overall recruit in the country, has not made much of a push for playing time in fall camp. At best, he’s currently in line to be FSU’s fourth outside cornerback.
Florida State’s 2026 class was built as a long-term reset, but with Norvell on the hot seat, some of those newcomers have to help sooner rather than later. Four-star wide receiver Jasen Lopez and four-star linebacker Izayia Williams have already done that. Kennon, though, doesn’t look like he’ll be much of a factor unless injuries change the picture.
In Other News...
Florida States Backfield Just Earned Respect Now Comes The Hard Part
Florida States backfield got a notable nod this week when Ousmane Kromah and Quintrevion Wisner were both named to the 2026 Doak Walker Award watch list. Its a small piece of preseason recognition, but it says plenty about how the Seminoles running game is viewed heading into the fall, especially with Florida State joining a short list of programs nationally to place multiple backs on the watch list and standing as one of only two ACC teams to do it.
Kromah and Wisner have each built enough of a track record to draw attention, and now comes the tougher part: turning that respect into production once the games count. The watch list honors are nice, but for Florida State the real question is whether this tandem can match the hype, carry the offense when needed and give the Seminoles a ground game that can hold up against the better defenses on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Enters 2025 With Mike Norvell Under Immediate Pressure
Florida State opened 2025 on the outside of the AP preseason Top 25 again, a familiar and frustrating place for a program that has spent much of the Mike Norvell era trying to climb back into national relevance. It is the fifth time in seven years under Norvell that the Seminoles have been left out of the poll, a reminder that last years struggles and a modest transfer portal haul have not yet changed the bigger perception around the program.
The path back will not be easy, either. Florida States schedule includes four ranked opponents, with Miami, SMU, Louisville and Alabama all waiting to test whether the Seminoles are ready to rejoin the conversation. Norvell enters the season with the pressure already building, and how this team handles the early months could determine far more than just its place in the rankings. [Read more 🡒]
Florida States Biggest 2026 Question Is All About Where The Money Went
Florida State kept Mike Norvell in place for a seventh season, even as the conversation around the program has shifted from coaching stability to whether the investment around him is being allocated the right way. The Seminoles poured more than $20 million into the roster, with a clear emphasis on skill positions, and the expectation in Tallahassee was that an aggressive offseason would help reset the programs trajectory.
The question now is whether the most important spot on the field got enough of that attention. The Athletics offseason quarterback rankings suggested Florida State may not have landed at the same level at quarterback as some of its other additions, leaving Ashton Daniels in a less favorable tier than several of the passers brought in elsewhere. For a program trying to justify both its spending and its direction, that is the kind of mismatch that can loom over an entire season. [Read more 🡒]