Mike Norvell keeps coming back to the same answer at quarterback: experience matters.
That pattern is now set to continue at Florida State, where Ashton Daniels is positioned to become the sixth straight Seminoles starter who began his college career elsewhere. The run started with Jordan Travis, who came from Louisville and started from 2021-23, then continued with DJ Uiagalelei, who arrived from Clemson/Oregon State for 2024, and Tommy Castellanos, who came from Boston College for 2025.
Daniels, a two-time transfer who has played at Stanford and Auburn, is already drawing positive reviews in fall camp. Norvell pointed to the way Daniels is handling the offense and the speed at which he’s settling in.
“Just his ownership of the offense,” Norvell said last week. “Understanding where to go, the things of what to do, how he’s been able to perform. I think he’s done a really good job.
“I think he’s got a great understanding, control, and has been highly efficient and explosive in the things we’ve asked him to do.”
That early confidence isn’t coming out of nowhere. Daniels’ 2025 work at Auburn offers a pretty solid blueprint for why Florida State believes there’s something here. He played 154 offensive snaps, threw 122 passes and still managed to show off both his arm talent and his ability to create when the picture got messy around him.
In four starts, Daniels completed 55.7% of his throws for 797 yards and three touchdowns, while also running for 280 yards and two scores. His biggest night came against Vanderbilt, when he piled up a career-best 442 yards of total offense. That included 353 passing yards, the most by an Auburn quarterback since 2017.
He backed that up with another strong outing against Alabama, finishing with 259 passing yards and a touchdown while adding 108 yards on the ground.
The numbers from Pro Football Focus sharpen the view even more. When Daniels had a clean pocket, he completed 64.2% of his passes for 543 yards and posted an 86.6 NFL passer rating. When the pressure came, he still found ways to keep plays alive, scrambling for 63 yards rather than letting the rush bury the drive.
There’s also a clear map of where he’s most effective throwing the football. Nearly half of his passing production came between the numbers, where he went 36 of 47 for 352 yards without an interception. He was also strong on play-action, averaging 6.7 yards per attempt and earning one of his best passing grades in that area.
Of course, Daniels brings risk along with the upside. His aggressive approach produced four Big-Time Throws, but it also came with five turnover-worthy plays. Deep shots and throws outside the numbers were less consistent, and those are areas he’ll need to clean up.
Florida State should be able to help him. The Seminoles bring back a rushing attack that averaged 218.7 yards per game last season, and the receiver group is among the ACC’s best, with Duce Robinson leading the way.
If Daniels takes care of the ball and keeps using both his arm and legs to make plays, Florida State has a chance to finally get the balanced offense Norvell has been chasing. And with Norvell again trusting a transfer quarterback, Daniels now has the chance to turn that familiar formula into another win.
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 🡒]