Florida State had a chance Saturday night to do two things at once: cruise past New Mexico State and give its young players a meaningful runway. Instead, the Seminoles walked away with a game that stayed too tight for too long and a snap-count picture that raised more questions than answers.
That matters because this roster was built with a big high school class of 34 players, plus a portal approach that left some spots open for homegrown talent to grow into real roles. When FSU was listed as a 31-point favorite at kickoff, it looked like the kind of night where younger players could get on the field, show what they can do and help coaches sort out the depth chart. That didn’t really happen.
On offense, Florida State leaned heavily on transfers in the trenches. Four of the five offensive linemen were newcomers, with Andre Otto the lone homegrown starter.
According to PFF, Otto graded as the lowest offensive lineman on the field. Jonathan Daniels, now in his third season in Tallahassee, lost the right tackle battle to FCS transfer Chimdia Nwaiwu, who posted a 63.3 PFF offensive grade.
Daniels opens the year on the bench, a sign that the staff didn’t see enough growth to hand him the job.
Center Sandman Thompson, a true sophomore, also didn’t see the field after falling behind veteran Bradyn Welch-Joiner. That part isn’t surprising by itself, but it still underscored the larger issue: Florida State couldn’t separate enough in camp to let the second unit take over.
There were bright spots among the skill players, and they came from the high school pipeline. Ousmane Kromah and Sam Singleton Jr. led the running back room in snaps.
Micahi Danzy played the second-most snaps behind Duce Robinson. Landen Thomas also played more than transfer Desirrio Riles, which has to feel like a good sign for a third-year player who could be a breakout candidate.
But the depth behind those names looked thin. Florida State used only 18 players on offense Saturday.
Two of them were on the field for just three snaps in jumbo packages, and homegrown players Chase Loftin and Jasen Lopez combined for only 16 of 69 plays. That’s the kind of usage that leaves little margin if injuries start piling up.
The defensive side brought a similar story, even though there had been signs this offseason that Florida State’s homegrown talent had taken another step. Up front, the Desir brothers were paid handsomely to stay in Tallahassee, but neither had their best outing, and Darryll Desir drew the lowest PFF grade of anyone on the defense.
The edge group remained a transfer-heavy operation. Texas A&M transfer Rylan Kennedy played 66% of the snaps on the edge, while JUCO transfer Jalen Anderson logged 34 snaps and earned a 57.5 pass-rushing grade.
Behind them, the depth didn’t do much to change the picture. Homegrown sophomore Kevin Wynn played only eight snaps after dropping more than 20 pounds in the offseason to get into game shape.
Tony White addressed Wynn’s workload when he met with local Tallahassee media on Monday.
“He’s a guy who lost a lot of weight and put himself in a position to start playing. A lot of the (defensive line) was on a snap count. So with (Kevin) and Jordan (Sanders), we wanted to make sure that we could get 25 snaps from both of those guys and let them ramp up and feel good about it.”
There were more encouraging signs in the linebacker and defensive back rooms, where homegrown players did get opportunities. Izayia Williams saw action in the second half.
Omar Graham Jr. and Blake Nichelson played the second- and third-most snaps at linebacker behind transfer Chris Jones. Even so, transfer linebacker Mikai Gbayor may have looked the best of the group, and White’s homegrown returners will need to keep improving as he gets healthier.
In the secondary, Ja’Bril Rawls and Quindarrius Jones had very different nights, and White specifically praised Jones in his press conference for what he brought on and off the field. Jordan Crutchfield, another player Norvell highlighted late in fall camp, got one play while trying to carve out a role.
Not every homegrown defender won a job battle, either. Nehemiah Chandler logged 33 snaps at nickel cornerback, nearly triple Ricky Knight III’s 14. At safety, KJ Kirkland appeared just 13 times compared with 53 snaps for Mekhi Jones.
None of that means the depth chart is set in stone. Snap counts shift as the season goes on, and freshmen and sophomores can still force their way into bigger roles, especially if injuries open the door. But with only one more cupcake left on the schedule, Saturday looked like a wasted opportunity to build those young players up and push back on the idea that Florida State hasn’t developed enough high school talent under Norvell.
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