Florida State’s 2025 season didn’t go the way anyone around the program wanted, but it did uncover a pair of defensive line pieces that already look like they belong in the conversation for bigger things.
Mandrell and Darryll Desir both showed up in all 12 games as true freshmen and each earned two starts. Mandrell’s first year stood out enough to bring Freshman All-America recognition after he piled up 30 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Darryll chipped in 23 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack of his own.
That kind of production would usually buy a little breathing room. Not with these two.
Neither twin is treating last season like a finished product, and Florida State defensive line coach Terrance Knighton isn’t letting anyone around them act like it was enough, either. With his second year at the school underway, Knighton said he’s pushing the brothers to keep climbing instead of settling into the praise that followed their freshman campaigns.
“Every D-lineman that we recruit at Florida State, we expect to be great,” Knighton said after Tuesday's practice. “Those guys came in last year as freshmen and played a lot and made a lot of plays.
They understand the trajectory, and they understand the expectation of a defensive lineman at Florida State... I always tell them last year wasn’t good enough."
For Mandrell, the offseason focus was pretty simple.
“I’d say finishing the play,” Mandrell said of his priorities this past offseason. “Finishing the play and running to the ball more."
The pressure doesn’t stop when practice ends, either. Knighton said the Desirs have spent their whole lives pushing each other, and he joked that the intensity can spill over in a hurry once they get around each other.
“Honestly, you’ve got to keep them apart,” Knighton continued. “They fight all the time.
They’re harder on each other than anybody else... They don’t go to each other for a soft spot.
They’re harder on each other than anybody else. That’s the thing I respect about them the most.”
That same edge shows up in the way the brothers talk about each other. Darryll said the daily back-and-forth starts almost immediately.
"We’re on each other as soon as we wake up,” Darryll said. “We argue first thing before we go to practice just to set the tone. Then we’re going to argue in practice and after practice."
Now heading into his sophomore season, Darryll says he still hasn’t hit what he believes he can be.
“I felt like I wasn’t playing at my best. I feel like my full potential wasn’t achieved yet,” Darryll continued.
“It was just more like dipping into the waters. But I know what I’m going to do this year.”
Florida State opens the season against New Mexico State on August 29, and the Desir twins will be worth watching again.
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FSU Gets A Needed Backfield Boost Before A Sneaky Tough Opener
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Norvells update matters because New Mexico State has the kind of defense that can make an opener more annoying than expected, with experience and physicality built into the matchup. For Florida State, having Wisner back helps settle a key part of the offense before the first whistle, especially in a game where getting the ground attack moving early could take some pressure off everything else. [Read more 🡒]