Florida State’s Week 1 mess against SMU was already under the microscope after the delayed start, but Mandrell Desir managed to turn one rough sequence into a bigger story with what he said afterward.
The Seminoles were grinding through the game for most of the night before the strange power outage pushed everything off schedule. Still, the play that kept getting replayed had nothing to do with the delay. Desir wound up on the turf after an ugly rep against SMU, and the sequence quickly became the kind of clip fans were never going to let go.
What made it worse was his reaction. After taking heat for the play, Desir fired back at Florida State fans on social media, telling them to “stay on that side” after plenty of criticism came his way.
Defensive coordinator Tony White addressed the situation and said nothing would be done about the crossover, explaining that the move is part of what makes Desir who he is. White also noted that the criticism would look very different if Desir were producing like he was in 2025, but in a loss where he struggled, Florida State needs him locked in on every snap.
The problem for the Seminoles goes beyond one bad rep. The coaching staff is already drawing scrutiny, and Mike Norvell is being viewed more critically because he is on the hot seat. In that kind of spotlight, everything Desir does - on the field and off it - gets amplified fast.
That is what makes the entire episode such a bad look. Letting a player lose a rep that way is one thing. Watching him answer fans the way he did only makes the staff look worse.
Desir was already in the middle of fan frustration earlier this offseason after pump-faking a transfer portal entrance with his brother, Darryll. The brothers ended up back in the program with a major renewed NIL package, and the noise around that decision has not gone away because they are still not matching the investment.
Florida State now turns to a looming matchup with Alabama, and Desir’s approach in that game will say plenty about whether the staff has truly moved on from the whole situation.
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