Florida State’s 2026 season already feels like a referendum on Mike Norvell, and fall camp is where that conversation really starts. After back-to-back losing seasons, the Seminoles need this month in Tallahassee to point them toward something better, with Week 0 against New Mexico State set for Saturday, August 29.
Camp opened on Wednesday, July 29, and the calendar is packed with key checkpoints before game week arrives on Monday, August 23. The first break comes Saturday, August 1, before the team hits a scrimmage on Tuesday, August 4.
Florida State will be at UNF on August 6-7, then scrimmage again on Sunday, August 9. The rest of the month includes days off on August 10, August 14, and August 16, with Norvell and his team moving into game-week mode on August 23.
Norvell’s media schedule is just as busy. He and student-athletes are available on July 29 and July 31, followed by a virtual session on August 4.
There’s another availability at UNF on August 7, then virtual media access on August 9. More windows come on August 12, August 17, and August 20, before Norvell’s game-week press conference on August 24.
This is also a camp shaped by change. Florida State’s 2026 staff includes Tom Herman as assistant to Mike Norvell, Blue Adams coaching cornerbacks, Kam Martin with the running backs, Adam Scheier as special teams coordinator, Nick Williams as edge coach/pass rush specialist, Gabe Fertitta as director of football strategy, Jake Rothschiller as assistant linebackers coach, Manrey Saint-Armour as assistant offensive line coach, Jesse Stone as assistant quarterbacks coach, and Brady White as assistant wide receivers coach.
The roster turnover matters too, and the new names to learn include quarterback Ashton Daniels from Auburn, running back Quintrevion Wisner from Texas, linebacker Chris Jones from Southern Miss, left tackle Xavier Chaplin from Auburn, and linebacker Rylan Kennedy from Texas A&M.
Up front, the offensive line is the biggest puzzle. Xavier Chaplin appears locked in at left tackle, but nearly everything else is open.
Andre Otto is the likely answer at left guard, and the right side could come down to a mix of Bradyn Welch-Joiner, Chavez Thompson, Chimdia Nwaiwu, Nate Pabst, and Paul Bowling. Welch-Joiner has the edge over Thompson at center, while Pabst’s ability to move between guard and tackle gives him a path to playing time.
Nwaiwu is viewed as a tackle, and Bowling as a guard.
At slot receiver, the competition has been complicated by health. Jayvan Boggs started in Week 1 as a true freshman last season, but injuries limited him to eight games.
He entered the transfer portal before returning to Tallahassee, then missed much of spring with an injury that has carried into fall camp. That has created an opening for true freshman Jasen Lopez, who is also on the FSU basketball team.
Lopez and fellow freshman Devin Carter are both in the mix, and Lopez could move ahead of Boggs in the slot.
Quarterback depth is another spot to watch. If Ashton Daniels goes down or struggles, the backup job appears to be between Stony Brook transfer Malachi Marshall and 2025 four-star Kevin Sperry. Marshall brings college experience, even if it came at the FCS level, while Sperry would represent a homegrown answer at a position where Norvell and his staff have not yet developed one.
There was also some injury news from Norvell. He said Boggs and Gbayor “will be a process to see full participation.” Even so, both are still expected to be ready for Week 0 against New Mexico State.
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Bradyn Welch-Joiner, a transfer center and Desirs teammate, went even further in praising the young lineman, seeing him as a potential first-round NFL draft pick if the upward trend continues. There is still work to do in the areas scouts care about most, including balance, strength and run defense, but Florida State got an important piece of news when Desir and his twin brother Darryll both entered the transfer portal and then returned for the upcoming season. [Read more 🡒]