Florida State is tightening the curtain again, and this time the program is taking away one of the last public reference points fans and reporters had left: the preseason depth chart.
After shutting practices to the media starting in spring 2025, the Seminoles will also skip releasing a public depth chart during the 2026 season. The change is expected to carry beyond Saturday’s opener against New Mexico State, giving Mike Norvell even more control over what gets out and when it gets out as he heads into a pivotal seventh season in Tallahassee, Florida.
Norvell said the move is about competition week to week and about the way Florida State uses its personnel. But it also keeps lineup decisions tucked away until game day.
“The thought is, let it be season-long,” Norvell said. “For us, practice matters.
There are competitive situations. How a guy plays, that’s a huge evaluation that’s going to go into what the next week looks like.”
He also pointed to the way the Seminoles plan to deploy their personnel, saying a standard two-deep would not really tell the full story.
“We’ve got four main personnel groupings that we can live in offensively. So, we could put 15 positions up there and say, ‘Well, this guy’s a starter,’” Norvell continued. “Defensively, same thing.”
Florida State has been moving in this direction for a while. Before spring practice in 2025, Norvell said reporters would no longer be allowed to watch daily practices because he wanted to create “an atmosphere free of outside perspectives."
The program also moved away from spring games, partly because of stadium renovations in 2025. It declined to bring the tradition back in 2026, saying the exhibition mattered to fans but also noting the value of getting an extra practice without having to "hold back" pieces of the playbook for future opponents.
Now the depth chart is gone too, which strips away another way for outsiders to track roles before kickoff.
That matters because Florida State enters this season under real pressure. Norvell was retained after 2025, but university president Richard McCullough made clear that success in athletics, and especially football, matters. The Seminoles are coming off consecutive losing campaigns, and the public depth chart would at least have offered fans a baseline for understanding the roster before the season starts.
Instead, the program is asking everyone to wait until game day. At a time when Florida State needs to rebuild trust, the extra secrecy only adds another layer between the team and a fan base still looking for proof that progress is coming.
In Other News...
Mike Norvell Just Gave Florida State Fans Another Reason To Groan
Florida State fans got another reminder this week that Mike Norvell is willing to break from convention. Even with Ashton Daniels already named the starting quarterback, Norvell has decided the Seminoles will not release depth charts during game weeks for the 2026 season, starting with the Week 0 matchup against New Mexico State. It is the kind of move that immediately stands out in college football, where teams usually give at least a snapshot of who is likely to line up where.
For a fan base already eager for clarity, the choice only adds to the noise around a program trying to steady itself and build trust heading into a new season. Depth charts do not decide games, but they do help set expectations, and Florida State will now be keeping that information in-house when opponents and supporters are looking for every clue they can get. The decision has already drawn criticism from fans and media, and it leaves one more question hanging over a team that could have used a quieter offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Norvells Quarterback Problem At FSU Just Got Harder To Ignore
Mike Norvells quarterback track record at Florida State has become one of the clearest pressure points of his tenure. The Seminoles have repeatedly chased answers at the most important position, but the results have not matched the recruiting buzz, and the program has leaned on transfer quarterbacks to open multiple seasons in a row.
Luke Kromenhoeks path only sharpens the concern. Once the highest-ranked quarterback recruit Norvell signed in Tallahassee, he transferred twice and then lost a starting competition at South Florida, a reminder that the Seminoles still have not found a true homegrown fix. Since 2020, Norvell has brought in several blue-chip passers, yet the overall production, starts and staying power have remained limited, leaving the position group a lingering issue the staff cannot keep skirting. [Read more 🡒]
FSU Lands A Proven Outfielder With One Huge Roster Catch
Florida State has added a veteran piece to its future outfield plans, with former Pitt and UCF standout AJ Nessler committing to the Seminoles for the 2027 roster. Nessler brings a long college track record to Tallahassee, having played in more than 150 games already, and his Pitt season showed why he remains an attractive transfer target. He started 56 games there and posted a .310 average with a .410 on-base percentage while swiping 13 bases in 14 tries.
The fit is obvious on paper: a proven bat, speed on the bases and experience against college pitching. The catch is the same one that hangs over the entire move, since Nessler is reportedly eligible for an extra season because of a court ruling in California, leaving the exact shape of his future timeline still to be sorted out. For Florida State, though, the commitment at least adds a player with real production and plenty of game reps to a roster that can use both. [Read more 🡒]