Florida State spent big on Xavier Chaplin, and the early returns may show up well beyond the left side of the offensive line.
That matters for a Seminoles program that had to be selective this offseason. Mike Norvell is coming off back-to-back losing seasons, his buyout remains around $50 million through the end of the 2026 season, and Florida State was working with a tight budget after what the source describes as general NIL mismanagement from athletic director Michael Alford. The result was a portal approach built more around keeping key pieces than chasing a full market reset.
The Seminoles did retain Duce Robinson and Ja’Bril Rawls, while also bringing in Jayvan Boggs and the Desir twins from the portal. But the two real top-end swings came with running back Quintrevion Wisner and Chaplin, the Auburn transfer who arrived to handle left tackle.
Chaplin was not cheap. Offensive linemen are always expensive in the portal, and the market has only gotten hotter.
On3’s NIL reported valuations listed LSU at $4 million for Jordan Seaton, Miami at $2.5 million for 2026 five-star Jackson Cantwell, and Kentucky and Texas Tech at $2 million apiece for Lance Heard and Howard Sampson. Chaplin’s deal landed at $800,000, just below quarterback Ashton Daniels’ $1 million figure.
That may not be the very top of the tackle market, but outside of Miami, it is near the top of the ACC.
There’s also the performance piece. Chaplin started all 12 games at left tackle for Auburn last season, but he was charged with 18 pressures and three sacks. The year before at Virginia Tech, he was much more effective.
Still, Florida State isn’t just buying protection for its quarterback. It’s buying daily work for the defense too.
That’s the part EDGE coach Nick Williams likes most. Chaplin, by all accounts, is giving Florida State’s pass rush a real test every day in camp.
“He’s a massive dude. He’s hard to get around, and that’s in the pass game and in the run game,” Williams said Tuesday.
“Everyone is not that big. He’s rare.
He has long arms, and he has good feet. So he’s made us a lot better.
We appreciate his work every day.”
That’s not a small thing for a pass-rush group that has plenty to prove. Last season, Florida State’s pressure numbers were underwhelming enough that three-star true freshmen Mandrell and Darryll Desir finished No. 1 and 3 on Tony White’s defense in pressures, even though neither was a full-time edge player for most of the year.
Now the Seminoles are asking more from that room. Texas A&M transfer Rylan Kennedy is projected to start at JACK linebacker in White’s stand-up role within the 3-3-5, and JUCO transfer Jalen Anderson is also in line for work there.
James Williams, who followed White from Nebraska, led Florida State in edge snaps last season but produced only 22 pressures and three sacks. His pass-rush win rate was 13.8 percent, which was the best mark on the team but still only good for No. 19 among ACC edge rushers with at least 100 pass-rush snaps.
Kennedy’s numbers at Texas A&M were modest as well: an 11.9 percent pass-rush win rate, 14 pressures and three sacks, with two of those pressures coming against Auburn in Week 5.
And like Williams, Kennedy has already noticed what Chaplin can do for him.
He said Chaplin “definitely got me right.”
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Behind presumed starter Ashton Daniels, the backup job is still very much up for grabs, and that has put Marshall in direct competition with sophomore Kevin Sperry. With the season getting closer and the depth chart still unsettled, Florida State has a legitimate battle to monitor in the weeks ahead, one that could reshape how the Seminoles feel about their quarterback insurance policy. [Read more 🡒]
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Florida State Is Giving Sebastian Janikowski A Rare Program Honor
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Janikowski went on to a long NFL career, most notably with the Raiders, but his Florida State legacy has never really faded in the building at Doak Campbell Stadium. He will be officially honored with an in-game recognition as part of the ceremony, a fitting stage for a program that does not hand out jersey retirements often and clearly views this as one of its special nods to a former standout. [Read more 🡒]