Florida State’s decision to bring Tom Herman onto Mike Norvell’s staff looks less like a splashy headline and more like a practical fix.
The Seminoles hired the former Texas, Houston and Florida Atlantic head coach on July 14 as an assistant to the head coach, and Norvell made clear the move was about adding another voice and another set of hands. At ACC Media Days in Charlotte on July 15, Norvell said, “He came in during the spring and was able to come out to practice and visit with the staff,” Norvell told reporters at ACC Media Days in Charlotte on July 15. “We were able to visit a little bit this summer and we found a role and opportunity that I think he can make a great impact (with) in helping support the staff and add a new perspective to things.”
That role gives Herman, 51, a way back into the college game after his stint at Florida Atlantic in 2024, where he went 6-16 in two seasons. Before that, he posted a 22-4 record in two years at Houston and went 32-18 in four seasons at Texas.
For Norvell, the hire fits the moment. He has taken back offensive play-calling this season, and Florida State is still searching for a way forward after back-to-back seasons of 2-10 and 5-7. Herman gives the staff more experience, and perhaps a little more flexibility.
The early schedule will tell plenty about where the Seminoles stand. They open at home against SMU on Labor Day Night, Sept. 7, then head to Alabama on Sept. 19.
Elsewhere around local sports:
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ Iron Jaguars Games II wrapped with a winning team captained by Dennis Gardeck and Patrick Mekari. Episode 3 of “The Hunt,” the team’s in-house production, laid out the competition run by strength and conditioning director Eric Ciano. Six teams, each with two captains and 8-10 players apiece not including rookies, took part in seven events from April 22-June 16.
The Gardeck/Mekari group included B.J. Green, Yasir Abdullah, Robert Hainsey, Carter Bradley, Antonio Johnson, Keith Taylor, LeQuint Allen Jr. and Ameer Abdullah. Because their team won, those players do not have to stay at the team hotel during training camp.
Jaguars quarterbacks coach Spencer Whipple also talked about the backup quarterback situation. Nick Mullens is locked in as the No. 2, while Bradley is competing with Joey Aguilar for the No. 3 job, a spot that will likely land on the practice squad.
On Mullens, Whipple said: “He does a great job of preparing. The role of the back-up quarterback is to prepare as the starter and he does that and more. He’ll call the plays into his phone and then hear it back so he’s truly getting the feel of the play coming through the helmet.”
On Bradley, Whipple said: “I thought he took a lot of strides (in the spring). Obviously through last fall, he was the other team’s quarterback in practice and not in position to play in our offense.
To have his first spring running our plays, I thought he did a great job. He’s hungry.
He wants to learn every day. He’s super, super eager to improve.”
North Florida and Jacksonville University will meet in women’s basketball on Jan. 9, 2026, at Swisher Gymnasium, and the matchup will open league play for both teams. Their last meeting ended in a 79-71 JU win and turned ugly, with four players suspended and the entire JU bench ejected after leaving the bench area to join the fray. JU finished that game with four players.
Sports Illustrated’s list of the top 50 all-time college football players included several names with local ties: Travis Hunter at No. 39, Deion Sanders at No. 14 and Tim Tebow at No.
- The top five were Jim Brown, Herschel Walker, Barry Sanders, Jim Thorpe and Cam Newton.
NASCAR is also making a change for the next Daytona race after the closing laps of the Daytona 500 in February produced little more than a single-car procession. The sanctioning body expects the adjustments to raise single-car speeds by 3 mph, with the same bump in multi-car packs. One of the main changes is a rear spoiler trimmed from seven inches to four to cut drag.
“What we’re essentially trying to recreate is Atlanta (racing) at Daytona and Talladega,” said Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 and co-owner of 23XI Racing.
And in a few other notes, Tom Dundon is drawing criticism for putting the names of his wife and their five children on the Stanley Cup, MLB’s All-Star Game microphone experiment was praised for the idea but not the sound, and the league’s newly released 2027 schedule may not survive the labor fight that could push the start of the season well beyond late March.
In Other News...
This Jaguars Rookie Is Suddenly Crashing A Crowded Camp Battle
As training camp opens, the Jaguars are giving their rookie class a fresh chance to make noise, and sixth-round wide receiver C.J. Williams has already put himself in the conversation. He turned heads during offseason work with steady hands and a knack for getting on the same page with backup quarterbacks, the kind of early chemistry that can matter when roster spots and depth-chart roles start to harden.
Williams still looks like a long shot for a big role right away, especially if Jacksonvilles receiver room stays intact once the season begins. But camp is exactly where a player like this can change the conversation, and for a rookie who has already shown reliable traits, the next few weeks will tell the Jaguars whether there is more here than just a developmental flier. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Linebacker Battle Is Tight And One Defender Is Pulling Away
Training camp is about to sort out a linebacker room that already has its clear keepers, but the Jaguars still have a few decisions to make at the back end of the depth chart. The most interesting part of that competition is how much weight Jacksonville is putting on versatility and special teams, two traits that can separate a roster lock from a player who is simply fighting to hang on.
Jalen McCleod has emerged as the name to watch in that mix, thanks to an offseason that has him trending up and a skill set that gives the Jaguars more than one way to use him. If Jacksonville does indeed carry six linebackers, the final spot appears to be coming down to how much value the staff places on those multipurpose pieces, and that could leave Parker Hughes and Yasir Abdullah on the outside looking in. [Read more 🡒]
Former Jaguars Defender Josh Mauro's Death Report Raises Disturbing Questions
Former Jaguars defensive end Josh Mauros death has taken on a far more troubling shape in the days since his passing at 35. A medical examiners report and a Phoenix Police Department case file have filled in the final hours of a player who spent time with Jacksonville during his NFL career, turning what was first announced as a family loss into a grim public record that now carries far more questions than answers.
Mauros father had already confirmed the death and asked for prayers, but the new details have made the story even harder to absorb. The police report describes a night of partying before Mauro died, and investigators were left to sort through a scene that pointed to drug use and a sudden, unexplained collapse, leaving the former defenders final chapter under an unsettling spotlight. [Read more 🡒]