College football’s new reality is simple: adapt fast or get run over.
That’s the message David Pollack laid out while discussing Florida State on “See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack,” and it came with a pointed comparison to Miami. In a season where pressure is already building on Mike Norvell, Pollack said the Seminoles did not do whatever it takes to land a star quarterback in the portal the way the Hurricanes did.
Miami brought in former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah, who was one of the most prolific passers last season. Florida State, meanwhile, added Ashton Daniels, who split time with Jackson Arnold at Auburn last season.
Pollack said the changing landscape has forced coaches to adjust on the fly, and the ones who learn quickest are the ones who stay ahead.
"Everybody is adjusting to what this new world is, and everyone does it differently," Pollack said. "But what did coach (Mike) Norvell just tell you?
We've got to change. Like, we have to change.
We have to adapt. We have to grow.
We all learned this on the fly, and the ones that learned the fastest, obviously, are the best."
That’s the harsh part of this era for coaches: there’s no waiting it out. NIL and the transfer portal aren’t going away, and programs that treat them like a temporary inconvenience are the ones getting left behind.
Florida State has already shown what this model can do. The Seminoles’ double-digit-win seasons in 2022 and 2023 were built largely through the transfer portal, and for a while it looked like they had embraced the shift better than most. They’ve continued to sign top-10 transfer portal classes, but the same kind of impact hasn’t followed.
That’s the tension hanging over Norvell and his staff now. The blueprint is there, and the resources are there. If Florida State can identify the right talent and keep adjusting as the sport keeps moving, the program has a path back to ACC contention.
If not, rivals like Miami will keep taking advantage of the new college football economy while the Seminoles fall further behind.
In Other News...
Miamis Quarterback Search Went Further Than Hurricanes Fans Realized
Miami spent the transfer portal window doing more quarterback shopping than many fans realized, and the search reached well beyond the names that usually surface in public. The Hurricanes made aggressive NIL pushes for a pair of Power Four passers, part of a stretch in which the program has landed top-market quarterbacks in three straight years and kept pressing to upgrade the position through the portal.
One of those pursuits came close enough that Pitt was able to hold on by matching nearly the same value, while another turned into a messy offseason detour before Duke and its quarterback ultimately reached a settlement. The bigger takeaway for Miami may be what comes next: after so much portal activity at quarterback, the staff is expected to be far more selective there unless a truly unusual opportunity opens up. [Read more 🡒]
Darian Mensah Sees One Reason Miami Fans Should Breathe On The O-Line
Fall camp is bringing a fresh look up front for Miami, which has to replace four starting offensive linemen after last season, including All-American right tackle Francis Mauigoa. The projected group has a mix of veterans and newcomers, with Ryan Rodriguez at center, Matthew McCoy at right tackle, Samson Okunlola at left guard, Jackson Cantwell at left tackle and Max Buchanan at right guard.
For quarterback Darian Mensah, the biggest reason for optimism is the man coaching them. He pointed to Alex Mirabal's track record as the reason he believes the line can come together quickly, even with true freshmen and players in new roles. For a unit with so much turnover, that kind of confidence matters, especially when Miami is asking several new faces to protect the offense from the very start of camp. [Read more 🡒]