FSU head coach Mike Norvell and his staff, so far, have signed seven players out of the spring portal. Here is a closer look at who the Seminoles are adding to their 2025 roster and how it impacts each of those position groups:
QB Jaylen King - East Tennessee State
The more I think about this take, the more I like it both in the short-term and the long-term. King has 17 starts over his two seasons at both Gardner-Webb and ETSU. He becomes the second-most experienced quarterback on FSU's roster the minute he steps on campus. King has three years left to play two, eligibility-wise. He has thrown for 2,759 yards over two seasons and run for another 823 yards. He is big and athletic. Norvell said he would like to redshirt him but that they will allow him to compete with the rest of the QBs in fall camp.
The short-term view: With Tommy Castellanos expected to be the starter, King could end up winning the backup role competing with Brock Glenn. And while everyone was impressed with Kevin Sperry this spring, it would be great if they could redshirt him this season. However, I believe whoever has the best fall camp outside of Castellanos will be the primary backup so there is a chance King doesn't redshirt. In this pivotal year for the program, if King is the best option behind Castellanos, you play him.
The long-term view: Castellanos stays healthy and turnover free, Glenn proves himself to be the best backup (or maybe even wins the job at some point for one of a couple of reasons), and you redshirt both King and Sperry, saving them to battle it out heading into the spring of 2026 with Glenn. I think it also allows FSU to be more patient in finding a QB for its 2026 recruiting class. They are less likely to feel they have to roll the dice on a QB with King added to the room. And I think a lot of who they end up signing at QB will have to do with the results on the field this season.
RB Gavin Sawchuk - Oklahoma
The RB room will be a little crowded in 2025 as Sawchuk joins a room that includes Roydell Williams, Kam Davis, Caziah Holmes, Sam Singletary and Jaylin Lucas. And let's face it, I am not sure FSU knows who their best running back is after last season. Williams and Lucas missed most of the 2024 season due to injury, so no one is sure exactly what they have in either of those two guys. The rest were left to try and find green grass behind a horrendous offensive line. At the end of the day this room is wide open until someone takes the starting role.
The short-term view: For Sawchuk it's simple. He was brought in to compete for a starting role. He is a proven back at the major college level, rushing for 977 yards on 176 carries in 23 games for the Sooners. He has 11 starts to his credit. Clearly, Norvell and the staff saw a need to add a proven player to this room. I think the other short-term potential of this move is that Lucas will see more time in the slot than at running back. And with where FSU's WR room sits right now having that flexibility isn't a bad thing. Lucas played more snaps from scrimmage at slot than he did at RB in the two games he played in last year.
The long-term view: Sawchuk starts for multiple seasons for FSU. If he turns out to be a true No. 1 back you probably have some attrition in this room after the 2025 season with one or more players jumping the portal. Also, with Sawchuk having two years of eligibility remaining, FSU might not feel the need to try and sign a second running back to its 2026 recruiting class or at the very least be pickier in doing so.
WR Gavin Blackwell - UNC
Heading into spring, I think FSU's coaches felt good about this room after the additions of Duce Robinson and Squirrel White. However, despite what the program might be spinning, they certainly didn't expect to enter the summer having lost Jalen Brown, Hykeem Williams and Jordan Scott in the portal. There is no doubt heading into spring practice they thought these three guys would be a part of the rotation at wide receiver in 2025. Those departures forced FSU to go into the portal at a position I don't think they otherwise would have if they had lost just one of the three aforementioned players.
The short-term view: With one season of eligibility remaining there is only a short-term view with his impact on this room. He played in 29 games over four seasons at UNC with eight starts. He caught a combined 31 passes for 448 yards and one touchdown. FSU rolled the dice on Blackwell after missing out on some of the more highly sought after wide receivers in the spring portal, which wasn't very deep to begin with. Blackwell adds a veteran presence to the room and some experience to a room that features more potential than production heading into the 2025 season. A new start may be just what Blackwell needed and FSU, at the very least, gets a player that can provide depth to the room.
OL Josh Raymond - Vanderbilt
OL Jaelyne Matthews - Rutgers
This is all about the long-term view for FSU. And I don't expect there to be a short-term payoff on the field. These two players were brought in to develop in 2025 and compete in 2026 and beyond.
The short-term view: FSU has seven OL who will exhaust their eligibility after this season, so FSU was going to bring in at least seven offensive linemen via high school recruiting or the winter portal for their 2026 recruiting class. The additions of Raymond and Matthews reduce that number by two moving forward. So the short-term impact of bringing in these two players will have a bigger impact on recruiting in this year than on the football field.
The long-term view: Raymond could end up anywhere on FSU's OL but he played OT for Vandy where he was a backup to new FSU OT Gunnar Hansen. Raymond has already been in a college program for a year so that's a plus for FSU, which will help him compete for a spot in the two-deep this fall but more importantly puts he and FSU in a good spot when you look ahead to 2026 and beyond. The thing I also like about Raymond is that there is some familiarity between he and FSU OL coach Herb Hand. Raymond was recruited but not offered by UCF while Hand was there. But that relationship and Hand knowing Raymond's potential makes this feel like a good take at face value. Raymond has four years to play four.
Matthews is a tackle all the way at 6-7 and this is a little bit more of a reach given that there wasn't a lot of history between Matthews and the FSU staff (and the fact that Matthews was only at Rutgers for the spring semester). I was a bit curious as to why it was such a short stay at Rutgers, so I asked someone familiar with their program and was told a couple of things. One was that Matthews played his senior season of high school at around 315 pounds but, by the time RU started spring ball, he was 340 pounds or more. However, they do believe that his upside is tremendous and when you watch his high school tape you see the size, athleticism and potential. He is raw but has some physical skills for his size you don't see every day. I have a lot of respect for Hand's ability to evaluate and develop so I am looking forward to seeing how Matthews works out in the long haul.
QB Jaylen King - East Tennessee State
The more I think about this take, the more I like it both in the short-term and the long-term. King has 17 starts over his two seasons at both Gardner-Webb and ETSU. He becomes the second-most experienced quarterback on FSU's roster the minute he steps on campus. King has three years left to play two, eligibility-wise. He has thrown for 2,759 yards over two seasons and run for another 823 yards. He is big and athletic. Norvell said he would like to redshirt him but that they will allow him to compete with the rest of the QBs in fall camp.
The short-term view: With Tommy Castellanos expected to be the starter, King could end up winning the backup role competing with Brock Glenn. And while everyone was impressed with Kevin Sperry this spring, it would be great if they could redshirt him this season. However, I believe whoever has the best fall camp outside of Castellanos will be the primary backup so there is a chance King doesn't redshirt. In this pivotal year for the program, if King is the best option behind Castellanos, you play him.
The long-term view: Castellanos stays healthy and turnover free, Glenn proves himself to be the best backup (or maybe even wins the job at some point for one of a couple of reasons), and you redshirt both King and Sperry, saving them to battle it out heading into the spring of 2026 with Glenn. I think it also allows FSU to be more patient in finding a QB for its 2026 recruiting class. They are less likely to feel they have to roll the dice on a QB with King added to the room. And I think a lot of who they end up signing at QB will have to do with the results on the field this season.
RB Gavin Sawchuk - Oklahoma
The RB room will be a little crowded in 2025 as Sawchuk joins a room that includes Roydell Williams, Kam Davis, Caziah Holmes, Sam Singletary and Jaylin Lucas. And let's face it, I am not sure FSU knows who their best running back is after last season. Williams and Lucas missed most of the 2024 season due to injury, so no one is sure exactly what they have in either of those two guys. The rest were left to try and find green grass behind a horrendous offensive line. At the end of the day this room is wide open until someone takes the starting role.
The short-term view: For Sawchuk it's simple. He was brought in to compete for a starting role. He is a proven back at the major college level, rushing for 977 yards on 176 carries in 23 games for the Sooners. He has 11 starts to his credit. Clearly, Norvell and the staff saw a need to add a proven player to this room. I think the other short-term potential of this move is that Lucas will see more time in the slot than at running back. And with where FSU's WR room sits right now having that flexibility isn't a bad thing. Lucas played more snaps from scrimmage at slot than he did at RB in the two games he played in last year.
The long-term view: Sawchuk starts for multiple seasons for FSU. If he turns out to be a true No. 1 back you probably have some attrition in this room after the 2025 season with one or more players jumping the portal. Also, with Sawchuk having two years of eligibility remaining, FSU might not feel the need to try and sign a second running back to its 2026 recruiting class or at the very least be pickier in doing so.
WR Gavin Blackwell - UNC
Heading into spring, I think FSU's coaches felt good about this room after the additions of Duce Robinson and Squirrel White. However, despite what the program might be spinning, they certainly didn't expect to enter the summer having lost Jalen Brown, Hykeem Williams and Jordan Scott in the portal. There is no doubt heading into spring practice they thought these three guys would be a part of the rotation at wide receiver in 2025. Those departures forced FSU to go into the portal at a position I don't think they otherwise would have if they had lost just one of the three aforementioned players.
The short-term view: With one season of eligibility remaining there is only a short-term view with his impact on this room. He played in 29 games over four seasons at UNC with eight starts. He caught a combined 31 passes for 448 yards and one touchdown. FSU rolled the dice on Blackwell after missing out on some of the more highly sought after wide receivers in the spring portal, which wasn't very deep to begin with. Blackwell adds a veteran presence to the room and some experience to a room that features more potential than production heading into the 2025 season. A new start may be just what Blackwell needed and FSU, at the very least, gets a player that can provide depth to the room.
OL Josh Raymond - Vanderbilt
OL Jaelyne Matthews - Rutgers
This is all about the long-term view for FSU. And I don't expect there to be a short-term payoff on the field. These two players were brought in to develop in 2025 and compete in 2026 and beyond.
The short-term view: FSU has seven OL who will exhaust their eligibility after this season, so FSU was going to bring in at least seven offensive linemen via high school recruiting or the winter portal for their 2026 recruiting class. The additions of Raymond and Matthews reduce that number by two moving forward. So the short-term impact of bringing in these two players will have a bigger impact on recruiting in this year than on the football field.
The long-term view: Raymond could end up anywhere on FSU's OL but he played OT for Vandy where he was a backup to new FSU OT Gunnar Hansen. Raymond has already been in a college program for a year so that's a plus for FSU, which will help him compete for a spot in the two-deep this fall but more importantly puts he and FSU in a good spot when you look ahead to 2026 and beyond. The thing I also like about Raymond is that there is some familiarity between he and FSU OL coach Herb Hand. Raymond was recruited but not offered by UCF while Hand was there. But that relationship and Hand knowing Raymond's potential makes this feel like a good take at face value. Raymond has four years to play four.
Matthews is a tackle all the way at 6-7 and this is a little bit more of a reach given that there wasn't a lot of history between Matthews and the FSU staff (and the fact that Matthews was only at Rutgers for the spring semester). I was a bit curious as to why it was such a short stay at Rutgers, so I asked someone familiar with their program and was told a couple of things. One was that Matthews played his senior season of high school at around 315 pounds but, by the time RU started spring ball, he was 340 pounds or more. However, they do believe that his upside is tremendous and when you watch his high school tape you see the size, athleticism and potential. He is raw but has some physical skills for his size you don't see every day. I have a lot of respect for Hand's ability to evaluate and develop so I am looking forward to seeing how Matthews works out in the long haul.
Last edited by a moderator:
