Spring camp is always a time of change and growth around a college football program.
But that was certainly taken to the extreme this spring at Florida State.
With over 30 new players on the roster, six new coaches on the staff and new schemes to learn on both sides of the ball, it was a time of sweeping transformation and great learning for the Seminoles ahead of the 2025 season.
While the media access policy to practice changed, leaving us with far less access to practice, there was still plenty to learn from the one scrimmage we watched, what the coaches said and what we heard in conversations with people.
There's still plenty of uncertain things surrounding the program exiting spring. But there are also quite a few facets of the team to feel better about based on what we saw and heard over the last six weeks.
Here's a look at three FSU position groups we feel better about coming out of spring.
Tight Ends
FSU's tight end room certainly had a lot to prove this spring after a severely underwhelming 2024 season.
The four most-veteran tight ends from last year's team are all gone after combining for 152 yards and no touchdowns. The two most consistent tight ends on last year's team were true freshmen in Landen Thomas and Amaree Williams, the latter of whom was working on the defensive line this spring.
To build out the depth of that room, FSU brought in two transfers in former commit/UCF transfer Randy Pittman and former Seminole/Arizona State transfer Markeston Douglas. The Seminoles also managed to hold onto their high-school tight end commit, Chase Loftin, over heavy interest from midwestern schools closer to his Nebraska roots.
Pittman, who was productive in two seasons at UCF, has carried that over to FSU, making plays in the passing game during the scrimmage we watched and throughout spring while also impressing as a blocker.
Loftin was one of the surprises of spring for how much praise was heaped onto him by Mike Norvell. As the No. 14 tight end in the 2025 class according to Rivals and with plenty of more experienced players ahead of him, he didn't seem like a candidate for an immediate role. But by the midway point of spring, the FSU head coach was saying Loftin would have a real chance to get on the field as a true freshman.
That emergence of Loftin may have played a role in Douglas re-entering the portal on Saturday after spending spring back at FSU. The room being a bit deeper than he expected it to be and playing time being harder to come by is a leading theory as his second departure from FSU.
The loss of Douglas leaves FSU with a non-traditional tight end room in terms of size. If the right player presents himself in the final portal window, FSU could stand to add a block-first tight end who can comfortably hold down an in-line role.
However, the emergences of Pittman and Loftin in addition to what should be some progress made from Thomas coming off a promising true freshman season means the tight end room has a chance to be a real strength for the Seminoles in 2024 even with Douglas' departure.
Linebackers
Linebacker is another position group that was a question mark of sorts entering the offseason.
The position group contributed to the defense's problems at times in 2024 with missed tackles, improper run fits and coverage struggles. Veteran DJ Lundy was out of eligibility. It was unclear if the likes of Justin Cryer, Omar Graham Jr. and Blake Nichelson were ready to step into larger roles.
Oh, and there was also going to be a pretty serious shift in responsibilities for the players in the move to Tony White's 3-3-5 base defense.
However, White said during the spring that he considered the linebacker room he inherited most fit for the shift to his defense of any of the position groups on FSU's defense. He then added three linebacker transfers to build out the depth of the unit for new position coach John Papuchis, who moved from defensive ends to linebackers this offseason.
Memphis transfer Elijah Herring made a highlight-reel play in each of FSU's two scrimmages. Stefon Thompson was praised for how invaluable his experience in White's defense at Nebraska and Syracuse was for the rest of the players learning the scheme.
Unfortunately, UNC transfer Caleb LaVallee missed much of spring with an injury. However, a few returning players like Cryer and Graham made up for that absence by having impactful performances in the scrimmage we watched.
All across the linebacker room, it seems the transition to White's scheme has been a success. Is there a world where more-defined roles in the three-linebacker defense help that position group grow more confident? It's a distinct possibility coming out of spring.
Defensive Line
Another place where FSU made some sweeping transformations this offseason was on the defensive line. FSU lost three starters there -- two to the portal and one to the NFL Draft -- and needed quite a bit of help.
Enter four players from the transfer portal who the Seminoles added in January in James Williams (Nebraska), Deante McCray (Western Kentucky), Deamontae Diggs (Coastal Carolina) and Jayson Jenkins (Tennessee) to replenish that depth and provide some much-needed experience at the FBS level.
Jenkins suffered an injury before spring that kept him sidelined for all of camp, although he says he expects to be back in time for preseason. The other three, however, were near the top of the list of most-praised players by Norvell this spring.
Williams, who brings familiarity in White's defense from his time with the Cornhuskers, was tasked with becoming a leader as well as an every-down player this spring. By all accounts, he's risen to those challenges in a big way.
McCray, who played in a 3-3-5 defense at WKU, had a few sacks in the scrimmage we watched and looks the part of a well-rounded defensive lineman who understands the defense and can make plays as a pass-rusher as well as a run-stopper.
While Diggs was a somewhat unproven commodity as an FCS transfer who had spent just one season at the FBS level before coming to Tallahassee, he was also praised this spring for the strides he was making.
Add that trio onto the return of Darrell Jackson and a few emergences from the likes of KJ Sampson and Daniel Lyons (before he got hurt) and you see that position group rounding into form well as summer nears and the 2025 season creeps ever closer.
But that was certainly taken to the extreme this spring at Florida State.
With over 30 new players on the roster, six new coaches on the staff and new schemes to learn on both sides of the ball, it was a time of sweeping transformation and great learning for the Seminoles ahead of the 2025 season.
While the media access policy to practice changed, leaving us with far less access to practice, there was still plenty to learn from the one scrimmage we watched, what the coaches said and what we heard in conversations with people.
There's still plenty of uncertain things surrounding the program exiting spring. But there are also quite a few facets of the team to feel better about based on what we saw and heard over the last six weeks.
Here's a look at three FSU position groups we feel better about coming out of spring.
Tight Ends
FSU's tight end room certainly had a lot to prove this spring after a severely underwhelming 2024 season.
The four most-veteran tight ends from last year's team are all gone after combining for 152 yards and no touchdowns. The two most consistent tight ends on last year's team were true freshmen in Landen Thomas and Amaree Williams, the latter of whom was working on the defensive line this spring.
To build out the depth of that room, FSU brought in two transfers in former commit/UCF transfer Randy Pittman and former Seminole/Arizona State transfer Markeston Douglas. The Seminoles also managed to hold onto their high-school tight end commit, Chase Loftin, over heavy interest from midwestern schools closer to his Nebraska roots.
Pittman, who was productive in two seasons at UCF, has carried that over to FSU, making plays in the passing game during the scrimmage we watched and throughout spring while also impressing as a blocker.
Loftin was one of the surprises of spring for how much praise was heaped onto him by Mike Norvell. As the No. 14 tight end in the 2025 class according to Rivals and with plenty of more experienced players ahead of him, he didn't seem like a candidate for an immediate role. But by the midway point of spring, the FSU head coach was saying Loftin would have a real chance to get on the field as a true freshman.
That emergence of Loftin may have played a role in Douglas re-entering the portal on Saturday after spending spring back at FSU. The room being a bit deeper than he expected it to be and playing time being harder to come by is a leading theory as his second departure from FSU.
The loss of Douglas leaves FSU with a non-traditional tight end room in terms of size. If the right player presents himself in the final portal window, FSU could stand to add a block-first tight end who can comfortably hold down an in-line role.
However, the emergences of Pittman and Loftin in addition to what should be some progress made from Thomas coming off a promising true freshman season means the tight end room has a chance to be a real strength for the Seminoles in 2024 even with Douglas' departure.
Linebackers
Linebacker is another position group that was a question mark of sorts entering the offseason.
The position group contributed to the defense's problems at times in 2024 with missed tackles, improper run fits and coverage struggles. Veteran DJ Lundy was out of eligibility. It was unclear if the likes of Justin Cryer, Omar Graham Jr. and Blake Nichelson were ready to step into larger roles.
Oh, and there was also going to be a pretty serious shift in responsibilities for the players in the move to Tony White's 3-3-5 base defense.
However, White said during the spring that he considered the linebacker room he inherited most fit for the shift to his defense of any of the position groups on FSU's defense. He then added three linebacker transfers to build out the depth of the unit for new position coach John Papuchis, who moved from defensive ends to linebackers this offseason.
Memphis transfer Elijah Herring made a highlight-reel play in each of FSU's two scrimmages. Stefon Thompson was praised for how invaluable his experience in White's defense at Nebraska and Syracuse was for the rest of the players learning the scheme.
Unfortunately, UNC transfer Caleb LaVallee missed much of spring with an injury. However, a few returning players like Cryer and Graham made up for that absence by having impactful performances in the scrimmage we watched.
All across the linebacker room, it seems the transition to White's scheme has been a success. Is there a world where more-defined roles in the three-linebacker defense help that position group grow more confident? It's a distinct possibility coming out of spring.
Defensive Line
Another place where FSU made some sweeping transformations this offseason was on the defensive line. FSU lost three starters there -- two to the portal and one to the NFL Draft -- and needed quite a bit of help.
Enter four players from the transfer portal who the Seminoles added in January in James Williams (Nebraska), Deante McCray (Western Kentucky), Deamontae Diggs (Coastal Carolina) and Jayson Jenkins (Tennessee) to replenish that depth and provide some much-needed experience at the FBS level.
Jenkins suffered an injury before spring that kept him sidelined for all of camp, although he says he expects to be back in time for preseason. The other three, however, were near the top of the list of most-praised players by Norvell this spring.
Williams, who brings familiarity in White's defense from his time with the Cornhuskers, was tasked with becoming a leader as well as an every-down player this spring. By all accounts, he's risen to those challenges in a big way.
McCray, who played in a 3-3-5 defense at WKU, had a few sacks in the scrimmage we watched and looks the part of a well-rounded defensive lineman who understands the defense and can make plays as a pass-rusher as well as a run-stopper.
While Diggs was a somewhat unproven commodity as an FCS transfer who had spent just one season at the FBS level before coming to Tallahassee, he was also praised this spring for the strides he was making.
Add that trio onto the return of Darrell Jackson and a few emergences from the likes of KJ Sampson and Daniel Lyons (before he got hurt) and you see that position group rounding into form well as summer nears and the 2025 season creeps ever closer.
