Following last year’s struggles, Mike Norvell made major changes at Florida State. Perhaps the most notable came on offense as Gus Malzahn left his position as UCF’s head coach to take over as coordinator, and Thomas Castellanos arrived via the transfer portal. Malzahn and Castellanos will look to lead the charge by turning FSU’s offense […]
Following last year’s struggles, Mike Norvell made major changes at Florida State. Perhaps the most notable came on offense as Gus Malzahn left his position as UCF’s head coach to take over as coordinator, and Thomas Castellanos arrived via the transfer portal.
Malzahn and Castellanos will look to lead the charge by turning FSU’s offense around. The Seminoles ranked 132nd in total offense and 131st in scoring out of 134 FBS teams as they went just 2-10 in 2024. That sparked Norvell’s program overhaul and the hope to provide a spark.
Through the early part of training camp, Josh Pate said the sense is Florida State will likely get some “pop” plays from Castellanos, who arrived from Boston College. But he also cited another key concern: consistency.
“Based on the feedback we’re getting from FSU’s fall camp – which is tough to come by, trust me – you’re going to get some pop plays with him,” Pate said on Josh Pate’s College Football Show. “You’re not going to pair a player of his profile with Gus Malzahn and not have some ‘Wow’ moments. But I’m telling you what I think you will have is, you’ll have some facepalm moments.
“Consistency is the name of the game, and I don’t know that I can count on it from them offensively out of the gate. They were 12-for-50 on passes of 20-plus yards in the air last year. Three touchdowns, five picks.”
FSU could have 6-8 freshmen on two-deep
Florida State saw plenty of roster turnover this season and notably shifted its focus away from the transfer portal, unlike years past. The Seminoles have 36 new players on the roster – 23 of which came from the high school recruiting trail.
That’s why Josh Pate said there could be a handful of true freshmen on the two-deep. But it’s also why the season opener against Alabama provides even more of a challenge.
“They feel better about the offensive line,” Pate said. “We’ll see on that. But they’re going to have, like, anywhere between six and eight true freshmen in they’re two-deep. [Jayvan] Boggs is probably going to start at wide receiver, probably the third wide receiver. It’s just, they’ve got to face Bama out of the gate. I really wish they didn’t. … I don’t like the matchup”
Florida State and Alabama will serve as one of the marquee matchups of Week 1. That game will kick off Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Category: General Sports
