When the 2024 schedule was released in January, it appeared perfect in quite a few ways for a Florida State football team that was going to enter the season with a bunch of new faces and plenty of talent but also plenty of questions.
It sure looked like the Seminoles had a five-game runway into their first real test of the season. None of FSU's first five games were viewed as slam-dunk victories, but it did hold a talent advantage on paper over each of its first five opponents before the real meat of the schedule began in October.
Entering the season, that felt ideal to give the Seminoles a bit of time to get acclimated, let new quarterback DJ Uiagalelei settle in and let a defense that was replacing key players at each level gel together before a back half of the schedule that was going to test if this team was good enough to make the first 12-team edition of the College Football Playoff.
Unfortunately for FSU, games aren't played on paper. Three games into the season, the Seminoles stunningly sit at 0-3, their ACC and CFP hopes dashed. The defense got off to a very slow start and the offense hasn't yet found its footing, managing just four touchdowns in the first three games of the season against Georgia Tech, Boston College and Memphis.
What was supposed to be viewed as a runway to 2024 contention for the Seminoles now appears to be a runway to the future.
Unfortunately for the Seminoles, that runway is running out shortly. Given what we have seen from FSU so far this season, that back half of the 2024 slate that looked like a test now looks like a serious challenge.
Given that, it sure feels like FSU is approaching the end of the ideal period to experiment with a change at the quarterback position.
It has been said and written plenty by us here that FSU's offensive problems go far beyond Uiagalelei. The offensive line has struggled and he's not been aided enough by his receivers' inability to catch passes at a high enough rate or create consistent separation.
However, a 56.6% completion percentage with one touchdown pass and two interceptions in his first three games just isn't going to cut it. While there are other problems beyond him, Uiagalelei has made some aspects worse with his struggles making plays under pressure, slow processing of his progression and off-target throws far too often and frequently in big moments.
It remains to be seen if a quarterback change — or at least a partial attempt at one — will be made this weekend when the Seminoles host Cal (3-0) Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN2). While fans have been clamoring for Brock Glenn to see if the redshirt freshman can bring a spark, Uiagalelei remains atop the depth chart, for whatever that's worth.
The case for a change to be made is pretty convincing. Considering Uiagalelei can't factor into your future plans beyond this season, which is already effectively lost in the grand scheme of things, it's worth seeing what you have in Glenn.
Glenn has been praised for his poise and passion and has shown progress in practice since he was thrown into the deep end last season in the ACC Championship Game and Orange Bowl after injuries to Jordan Travis and Tate Rodemaker.
Another convincing argument is that it sure appears the FSU offensive line is not as solid this season as it was believed to be. Far too often in the first few games, Uiagalelei has been under near-immediate pressure because of a missed blitz pickup or an instant pass-rush loss by one of his blockers.
If that's indeed what FSU has to work with the rest of the 2024 season, having a more mobile, athletic quarterback like Glenn, who has shown in practice both an ability to extend plays with his legs and also escape the pocket for chunk gains on the ground, feels like the better path forward for the Seminoles.
Glenn's threat with his legs may also change how defenses have to prepare for FSU's rushing game, perhaps giving a boost to the Seminoles' running back room which hasn't found much success early this season.
At least giving Glenn a series or two Saturday if Uiagalelei gets the nod and FSU again gets off to a slow start — it has one first-half touchdown so far on its very first drive of the season — feels like a necessity to try and turn the tide of this abysmal start to the 2024 season.
Beyond the overall case for exploring a QB change, though, there's an even more compelling case for why the change should be explored this week.
Remember that runway I mentioned? It's coming to an end soon. FSU already didn't take advantage of getting Glenn any reps in last week's 20-12 loss to Memphis, a talented Group of Five team but a G5 team nonetheless.
Say FSU doesn't play Glenn on Saturday, the offense struggles again and head coach Mike Norvell decides to make the change next week. Glenn's first start would be at SMU. While the Mustangs haven't looked great early in their debut ACC season and their stadium is on the smaller side with a capacity of 32,000, that could be a deceptively hostile atmosphere as SMU hosts its long-awaited first conference game as a power-conference team.
Say Uiagalelei starts that game as well, but Norvell makes the move to Glenn the following week? Even tougher. The Seminoles host Clemson in two weeks and two of their next four games after that are road trips to Miami and Notre Dame.
FSU didn't have a choice for setting up Glenn for success in 2023. He was forced into action against two top-15 teams as a true freshman and looked the part, completing 17 of 47 passes (36.1%) for 194 yards, two interceptions and no touchdown passes.
FSU has a chance to give Glenn a bit more of a fair shot at success this season as a redshirt freshman. Considering how important these games will be for evaluating his potential future as FSU's next starting quarterback in 2025, that feels optimal.
And yet, we're not too far off from having to throw Glenn once again into the deep end if the change happens at some point past the next week.
Could he swim this time with 12 months of additional experience under his belt? Of course. It's a bonus that Glenn also doesn't seem like the type where struggles affect his confidence much if at all.
But it doesn't feel like the current path is best setting him up for success. And considering FSU's uncertainty at quarterback going forward into 2025 and beyond, that seems like an inadvisable choice.
