Much of Florida State football's recent turnaround can be attributed to the Seminoles' impressive roster rebuild.
Head coach Mike Norvell and the FSU coaching staff deserve quite a bit of credit for that. But so does another person, one who operates largely behind the scenes.
FSU general manager of player personnel, Darrick Yray, has been a key behind-the-scenes figure in the Seminoles' roster rebuild since he was hired from Oregon State in February of 2022.
Yray's work was honored Wednesday morning when FootballScoop named him its 2023 Player Personnel Director of the Year.
Coaching, talent and development have all played roles in the Seminoles' turnaround under Norvell. However, the FSU head coach also seems well aware of Yray's role in helping shape the roster and how that has helped FSU amass a 23-4 in the two seasons since he was hired.
“Darrick has truly become my right-hand man when it comes to personnel,” Norvell told FootballScoop. “When we hired him, we were looking for someone who could come in and oversee the entirety of roster management.
“He’s great at evaluation, but he also understands the (NCAA Transfer) Portal, building and maintaining relationships."
Yray's off-field role and title fits how college football has shifted closer to the NFL in terms of its offseason chaos.
FSU's 2023 transfer portal class ranked 12th nationally according to Rivals and included a number of key contributors on the Seminoles' 13-1 team, including wide receiver Keon Coleman, defensive tackle Braden Fiske and tight end Jaheim Bell, three players who boosted their draft stock in their lone season in Tallahassee.
FSU's 2024 portal class, although not yet having played a game for the Seminoles, ranks seventh nationally and once again appears loaded with instant contributors at positions of need on an FSU roster that has a lot of production to replace off the 2023 team.
"Darrick brought stability to the recruiting room. He brought tremendous knowledge of the way to handle the transfer aspect of recruiting. Oregon State relied heavily on transfers before there ever was a transfer portal. You have seen how that success has worked for FSU," Osceola recruiting analyst Charles Fishbein said of Yray. "He has also allowed FSU to take advantage of its national brand. FSU has been able to pull in prospects from across the country since he took over as general manager for the Seminoles.
Yray also played a key role in assembling FSU's 2024 high-school recruiting class, which ranked 12th nationally and is the best to date of Norvell's tenure.
"He really has a cohesive approach to the entire process. He’s truly outstanding at what he does," Norvell told FootballScoop. "This is a new age (in college football) and I couldn’t think of anyone better at managing a personnel operation than Darrick.”
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