The offseason is already well underway around the Florida State football program.
FSU head coach Mike Norvell said on the Seminole Boosters' Vision of Excellence livestream Tuesday night that the team began its winter conditioning program Monday after the players began classes for the spring semester on Jan. 6.
There are quite a few new faces on the FSU football roster, with 31 mid-year enrollees arriving in January and six more signees/commits set to enroll at FSU in May.
Of those 31 players who have joined, 16 of them are transfers, 13 are high-school recruits and two are junior-college transfers. Norvell shared a quote about each new transfer addition in the press release announcing they had signed with the Seminoles, but Tuesday was the first time he talked at length about any of these transfer additions who are expected to take on significant roles on the 2025 team.
Here's what Norvell said about quite a few transfer additions to the FSU roster during Tuesday's livestream.
Boston College transfer QB Thomas Castellanos
"I've had to defend him here the last couple years and I think he added a bunch of these gray hairs. He's an absolute talent and a wonderful young man. I think he's one of the more dynamic players in all of college football. You think back to two years ago when we went up there with one of the best defenses in all of college and he threw for over 300 yards and had over 100 yards rushing against us. He can do it with his arm. Obviously, he has the special ability to be able to extend plays. He's really just a true spark, and a great playmaker. We feel we're gonna be able to surround him with a wonderful group of playmakers. I'm excited about what he's bringing to the position ... When you look at that (QB) room, you've got a group of competitors that not only can do wonderful things with their arms, but are able to keep plays alive and then you extend them. That adds a whole new dynamic to what you can do there offensively. Really excited about what that group is going to bring."
USC transfer WR Duce Robinson
"Duce is just a dynamic threat. To have his size, speed, I think that's one of the things that when you watch him, just how easily he moves. He's explosive. He can get in and out of breaks. There's not a route on the route tree that he can't run. He's a guy that has made plays in big moments, but we think that he's just scratching the surface to what he can do and where he can go. There's going to be a lot of comparisons to even past guys, but I really think he's unique to himself. He's just really a special talent, a guy that is driven and hungry to go be the best. He puts in the work at an elite level to try to achieve that. He comes from a Florida State (family), (his dad) was a great player in Dominic Robinson. A guy that I'm just so excited to be able to have in the program. When you bring that size, speed combination, we think that he could be a really special player, in this offense and what we're looking to continue to build upon."
Tennessee transfer WR Squirrel White
"Squirrel is one of the fastest players in college football. He's been able to consistently put that on display. I think the versatility of things that he can do, we're going to truly try to showcase in all areas. Whether it's what he's doing at receiver, being able to have a guy that can move around, that can stretch the field. He has really done some good things with the ball on his hand. Another guy that you talk about (who is) just a wonderful compliment to the guys that we have. We've got some really exciting young players in that receiver room, but Squirrel is a guy that has done it at a high level over these last three years. We feel just a tremendous fit for our room, for this offense, and what we're looking forward to. I can tell you JP (FSU special teams coordinator John Papuchis) is as excited as anybody. Squirrel, I think he averaged 14 or 15 yards per return on punt returns last year. Definitely a guy that has a an elite-level ceiling when it comes to what he can do in the return game and is excited to be able to showcase that here as well."
Four offensive line transfer additions (Wake Forest transfer Luke Petitbon, Ole Miss transfer Micah Pettus, Vanderbilt transfer Gunnar Hansen, UCF transfer Adrian Medley
"It's the experience, it's the mentality. They got size, they have power. These are guys that have done it at a high level. I think they averaged over 25 starts across the board for each of them. It's a group that really I think brings tremendous ability to this room as well as guys that have been great leaders. Three of those guys were captains at previous places, guys that have really poured into the group that they've been a part of and were excited about the opportunity that we had here to come in and be a part of a really good and hungry group that's looking to re-establish itself. This last year, it was a tough year with that position, but we've got a football team and an offensive line that is hungry to go get better. The addition of these four guys I think is definitely a huge step in the right direction, just with the competition that they're going to be able to bring, the experiences they've had and how they're gonna help elevate those guys that are in that room just working together each and every day."
Four defensive line additions (Nebraska transfer James WIlliams, WKU transfer Deante McCray, Tennessee transfer Jayson Jenkins and Coastal Carolina transfer Deamontae Diggs)
"Really everybody defensively, I wanted to see your elite-level effort, a relentless pursuit of the ball and just a knack to be able to go make plays. I think when you look at that defensive front, they all have great size, ability, they've been able to impact the quarterback. You really get a sense that every guy that we brought in on that defensive front, their best football is in front of them. They've shown the flashes, they've shown the ability to be able to make that impact. Just so excited about what that group can bring to our defenses as a whole."
Updates: Norvell's live stream with boosters
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