This is the third in a five-part series on the quarterback position at the state’s major universities. Today, FSU.
It isn’t too much of a stretch to say that whoever wins the quarterback job at Florida State will have one major challenge. Simply put, he will be asked to save the program.
FSU Coach Mike Norvell has to get this right. His job depends on it. FSU must become relevant again. And to be relevant in today’s college football, you need to have a top-of-the-line quarterback. If you don’t have that piece, whatever else you have really doesn’t matter.
And as the Seminoles head for what is likely a make-or-break season, the quarterback position is in a state of flux. Tommy Castellanos, the brash transfer from Boston College who called out Alabama before last year’s season opener and then backed it up with a huge win, lit a spark but it flickered and died.
Now, it’s up to somebody else. Maybe Ashton Daniels, who came over from Auburn. Daniels played three years at Stanford before transferring to Auburn last year.
Or maybe Kevin Sperry. Sperry was the No. 12-rated prep quarterback in the country when he came out of high school, and looked good in a brief, three-game appearance with the ‘Noles last season.
The thing is, unless the inexperienced Sperry can make a huge jump, FSU doesn’t have a real playmaker at quarterback. There’s nobody back there who can take over and win games for you.
Despite a lot of positive talk from Norvell about the available talent, right now, it seems mediocre at best. Over his career, Daniels has played in 37 games and started 23 but he has been turnover prone – as he himself concedes – and has never been able to establish himself as a starter.
He wasn’t highly regarded when he entered the portal and there is some thought the Seminoles took him because he was all they could get.
“I’m really excited about the (quarterback) room,” Norvell said recently on the AAC Network’s Inside ACCess. “Anytime you bring in a transfer quarterback who has experience, and Ashton (Daniels) has played a lot of football; I think this last year you saw him going into Auburn and redshirting throughout the course of the year and playing in those last few games, you saw growth in his productivity late in the season,” Norvell commented.
“We do have big expectations for what he is going to look like here at Florida State and I’ve got a lot of confidence in all the guys we have here in our quarterback room,” Norvell declared.
If Daniels doesn’t show championship form; Norvell has said repeatedly that he expects FSU to compete for championships this year, then the load may fall on Sperry. Sperry is regarded as Florida State’s future at quarterback, but it may turn out that the future is now, whether he’s ready or not.
“Kevin Sperry is a very talented young man who is excited to compete and that is what these guys are gonna do,” Norvell said. “Every day they’re gonna show up and put their best foot forward and push to lead this football team.
“When you’ve got a guy (Daniels) that is older, that has experience, there are high expectations for what that is going to look like,” Norvell said, “and I think Ashton is excited to get the opportunity.
“It (choosing a quarterback) will always be the most important decision you make on a football team,” Norvell continued. “The guys you bring in, their growth, their development, is something that’s essential for your team’s success.
“I’m really excited about the group that we have and I’m excited about the ability that they’ve shown,” Norvell declared. “There are so many factors that go into developing a roster and player acquisition, it all matters,” he added.
For his part, Daniels recognizes he hasn’t done enough during his career to walk in anywhere and expect to start. Darian Mensah he is not. “Regardless of where you go in college football nowadays, you’re going to have to compete,” Daniels said on FSU’s football website.
“Nothing is just handed to you. I’ve had that in my mindset everywhere I’ve gone in the past. I have a history of not taking care of the ball as well as I need to and I think at least this past year, I’ve seen a huge amount of development in that area,” Daniels remarked. “I just want a chance to compete.”
He’ll get that chance. But whether competing and winning at quarterback will translate into competing and winning on the field is another matter.
And if Florida State falters again, Daniels will be gone and so will Norvell. And FSU’s chances of rebuilding its shattered image? Well, they’ll probably be shot as well.
Next, UCF.