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Yesterday’s Poll Results

Today’s Poll

🏹 Welcome to The Chief Brief! 🏹

Happy final Saturday of 2025, Seminole!

Portal season is no longer theoretical — it’s here, it’s fast, and Florida State is operating with zero margin for error.

Here’s what’s inside today’s edition:

🏈 QB Dominoes Start Falling 🏈
FSU is linked to UNLV star Anthony Colandrea as the portal QB market explodes post-Christmas — and the clock is already ticking on finding the right stabilizer under center.

🏈 A Buyer’s Market That Won’t Wait 🏈
From award-winning Group-of-Five stars to former blue-chip recruits, this is one of the deepest QB cycles in years. The challenge isn’t availability — it’s decisiveness.

🏈 Roster Churn, No Buffer 🏈
Another EDGE exits, the portal window rules tighten, and FSU’s departure list keeps growing — all before a single addition arrives.

🏀 ACC Play Arrives With No Ramp-Up 🏀
FSU basketball heads straight into the fire, opening league play against UNC and Duke with zero margin for early mistakes.

🏈 No GM, No Patience, No Illusions 🏈
With the portal opening January 2, FSU still lacks a general manager — and fan sentiment has shifted from frustration to ultimatum as NIL debates hit a breaking point.

Let’s get into it.

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🏈 Portal QB Watch: FSU Linked to UNLV Star Anthony Colandrea 🏈

Florida State’s quarterback search continues to widen as another proven portal option enters the picture.

🔥 Why Colandrea Is on FSU’s Radar

• Anthony Colandrea announced plans to leave UNLV Rebels and has quickly drawn interest from multiple programs.

• According to CBS Sports, Florida State has emerged as an early school to watch in his recruitment.

• Colandrea is coming off a breakout 2025 season and checks several boxes FSU values in the portal.

📊 2025 Breakout at UNLV

• 3,459 passing yards, 23 TDs, 9 INTs

• Added 649 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs on 127 carries

• Named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year

• First Team All–Mountain West selection

🧠 Background & Profile

• Began his career at Virginia before transferring to UNLV

• Career totals: 7,500+ passing yards, 49 passing TDs

• Dual-threat skill set with high usage and durability

• Florida native (St. Petersburg / Lakewood HS), which could factor into mutual interest

🔁 How This Fits FSU’s QB Reset

• Florida State Seminoles is replacing most of its 2025 QB room, including starter Tommy Castellanos.

• The staff is prioritizing experienced, proven production in the portal.

• Colandrea joins Colton Joseph (Old Dominion) as one of the early names linked to FSU.

👉 Why It Matters:
Colandrea is a high-volume, award-winning starter with dual-threat production and Power Five experience. As FSU narrows its QB board, this is the profile that aligns with both urgency and upside in a pivotal offseason.

Read more here

🏈 Portal QB Market Expands: Christmas Brings a Flood of Options 🏈

Florida State’s quarterback search is unfolding amid one of the deepest and most competitive portal QB cycles in recent memory.

🎄 Why This Cycle Is Different

• The 2026 portal already featured high-end names, but the post-Christmas wave added former blue-chip recruits and multiple Group-of-Five Players of the Year.

• Analysts across college football believe this is a rare cycle where starter-level upgrades are available at scale, not just at the very top.

• For programs like Florida State Seminoles, timing, fit, and decisiveness matter more than ever.

🔥 New Portal QBs to Know

🧠 Bryce Baker — North Carolina

• Former crown jewel of UNC’s 2025 class; Top-155 overall recruit.

• Never saw the field after falling to fourth on the depth chart.

• High-ceiling developmental option seeking a reset at the Power Four level.

📈 Amari Odom — Kennesaw State

• 6’4” QB with two years of eligibility and elite deep-ball production.

• 2,594 passing yards, 19 TDs + 347 rushing yards, 7 TDs in 2025.

• One of the nation’s most efficient deep passers (top-3 nationally by %).

• Drawing serious Power Four interest.

⚡ Jaylen Raynor — Arkansas State

• Three-year starter; Sun Belt Freshman of the Year (2023).

• 3,361 passing yards, 423 rushing yards, 26 total TDs in 2025.

• Proven dual-threat profile best suited for spread systems.

🔥 Anthony Colandrea — UNLV

• Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year.

• 3,459 passing yards, 23 TDs, plus 649 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs.

• Florida State has emerged as an early school to watch in his recruitment.

• Ranks top-three nationally in total offense (4,108 yards).

🏆 Alonza Barnett III — James Madison

• Led JMU to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.

• Sun Belt Player of the Year.

• 2,806 passing yards, 23 TDs + 589 rushing yards, 15 rushing TDs.

• A proven winner with postseason experience and physical toughness.

🧠 What This Means for FSU

• With Tommy Castellanos moving on, FSU is shopping in a buyer’s market, but one that’s moving fast.

• The board now includes:

  • High-volume dual threats

  • Award-winning Group-of-Five stars

  • Younger blue-chip upside plays

• The challenge isn’t finding a quarterback — it’s choosing the right bridge-and-stabilizer for the program.

👉 Why It Matters:
This QB cycle is deep, but it won’t stay patient. Florida State doesn’t need to win the portal; it needs to identify the right fit before the musical chairs stop. In a market this crowded, hesitation costs more than aggression.

Read more here

🏈 FSU EDGE James Williams Enters Transfer Portal 🏈

Another roster domino falls as Florida State continues its offseason reshaping on defense.

📉 What Happened

• James Williams is entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, per Hayes Fawcett.

• Williams transferred to Florida State Seminoles last offseason from Nebraska, following DL coach Terrance Knighton and DC Tony White.

📊 2025 at FSU

• Began the season as a starter and was expected to be the primary edge rusher.

• Role diminished as the year progressed.

• Finished with:

  • 19 total tackles

  • 1.5 sacks

🔁 Context

• Williams posted five sacks in a rotational role at Nebraska in 2024, which fueled expectations of a breakout year in Tallahassee.

• That leap never materialized, and the fit ultimately stalled.

⏳ What’s Next

• 6’6”, 262 pounds with two years of eligibility remaining.

• Likely to draw interest as a developmental edge with proven flashes at the Power Five level.

👉 Why It Matters:
FSU continues trimming pieces that didn’t fully click in 2025, further reinforcing that the defensive front — especially EDGE — will be aggressively rebuilt through the portal this offseason.

Read more here

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🏈 Transfer Portal Window: Dates, Rules, and FSU Tracker 🏈

Florida State’s offseason churn is already underway — well before the portal officially opens.

📅 Key Portal Dates

• Window: January 2 – January 16

• This is the only transfer portal window for Division I players in 2026.

• The NCAA has eliminated the spring window entirely.

• Graduate transfers must now follow the same 15-day window as all players.

🔄 Coaching Change Rule Update

• Coaching changes no longer trigger an automatic 30-day window.

• If a new head coach is hired after Jan. 2, players receive a 15-day window only.

📊 FSU Portal Movement (So Far)
Tracking all movement involving the Florida State Seminoles:

Incoming

• None yet

Departing (Chronological)

• 12/26 — EDGE James Williams

• 12/23 — QB Brock Glenn

• 12/22 — WR Elijah Moore

• 12/21 — TE Landen Thomas

• 12/19 — QB Jaylen King

• 12/18 — DL Jayson Jenkins

• 12/16 — TE Randy Pittman

• 12/16 — LB Omar Graham Jr.

• 12/16 — EDGE Jaden Jones

• 12/16 — RB Kam Davis

• 12/16 — CB Ja’Bril Rawls

• 12/15 — CB Cai Bates

• 12/12 — WR Camdon Frier

• 12/10 — DB Christian “Smoke” White

• 12/10 — WR Willy Suarez

• 12/10 — S Edwin Joseph

• 12/10 — ATH Jaylin Lucas

• 12/10 — DT Jamorie Flagg

• 12/9 — TE Luke Douglas

• 12/9 — DT Tyeland Coleman

• 12/9 — OT Mario Nash

• 12/5 — DE Jessie Harrold

• 12/4 — LB Jayden Parrish

Read more here

🏀 FSU Men’s Basketball Sets the Table for ACC Play 🏀

After a volatile non-conference slate, Florida State heads into league play knowing exactly where the margin for error lives.

📊 Non-Conference Snapshot

• Finished 7–6 overall, including 7–1 at home

• Road losses at Florida and Dayton

• Neutral-site struggles vs. Houston, Texas A&M, and UMass

• Defensive pressure and pace remain calling cards, but consistency is the question

🧱 The Gauntlet Ahead
ACC play opens immediately with no runway:

• @ North Carolina (Dec. 30) — League’s most complete team statistically

• Duke (Jan. 3, home) — Elite defense, rebounding dominance

• NC State, Syracuse, Wake Forest — All capable of punishing mistakes

• Miami (twice) — Top-tier offense, elite ball movement

• SMU (twice) — One of the ACC’s highest-scoring teams

• Virginia — Efficiency, discipline, and perimeter shooting

• West Coast newcomers: Cal & Stanford both visit Tallahassee in late January

📈 What Will Decide FSU’s Ceiling

• Defense travels: FSU leads the ACC in steals and offensive rebounding

• Home court matters: Donald L. Tucker Center remains the stabilizer

• Shot-making variance: Can FSU survive cold stretches against elite defenses?

• Turnover margin: One of the few statistical edges the Seminoles consistently own

🔍 Circle These Stretches

• UNC → Duke to open ACC play (tone-setter week)

• Mid-January run (Syracuse → Wake → Miami)

• Late February road swing (@ Clemson, @ Georgia Tech, @ Pitt)

👉 Why It Matters:
There are no “ease-in” games in this ACC. For the Florida State Seminoles, the path forward isn’t about surviving the league — it’s about leveraging defense, pace, and home court to steal wins early and avoid digging a hole that’s impossible to climb out of by March.

Read more here

🏈 No GM, No Buffer, No Time: FSU’s Portal Clock Is Ticking 🏈

With the transfer portal days away from opening, Florida State is operating without one of the most important pieces it said it would have in place by now: a general manager.

🧩 The Missing Piece

• FSU still has no announced GM, despite signaling structural changes after a 7–17 record over the last two seasons

• The previous GM is gone. The role exists. The portal is imminent.

• And yet — silence

⏰ Why the Timing Matters

• No bowl game = no extra practice runway

• Coaching carousel passed with minimal movement

• Portal window opens Jan. 2 with roster-defining decisions required immediately

• Right now, Mike Norvell is still the de facto GM, whether that’s ideal or not

📉 Context That Makes It Worse

• Four losing seasons in six years

• Only two bowl appearances after a 36-year streak

• December brought departures, uncertainty, and very little momentum

🌤️ Why There’s Still (Some) Hope

• FSU lost one true impact player so far: Ja’Bril Rawls

• Most departures are replaceable with competent portal additions

• The 2025 roster was clearly better than 2024, even if the record didn’t show it

• The trio of Norvell, Gus Malzahn, and Tony White proved they can identify talent quickly

🔍 What Actually Determines Optimism

• The quarterback — nothing else matters until that’s solved

• The GM hire — clarity, authority, and a real plan

• Whether FSU builds on last year’s portal progress instead of resetting again

🎁 Portal Claus Is Coming

• The portal creates chaos — but also opportunity

• Rosters flip faster than ever

• FSU can improve quickly… if it executes

👉 Why It Matters:
Florida State doesn’t need promises or press releases right now. It needs decisions, direction, and above all, a quarterback. If a GM and a QB arrive early in January, the tone changes fast. If not, hope turns into another long offseason of waiting.

Portal Claus arrives January 2. One of the presents has to be a quarterback.

🏈 The $8M QB Era: Fans Split Between “Buy One” and “I’m Out” 🏈

A message-board thread turned into a pretty honest snapshot of where FSU fans are mentally heading into portal season.

💰 The “$8 Million Dollar Man” Moment

• A post claimed Quinn Ewers could’ve landed a projected $8M NIL deal to stay/transfer instead of going 7th round — and used it as proof that this is the new reality.

• The takeaway: if the QB market is that inflated, FSU should spend ~$4M and “buy a good one” for 2026.

😤 The Backlash: NIL Fatigue + Trust Broken

• Multiple replies were some version of: “I’m done giving money until changes happen,” or “If this is what college football is now, I’m out.”

• The emotional core isn’t just the money — it’s confidence in leadership and direction.

🧠 The Middle Ground: Spend, But Build an Actual Plan

• Several posters weren’t anti-spending — they were anti-random spending.

• The recurring theme: hire a real GM, build a durable structure above the head coach, and stop relying on “lucky hits” in the portal.

🧱 The Real Debate: QB vs OL vs Everything Else

• One side: “All QB. If your QB is good, your team is good.”

• The other: “If the OL sucks, the QB sucks no matter who it is.”

• Others argued for tiers (QB/OT/DE at the top), or an NFL-style allocation split — basically fans trying to reverse-engineer a roster-building blueprint.

Read more here

And that’s a wrap!

Portal season is chaos by design.
It rewards programs that are decisive, aligned, and clear about who they are — and punishes everyone else.

Florida State doesn’t need perfection over the next two weeks.
But it does need:

• A quarterback

• A real plan

• And people empowered to execute it

If those pieces arrive early in January, optimism will follow fast.
If not, the noise only gets louder.

Portal Claus arrives January 2.
Let’s see what’s under the tree.

— Chief