Herman, a 51-year-old with head coaching stops at Houston (22-4, 2015 AAC title), Texas (32-18, 2018 Sugar Bowl win) and FAU (6-16, fired in 2024), joins FSU in a support-staff role that hasn't been publicly defined. He previously served as Ohio State's offensive coordinator for the 2014 national title team and spent 2021 as a Chicago Bears offensive analyst.

Norvell has hired former head coaches into support roles before, including ex-Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett last season (since returned to Starkville) and current staffer Rick Stockstill. Herman is expected to assist on the offensive side as Norvell resumes play-calling.

Chopchat's Josh Yourish reads the hire differently. With fall camp already close and little practical upside to adding a coach this late, he thinks Herman's real value is as a ready-made interim head coach if Norvell is dismissed midseason, someone experienced enough to steady the program without the messiness of a booster-driven interim pick.

Norvell, Ashton Daniels, Duce Robinson and Ja'Bril Rawls take the podium at noon Wednesday for a 30-minute session, followed by 45 minutes in the breakout room. It's Daniels' first time in front of media since being named the starter, itself a sign of how insulated FSU's offseason has been.

Norvell enters at just 7-17 over two seasons and will be pressed on what's actually different about this year's roster building. League-wide topics like CFP expansion, the College Sports Commission's first year, and the stalled Protect College Sports Act will also dominate Commissioner Jim Phillips' opening session.

Tony White's defense enters Year 2 without a clear track record of second-year jumps at his past stops, and FSU's Preseason All-ACC hopes largely start and end with Robinson. It's a far cry from two years ago, when FSU arrived in Charlotte off an ACC Championship.

Georgia made a real late push, moving Poole up its board after a spring evaluation and hosting him for a June 19 official visit, but insiders say the Bulldogs would need to significantly raise their revenue-share offer to become the highest bidder, and there's no sign yet that they're willing to.

FSU is believed to have made the most aggressive financial push of the three finalists, while also selling Poole hard on early playing time. Tennessee, the longtime leader for much of the recruitment, has reportedly faded and may need to attempt a flip later in the cycle rather than fend one off.

Configure Claude to be the perfect assistant

Master AI-powered content creation

Transform complex data into actionable strategies

Harness Claude’s full potential

Linebacker (A) is quietly the best group in the class behind Olrick Johnson III, CJ Ohuabunwa and Jernard Albright, and defensive line (A-) is loaded behind Top247 four-star Sam LeJeune. Wide receiver (B+) also grades well after FSU beat out Alabama and Georgia for Majay Thompson.

Offensive line and cornerback both grade out at F, with zero commitments at either position after the Yarborough miss and three separate defensive back decommitments this cycle. Tight end (D) and quarterback (C-) round out the weaker groups, leaving the class at an overall C- and No. 59 nationally.

FSU allowed 69.1 percent of opponent kickoffs to go for touchbacks, ranked among the 12 worst nationally, managed just 11 punt returns all season, and placekicker Jake Weinberg missed five of his final nine attempts before transferring to Miami. Special teams coordinator John Papuchis left for Missouri, reportedly at a pay cut.

New Mexico transfer Daniel Hughes, a Ray Guy Award semifinalist who averaged 45.4 yards per punt in 2025, takes over punting duties, while redshirt senior Gabe Panikowski (a perfect 15-for-15 on field goals at the FCS level in 2024) and Conor McAneney compete at kicker. Jasen Lopez and Samuel Singleton Jr. headline the new-look return game.

Ja'Bril Rawls is the unquestioned CB1 and one of FSU's most expensive roster investments, while Duke transfer Ma'Khi Jones steps into a starting safety role that opened when Shyheim Brown left. Ashlynd Barker projects as the rover, filling the spot Earl Little Jr. held before transferring to Ohio State.

The newcomers are a mixed bag of bets: South Alabama's Nehemiah Chandler (First-Team All-Sun Belt) looks like an immediate contributor, while Illinois State's CJ Richard Jr. and Notre Dame transfer Karson Hobbs, who barely played for the Fighting Irish, are bigger question marks.

Webersink, a 6-foot-8, 290-pound three-star out of Oakdale, Connecticut's St. Thomas More School, ran a 4.9-second 40 and an 8-foot-10 broad jump at his size, numbers that stand out regardless of position. He's drawing interest from FSU, Penn State, Maryland, Wake Forest and West Virginia, with Penn State currently viewed as the leader.

Webersink specifically mentioned a positive conversation with Herb Hand after FSU extended its offer, a small but real data point for a staff that's struggled to close on linemen this cycle.

Northwestern transfer Nick Barron, a 6-foot-3 lefty-hitting first baseman, hit .295 with nine home runs, 17 doubles and a .516 slugging percentage as a true freshman this spring. He's the fourth position-player transfer of FSU's cycle, joining FAMU's Jackson McKenzie, JUCO catcher Coy Clements and Indiana's Cooper Malamazian.

The timing says a lot. Of FSU's returning position players, only Brody DeLamielleure posted a slugging percentage above .500 last season, and evaluators clearly think Bailey is gone for good: Cubs VP of scouting Dan Kantrovitz called his raw power some of the best on the scale in this class, while an Astros exec said ACC Pitcher of the Year Wes Mendes projects to move relatively quickly through the minors.

South Florida running back Terriel Harmon has gone from a handful of offers to more than 20 this year, and he names FSU among the schools reaching out most since June 15, along with Georgia Tech, Miami, Auburn and Duke. Colorado quarterback Luke Rubley, meanwhile, has an Oregon game-day visit locked in for October but says he for sure wants to get to Florida State as he builds out his own fall visit schedule.

FSU's newly released official roster shows some notable offseason swings: linebacker Chris Thomas added 18 pounds, freshman tackle Nikau Hepi is already listed at 379 pounds, and quarterback Jaden O'Neal added 11. On the other end, left tackle Xavier Chaplin trimmed down from 354 to 346 and Ja'Bril Rawls dropped to 178 pounds.

Darin Green Jr. torched the Grizzlies for 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including five made threes, in Dallas' win. Chauncey Wiggins added three points off the bench for Boston, while John Butler Jr. logged just 81 seconds for Milwaukee.