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🏹 Welcome to The Chief Brief! 🏹

🏆 This Week in Garnet & Gold 🏆

🏈 Statement Saturday: Florida State stunned No. 8 Alabama 31–17 in a cathartic opener at Doak — physical in the trenches, explosive on offense, and suffocating on defense.

📋 Depth & Identity: Norvell’s first two-deep featured eight true freshmen and a slew of transfers; by Saturday the OL played all 63 snaps together and the defense rolled 25 contributors.

🔁 Recruiting Pop: 2026 WR Jonah Winston committed at Doak; 2028 WR Lamar Garrison pledged the next day; 2027 five-star QB Kavian Bryant and No. 1 EDGE DJ Jacobs raved about the atmosphere; Bama commit “Chicken” Garror says his recruitment is open.

🏐/⚽ Early Returns: Volleyball swept UIC and UNF to start 2-0; Women’s Soccer drew 1–1 at Kansas, extending the non-conference unbeaten streak to 30.

⛳ Golf Kudos: Tyler Weaver made the Haskins Award watch list; Women’s Golf opened No. 18 in Golfweek’s preseason poll.

🏟️ The Doak Experience: Season tickets surged past 30,900, “Game Day Live” debuted, and the building felt brand-new — because it basically is.

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🏈 Game of the Year (So Far): FSU 31, Alabama 17

How it unraveled: After the Tide’s 16-play TD to open, Tommy Castellanos answered with a 75-yard march capped by a rushing score. He later hit Squirrel White for 40 and Jaylin Lucas on a 64-yard shot that set up Caziah Holmes. Micahi Danzy ripped a 32-yard TD and Gavin Sawchuk iced it late. Final line: Castellanos 9-of-14 for 152 with 78 rush yards, 2 TD; the offense hung 230 rushing yards on an SEC front.

Why it traveled: Tony White’s 3-3-5 rattled first-time starter Ty Simpson, holding Bama to 10 points after its opening drive and forcing a night of hurry-ups and check-downs. Florida State controlled negative plays (7 TFL, 3 sacks) and avoided self-inflicted wounds.

The mood: “Welcome back to Doak.” Norvell called it “one game,” but the tape screamed identity: edge, execution, and explosives.

🧮 The Numbers That Tell the Story

• 29 total defensive pressures — FSU’s most since the 2023 ACC title game.

• 25 defenders played; 23 had double-digit snaps. Five OL started and played all 63. That is culture + depth.

• Offense scored on 5 of 8 meaningful drives, averaged 6.1 YPP, and finished 2-for-2 on fourth down.

🧭 From Paper to Product: The Two-Deep → Week 1

Depth chart reveals (Aug 26):

• QB1: Castellanos locked; Brock Glenn/Kevin Sperry behind.

• WR: Duce Robinson, Squirrel White, plus true-freshman Jayvan Boggs listed as a starter — first true-freshman Week-1 WR starter since 2019.

• S: Ashlynd Barker earned boundary safety; Shyheim Brown opened as second team.

• Injuries: Lawayne McCoy (WR) and Kevin Wynn (DT) out for Bama; Squirrel cleared.

What held on Saturday: OL cohesion was the headline (wire-to-wire five), while Barker/Little/Joseph/Wilson carried a heavy load on the back end. RB usage was by committee with Roydell Williams, Sawchuk, Lucas, Kromah all involved.

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🔁 Recruiting — Doak Effects, Immediately

• COMMITTED: Jonah Winston (’26 WR) — the younger brother of Jameis — pulled the trigger before kickoff; slotted primarily as a slot but movable piece.

• COMMITTED: Lamar Garrison (’28 WR) — Florida playmaker pledged on Sunday: “Ain’t nothing better than be(ing) a Seminole.”

• VISITED (and impressed): Kavian Bryant (’27, 5⭐ QB) — called the atmosphere “great,” said Malzahn’s offense “felt right,” and put FSU in his top five.

• EYES OPEN: DJ “David” Jacobs (’27, No. 1 EDGE) called FSU’s D “on it,” likely to return; Jabarrius “Chicken” Garror (’27 EDGE, Bama commit): “Recruitment is open… FSU feels like a second home.”

Bottom line: The upset doubled as a 48-hour recruiting commercial for 2026–28 — exactly what you want with a portal-heavy reboot.

🏐/⚽/🏃‍♂️ Around the Programs

Volleyball (2–0): Swept UIC behind Iane Henke’s 7 aces (t-4th all-time at FSU), then swept UNF as Henke hammered 17 more kills. Serving pressure and early chemistry popped.

Women’s Soccer (2-0-1): A 1–1 road draw at Kansas extended the regular-season non-conference unbeaten streak to 30 (27-0-4 since 2019). Jordynn Dudley opened her 2025 account in the 13′.

Cross Country: Women 2nd (Nicole Dinan 5th; frosh Margaret Bartlow 6th PB), men 4th at the Florida Intercollegiate — early depth and new faces checked boxes.

Golf: Tyler Weaver → Haskins Watch List; Women’s Golf → No. 18 preseason after last spring’s NCAA Finals run.

🏟️ The Doak Factor

• Season tickets: 30,900 sold (up from 28,735 in 2024), +$8M revenue YoY; Game Day Live launched across FSU platforms. Renovation + results = momentum.

• Cosmetic touches: Garnet end zones restored earlier in the week. It looked and sounded like home.

🧪 Coaches’ Corner — What Malzahn & White Saw

Gus Malzahn: Praised physicality and QB1 poise; emphasized biggest jumps happen from Week 1 → Week 2. The run game’s multiplicity (IZ + QB + gadgets) is the north star.

Tony White: Loved the aggression but went straight to corrections — “reflection day” mentality. Spotlighted Blake Nichelson, the Desir twins, and Daniel Lyons as risers; underscored the value of the two-deep rotation.

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🧱 Ten Who Tilted the Field (Bama edition)

• Tommy Castellanos — Controlled the night, extended plays, finished drives.

• Squirrel White — Vertical stress + chain-moving routes.

• Jaylin Lucas — The 64-yard explosive that flipped the script.

• Gavin Sawchuk — Closer’s TD, contact balance late.

• Micahi Danzy — Track jet turned house call.

• Randy Pittman Jr. — Nearly every-down TE; physical edge in run game.

• Darrell Jackson Jr. — Anchor who set the tone up front.

• Daniel Lyons — Sack + havoc; breakout tape.

• Earl Little Jr. — Snapped every down, brought a thud from Rover.

• Jerry (Jeremiah) Wilson — Steady CB1, 63 snaps with no flinch.

💼 Program Moves — NIL & Admin

The Battle’s End became FSU’s official NIL collective (absorbing Rising Spear); Jordan Travis signed on as a brand ambassador — a clean, unified NIL spine as the season starts.

🌟 Player of the Week — Tommy Castellanos 🌟

Why: QB1 walked into a national moment, protected the football, landed explosives, and leveraged legs without panic. The box score was efficient; the body language said leader.

📅 On-Deck (Sept 2 – 9, ET)

✍️ Sign-Off

That’s the wrap, Chief: the crowd was thunder, the lines were mean, the scheme was slick, and the recruits took notes. One game doesn’t crown a season, but it can change a program’s temperature — and Doak just raised it.

Stay locked, stay loud, and — as always — Go Noles!
— The Chief