Breaking down how Florida State avoids massive transfer portal numbers

Florida State burst back onto the national scene in a major way in 2023 with an undefeated regular season and an ACC title, and the Seminoles did it after constructing the roster in a unique way.

Coach Mike Norvell used a handful of high-impact transfers to help supplement an already quality roster built through development.

But perhaps what’s most impressive about the way Norvell has built things is that it appears highly sustainable. The ‘Noles just aren’t losing some of the top-notch players other programs are to the transfer portal.

“There’s probably been a couple maybe of those, and none of the high-profile guys,” Warchant.com’s Ira Schoffel said on the Andy Staples On3 show. “I think they have a really good, healthy relationship between the football staff, football program and The Battle’s End, their collective.”

Nothing about Florida State’s rise was particularly flashy, either. The Seminoles quietly went from three wins, to five wins, to 10 wins, to 13 wins.

Just steady upward progress.

That’s partly by design, too. Florida State never rushed headlong into the NIL era without a real plan.

“I think where they benefited was they weren’t the first on the scene,” Schoffel said. “A lot of the schools and a lot of the collectives that were first to the market and really went hot and heavy just trying to sign whoever they could sign, make big signings and all that stuff, a lot of times they didn’t know what the lay of the land was going to be or how it was all going to work out, how the NCAA was going to view all this.

“I think they benefited by not being the first in because they didn’t make some of the mistakes that other people did. So when they really got active, they realized that, ‘OK, retention is a different ballgame.’ The NCAA is not coming after schools for retaining their own players and finding NIL opportunities for them. It’s moreso if it’s seen as an inducement or things like that.”

That strategy allowed Florida State to build a base of homegrown talent before adding to it via transfer portal stars like Keon Coleman and Jared Verse.

Whatever the Seminoles are doing, it’s clearly working.

“They’ve done a really good job. I think The Battle’s End has done a really good job; and I think that whole marketplace has evolved to where now you have these collectives that all communicate now, so they know what the market is for certain players, certain positions,” Schoffel said. “So Florida State hasn’t made the mistake of ruining their whole NIL structure by going out and trying to land some huge marquee player. It’s been more about keeping the guys that they have, and they’ve been able to do that.”