Entering the 2026 season, Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell is firmly on the hot seat. This comes after missing out on a bowl game in each of the last two seasons.
A key issue that the Seminoles have recently run into is the quarterback situation. Since Jordan Travis suffered his career-ending injury at the end of the 2023 season, Florida State has gone 8-19 overall and failed to find a consistent starting quarterback. This Spring, the Florida State quarterback battle appears to be coming down to Ashton Daniels and Kevin Sperry.
Ashton Daniels is a veteran of college football. He had previously played for the Stanford Cardinal and the Auburn Tigers, but this will be his first season with the Seminoles. Last season, with Auburn, he only played in four games and took a redshirt. In that time, he threw for 797 yards and 3 touchdowns to 2 interceptions.
Meanwhile, Kevin Sperry is a redshirt freshman who spent the 2025 season with Florida State. In his limited playing time a season ago, he completed 70.6% of his passes for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Mike Norvell on the Current Florida State Seminoles Quarterback Battle
GettyFlorida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell
It’s still early in the quarterback battle at Florida State, but Mike Norvell has already had the chance to start getting a close look at his team. That included at a recent scrimmage when both quarterbacks had the chance to show what they could do.
“I think there was good and bad,” Norvell said. “I got to go back and watch. I think each quarterback had a couple of decisions that they have to learn from. They’ve got to be better from. There were some good plays, some explosive plays that did show up later, guys pushed the ball down the field. There were also some situations where it didn’t really matter who was playing quarterback, we’ve got to be better in surrounding the quarterback to help put them in a better situation.”
Despite the mixed results, Norvell did see plenty he liked from both quarterbacks. There was plenty to take away, particularly as they both continue to learn the offense.
“I think when you look at the course of these first nine days leading into the day, I think we do have a very competitive room. We’ve got some talented guys that are in there. Kevin, he’s continuing to grow and he’s driving the ball with more and more confidence in where it needs to go, what it needs to look like. You know, Ashton, has come in and done a great job in learning the offense,” Norvell said.
“And there’s still some of the finer details of things that we can and that he can grow from. But, he’s done really well for the bulk of this spring ball. And I mean, I am pleased with his progression and where that’s at.”
Mike Norvell on the Timeline to Make a Decision
GettyFlorida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell
Mike Norvell doesn’t feel pressure to make a decision on Florida State’s starting quarterback right away. So, there’s a good chance that the quarterback battle goes into Fall Camp up ahead of the start of the 2026 season.
“We’ll see where those things stack up with the 15 practices of work,” Norvell said. “And then if we’re ready to make a decision there, we’ll be willing to. If it’s something that’s going to stretch into fall camp, that’s something we’ll evaluate as we continue to get closer.”
Florida State will open the 2026 season at home on August 29th. There, the Seminoles are set to host the New Mexico State Aggies. If there is still some doubt about the starting quarterback, then Norvell will need to make that decision quickly at that point, with ACC play beginning a week later against the SMU Mustangs.
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