2025 State-wide Spring College Football Primer
Will there be a QB derby?
While every coach from Marianna to Miami will insist that competition will abound in their respective quarterback room, we can reasonably project at least four opening day starters among the state’s five most prominent programs.
Sophomore DJ Lagway is entrenched at Florida, and Boston College transfer Thomas Castellanos — a dual threat ideally suited for FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s run-centric system — is the solid favorite in Tallahassee. Miami brought in Georgia 7,900-yard passer Carson Beck, and after an injury-besieged 2024 season USF’s Byrum Brown is back for his fourth season in Tampa.
Beck, who underwent right-elbow surgery in December, is expected to have limited participation in UM’s spring practice. USF confirmed Monday that Brown is ready to roll.
If a true quarterback derby exists, it might be at UCF, where Scott Frost signed Indiana transfer Tayven Jackson — a former consensus four-star recruit who started his career at Tennessee — but has made it clear he’ll hold a competition for the job. Third-year sophomore Dylan Rizk, who ended 2024 as the Knights starter, is still around.
“Obviously, I was a fan of (Jackson’s) going back to when we recruited him out of high school,” Frost told reporters in February, “and he’s going to have a really good opportunity just like everybody else here to show what he can do and try to earn his job and earn a spot.”
Position groups to watch
Florida Receivers
The Gators’ top two pass-catchers from 2024 — Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike — now are pursuing NFL employment, and third-leading receiver Tre Wilson had both knee and hip surgeries last year.
But Billy Napier brought in a bumper recruiting crop to replenish the unit, led by elite Tampa Bay Tech prospect Dallas Wilson and fellow four-star recruit Vernell Brown III. Six-foot-4 UCLA transfer J. Michael Sturdivant also is on board, and all attention will be affixed on what kind of clairvoyance this group develops with Lagway in March and April.
USF Running Backs
The Bulls lost their top three rushers from last season (Kelley Joiner, Nay’Quan Wright, Ta’Ron Keith), who teamed for more than 1,700 yards. While Brown remains the primary rushing threat when healthy, he’ll need some complementary pieces. Watch for Charlotte transfer Cartevious Norton, who logged two modest seasons at Iowa State before leading the 49ers with 525 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024.
Norton should log a bulk of the first-team reps in spring practice. Touted incoming prep signees Chase Garnett and Tray Kinkle aren’t yet on campus.
FSU Receivers
One of the Seminoles’ most beleaguered units in 2024 needed — and got — an offseason overhaul. Six-foot-6 USC transfer Duce Robinson (39 receptions over last two seasons) and fleet, 5-10 Tennessee transfer Squirrel White (131 catches, six TDs in three seasons) should provide an immediate jolt — if they can develop chemistry with Castellanos.
Four-star Cocoa High receiver Jayvan Boggs, among three prep wideouts signed this past winter, also is already on campus.
“I feel like, if you get the ball in my hands I’m able to do anything with it,” White told reporters in Tallahassee recently. “So I feel like that’s something I can showcase in this offense, and I will showcase this and that’s pretty much it.”
Any UCF Position
Frost, whose first go-round at UCF ended with an undefeated season in 2017, encountered a radically new collegiate landscape and a barren roster upon returning to Orlando last December.
As a result, he added more than two dozen transfers. Question marks abound for the Knights, who likely won’t experience the same surreal turnaround as the initial tenure of Frost, who inherited a winless team and had it hanging mythical national title banners two seasons later.
“I’m not looking for an immediate turnaround at the expense of long-term success,” Frost said upon his hiring in early December. “So we’re going to make the right decisions to make sure we get the right people and the right kids, and charge on after that.”
New assistants to watch
Kodi Burns, USF (receivers)
National title winner at Auburn worked with Alex Golesh at Tennessee
Corey Hetherman, Miami (defensive coordinator)
His 2024 Minnesota unit ranked fifth nationally in total defense
Gus Malzahn, FSU (offensive coordinator)
Former Auburn, UCF coach can focus on, well, coaching
McKenzie Milton, UCF (QBs)
Knights legend rejoins Scott Frost in Orlando
Steve Spurrier Jr., UF (analyst)
Veteran college assistant embarks on his second stint at UF
Tony White, FSU (defensive coordinator)
Has produced top 25 unit each of the last four years, at two different schools
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