In less than three weeks, Florida State football will start spring practices as the Seminole take the field with a different look than last fall.
With quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, tight end Jaheim Bell, and wide receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson gone, FSU’s offense will have an almost completely different starting lineup on Aug. 24 in Ireland when it faces Georgia Tech.
Here are the top offensive players to keep an eye out for at spring practices.
Uiagalelei is likely the player all FSU fans are looking forward to watching this spring.
Following Travis’ footsteps into the starting quarterback slot, Uiagalelei is coming off a dynamic season with Oregon State.
He threw for 2,638 yards, with a completion rate of 57.1% (180-of-315) for 21 touchdowns. Uiagalelei also rushed for 219 yards on 68 carries for six touchdowns and helped Oregon State to back-to-back eight plus-win seasons.
He’s also no stranger to Tallahassee as Uiagalelei has played FSU before and won while he was at Clemson.
He threw for 189 yards and one touchdown in a 30-20 win over FSU on Oct. 30, 2021, in Death Valley. The next year, Uiagalelei threw for 203 yards, three touchdowns, and rushed for one in a 34-28 win at Doak Campbell.
Bringing in a highly-ranked quarterback like Uiagalelei allows FSU to pick up where it left off last season. It’ll be interesting how the identity of the offense forms around a new quarterback and what that’ll look like.
There was a big hole at running back left after Benson declared for the NFL Draft.
He was the beating heart of FSU’s rushing game, recording 905 yards on the ground for 14 touchdowns and averaging 70 yards rushing a game.
While the Seminoles returned Lawrance Toafili (463 yards rushing) and Caziah Holmes (185 yards rushing), they were still in need of a top-tier running back.
Pulling Williams out of the transfer portal from Alabama was huge for the Seminoles, giving him a chance to fill out that top running back spot.
Last season for the Crimson Tide he rushed for 560 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 40 yards a game.
He’s been building over the past four seasons, giving him the chance this fall to break out and become a top-tier running back similar to Benson.
Kyle Morlock, Redshirt senior, Tight end
After an impressive showing in fall camp, Morlock showed that he was the clear option to start alongside Bell at tight end.
With Markeston Douglas and Preston Daniel playing behind Morlock and Bell, the tight end room became one of the most consistently successful rooms from the Seminoles.
However, with Bell leaving for the draft, and Douglas (Arizona State) and Daniel (Buffalo and then Miami Ohio) transferring out, Morlock is the lone tight end with consistent playing experience left from last season.
Morlock was a consistent contributor, specifically early on, recording 255 yards receiving.
He played an important role when the offense would struggle to get going in games or if the Seminoles were missing key starters.
Morlock is one of only a few returning, experienced starters on offense. His development in the spring season will be huge as he steps into a larger role this fall.
Brock Glenn, Sophomore, Quarterback
This is likely not the situation Glenn thought he’d be in going into his sophomore year.
Last fall, the true freshman started in the ACC Championship after Travis suffered a season-ending left leg injury and backup Tate Rodemaker underwent concussion protocol.
Glenn then started in the Orange Bowl after Rodemaker suddenly transferred out of the program on Christmas Day.
He finished his first college season with 229 yards passing for a 37.3%(19-of-51) completion rate, 22 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground.
While it’s almost certain that Uiagalelei will start, Glenn is the clear backup. He’s gained a ton of unexpected experience, allowing him to settle into a backup role this season and maybe a starting role in 2025.
FSU leaned very heavily on Travis last season, not really seeing the rest of the quarterback room unless it was a blowout or when Travis was injured.
We could see this spring how much of a role Glenn will play and how heavily FSU will lean on its starter.
FSU’s receiving corps is going to have the biggest change this fall.
With Coleman and Wilson gone, two new players are going to be taking over full-time starting roles at what has been the Seminoles’ strength on offense over the past few seasons.
Benson is one of those players that can take over one of the starting roles left at wideout. In his first season at Alabama, he recorded 162 yards receiving on 13 receptions and a touchdown.
It may not seem like a crazy impressive stat line, but Benson was the No. 1 JuCo prospect out of the Class of 2023. He recorded 43 receptions for 1,229 yards and 11 touchdowns in 11 games during his time at Hutchinson Community College in Lansing, Kansas.
With the right quarterback and players around him, he can be molded into an elite receiver and may catch a handful of teams on FSU’s schedule off-guard.
Spring practices will allow us to see what kind of player he could become and where he fits into this offense.
Kentron Poitier, Redshirt senior, Wide receiver
This needs to be a big year for Poitier. There’s a lot of pressure on him as one of the likely starters at wide receiver.
He had an impressive spring showcase in 2023, but missed the early part of the season due to an injury and never really got going once he returned.
In 11 games, he recorded 136 yards receiving on six receptions and no touchdowns. It did look like he scored his first touchdown of the year against Wake Forest on Oct. 28, but it was called back due to a holding penalty on FSU.
It can be argued that his opportunities were limited by the injury and how much of a lock Coleman and Wilson were, but even then, Poitier was the first option at outside wide receiver off the bench.
Reiterating FSU’s lack of returning starters on offense, Poitier needs to advance his game if he wants to be a consistent and dependable starter this season.
He can be an impact player but will need to fully embrace that leading role this season. Spring season will show where he’s at and how he’ll gel with Uiagalelei now in the backfield.
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.