If there's anyone who has benefited most from Alabama football legend Nick Saban retiring and subsequently creating a new 30-day transfer window for players, it's Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles.
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Alabama was already experiencing a mass exodus of transfers before the 72-year-old Crimson Tide coach retired. But now it appears Norvell is using Saban's departure for his own gain in Tallahassee.
Alabama linebacker Shawn Murphy is the most recent player to announce his transfer destination to FSU. Murphy, who committed to FSU on Monday, played sparingly in Tuscaloosa last season but was a top 70 recruit in the class of 2022.
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In addition to Murphy, Florida State has picked up commitments from the following Alabama transfers: running back Roydell Williams, offensive lineman Terrence Ferguson, wide receiver Malik Benson and cornerback Earl Little Jr. That makes five Alabama players to transfer to FSU so far.
Williams rushed for 560 yards and five touchdowns for the Tide last season. Ferguson was a former four-star recruit in 2021. Benson was the No. 1 junior college player in the 2021 cycle. Little was a four-star top 100 recruit in 2022.
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After coming off an undefeated season, winning an Atlantic Coast Conference championship and controversially being left out of the College Football Playoff, FSU has maybe more steam than any other team in the country entering next season — in spite of suffering the worst loss in school history in the Orange Bowl against Georgia.
With quarterback Jordan Travis saying goodbye to Tallahassee, Norvell will have former Clemson and Oklahoma State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei under center in 2024. And despite losing top talents such as running back Trey Benson, receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, and defensive end Jared Verse to the NFL Draft, FSU is clearly addressing the losses in the transfer portal.
As of today, Florida State is ranked fourth in On3's team transfer portal rankings, behind Louisville, Colorado and Ole Miss.
Norvell himself also benefited big time from the Saban news. In response to Alabama's search to replace Saban and potential interest in bringing Norvell to Tuscaloosa, Florida State rewarded its coach with a massive, eight-year contract extension that will reportedly pay him more than $10 million per year. That would easily place him among the top 5 highest-paid college football coaches.
Only time will tell how both Alabama and Florida State fare following Saban's exit and the hiring of former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer. But right now, it appears the 'Noles have the edge.
