EJ Manuel believes a better quarterback would fix Florida State's issues

Florida State’s quarterback play in 2024 has been poor, no matter who has been in the lineup. But at least one analyst and former Seminole quarterback thinks a plus player under center is really the lone thing missing for his alma mater.

Speaking on “The College GameDay Podcast,” former Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel made his case that the difference between the current 1-9 iteration of the Seminoles and a more functional football team might just be a good quarterback. And in his mind, it’s because that player can help cover up shortcomings elsewhere on offense.

“Because if you insert a Cam Ward, if you insert even a Kurtis Rourke, you know what I mean? Who is at Indiana. If you insert Dillon Gabriel, you then have an eraser,” Manuel said. “And what I mean by an eraser, he can cover up some of the inequities that your team might have around him. He can cover up a left guard that gives up an easy sack, he can make a play and then find a guy to get open. You just didn’t see that from DJU or even these two other young quarterbacks. Again, the young quarterbacks, you get because they’re inexperienced.”

As a whole, the three quarterbacks that have played for Florida State this season have collectively put together the following stat line: 48.7% completion rate, 1784 yards and an 8:13 TD:INT ratio. More advanced stats, like Expected Points Added (EPA) per dropback, also paint a troubling picture, as the Seminoles have posted -.091 EPA/dropback in 2024 — that means each time the Seminoles drop back to pass, those players are effectively costing a tenth of a point off the final score. Across 304 passes on the season, that’s already nearly 28 points in negative EPA on designed passing plays.

While it’s hard to gauge how much any quarterback would be hampered by the offensive line troubles for Florida State, Manuel’s broader point that the quarterbacks the Seminoles do have weren’t up to the task of making things happen when plays go wrong holds up.

And with the program taking on water this season, head coach Mike Norvell made big staff moves, firing both his coordinators and the wide receivers coach, Ron Dugans.

Manuel understands that’s part of how the profession works, but isn’t sold it’s a fix.

“Ultimately, I was a little bit shocked by the firing of the coordinators and Ron Dugans, the receivers coach, but maybe that’s more of a recruiting thing as well and also, was that out of Coach Norvell’s hands? Was there somebody from above saying, ‘Hey, you need to make a change. What is it?’ Because you’re trying to figure out, ‘Well what’s the reason why they’re so bad this year.’ I go back to players, because ultimately coaches guide and all that, but the players are the one that go out there and win you football games, make throws, make stops on defense and they haven’t done that consistently, not nearly consistently enough to this season where they’re 1-9 which is, it sounds crazy saying that out of my mouth.”

And if Manuel is right that the Seminoles are a quarterback away from being back to national contender status, he joked that they better be ready to pay the going rate on the NIL market.

“It’s going to take a million dollars in NIL to get a good quarterback,” Manuel said. “In all seriousness, I think it starts at the quarterback position and I’m joking about the money and all that kind of stuff, I don’t know that.

Host Rece Davis interjected with a keen reminder.

“Yeah, you’re too low,” Davis said of what it might cost Florida State to bring in a top-flight quarterback, most likely a transfer.