Examining the upside for Florida State transfers DJ Uiagalelei, Marvin Jones Jr.

Mike Norvell’s success at Florida State has gone hand in hand with some massive wins out of the transfer portal, and there’s optimism he may have hit a few more home runs in 2024.

On3’s Andy Staples and Cody Bellaire spent their Friday morning breaking down some of college football’s top transfers over on the On3 YouTube channel, and highlighted FSU’s latest haul of stars as part of their discussion.

“Another guy who has been masterful in the portal at digging his team out of a hole, building it up to an elite team, and now maybe keeping it an elite team — Mike Norvell at Florida State,” remarked Staples. “It’s a great mixture of what they brought in and what they already had.”

Bellaire was straight to the meat, diving into the DJ Uiagalelei addition and what he could or could not be under center for the Seminoles in 2024.

“If we start with DJU, this is the type of player that is a former five-star, arm talent, good athleticism, transferring. It sounds like Brock Vandagriff (Kentucky),” said Bellaire. “but it also sounds like Bo Nix. It’s the same exact deal. It’s a change of scenery.”

The change of scenery can be a massive change, especially for a quarterback, per Bellaire.

“What can this do for a quarterback? Sometimes, all these guys need is a new coach, a new team, a new belief system,” Bellaire said. “If you look at the draft last year, four of the top six quarterbacks were transfers. Who is to say DJU can’t be the next success story?”

The two also addressed the next transfer in line of many on the defensive line who may develop into — not just a great college player — but also a premium draft pick.

“Marvin Jones Jr. wearing Florida State colors just feels right,” Cody Bellaire added. “Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Jermaine Johnson, these are all players who transferred in and became top-50 NFL Draft picks. The Ceiling of what Marvin Jones Jr. could be is astronomically high.”

Bellaire says the tools are all there for Marvin Jones Jr., and he’s even put up some tape to match the hype, but 2024 will be about Mike Norvell bringing out the beast on a down-to-down basis.

“Pairing up his frame with his athletic ability, if Norvell and company are able to get him right and turn him into the type of player that we saw in the SEC Championship at Georgia — if they can unlock that guy to show up every game, they absolutely could have another first-round pick on that defensive front,” added Bellaire.

Once again, Florida State has a transfer QB and transfer DL as titular players on either side of the ball.