Best of the Best: Ranking Mike Norvell's Top 10 players of Transfer Portal era

While college football players have long been able to change schools during their college careers, the NCAA Transfer Portal truly kicked into high gear once players were given the right in 2021 to play immediately at their new programs.

And since that rule was passed, Florida State coach Mike Norvell has made a strong case for being the “king of the transfer portal.” He and his staff have not only beat out other programs for high-profile transfers, but they have developed several lesser-heralded players into big-time stars.

After three full seasons of the Transfer Portal Era and with FSU winning 13 games in 2023, we thought this would be a good time to select the Top 10 transfers who have made the biggest impact for Norvell’s program during that time.

NOTE: This list does not include the players who transferred in to Florida State during Norvell’s first year in Tallahassee, because the one-time transfer rule had not yet gone into effect. These are players who arrived in 2021 through 2023.

FSU Transfer Portal Era Top 10

10 — DE Keir Thomas 

This is a guy who doesn’t get talked about enough when discussing Mike Norvell’s tenure. Thomas transferred to Florida State from South Carolina after playing five years with the Gamecocks (2016-2020). In those five seasons with South Carolina, Thomas registered 8.5 sacks. In his one year at FSU, he racked up 6.5.

The Miami native is underrated for a few reasons, with the first being he played for a Florida State team that, outside of beating Miami, many fans might wish to forget about. The second reason being, Florida State has had some seriously great pass-rushers in the last few years. However, Thomas helped set the stage for that success.

Not only did Thomas work with fellow DE transfer Jermaine Johnson to set an improved standard for the FSU defense in 2021, but he also was instrumental in the Seminoles landing Jared Verse out of the transfer portal after that season. Verse has said his conversations with Johnson and Thomas helped him choose FSU, and Thomas has made regular trips back to Tallahassee since moving on to the NFL, which has been helpful with luring other recruits and transfers.

9 — OL Dillan Gibbons 

A Clearwater product, Gibbons initially committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish out of high school in 2017. Then after spending four years there, he transferred back home to Florida State for the 2021 and ’22 seasons. If we had to pick a quote that symbolizes Gibbons, it would be former Seminole lineman John Brown’s verse from the legendary 1988 Seminole Rap: “We’re strong as bulls, eat steel for lunch. Work as a unit, a no-name bunch.” That’s what Gibbons really brought to the table for FSU — a tough, gritty mentality that laid a foundation for the trajectory of the OL room.

Gibbons came in and became an instant leader for an offensive line that had been in turmoil for years. He helped change the tone of the room by setting an example and building a culture, and he also brought a nastiness that was best seen with his punishing blocks when pulling on counter plays. Gibbons might not be the flashiest name on this list, but the impact he left on FSU’s offensive line unit, both on and off the field, is undeniable.

8 — DL Braden Fiske 

While he might not have played a game in pro football yet, Braden Fiske is already a pro’s pro. The Western Michigan transfer came to FSU with three real objectives in mind: To prove himself on the Power 5 level, to help elevate the Seminoles’ program and to improve his stock for the NFL. It is safe to say all three were accomplished in his one year with the ‘Noles.

When you watch Fiske’s tape, it’s pretty obvious why so many NFL scouts loved him and why he ended up being a second-round pick of the L.A. Rams. The athletic defensive tackle doesn’t boast great effort, he IS great effort. He’s a physical, disruptive pass-rushing interior lineman who also has no issues defending the run. Fiske was unleashed toward the end of the season and wreaked havoc on Louisville’s offense in the ACC Championship Game, racking up 3 sacks, 2 QB hurries and accounting for 8 defensive stops (per Pro Football Focus). Fiske will be missed at Florida State not only for his play but for his mentality.

7 — LB Tatum Bethune 

What is there not to love about a guy like Tatum Bethune? A 230-pound thumper of a linebacker who came to FSU with three years of college experience at UCF under his belt. Bethune held down the LB room during his two years at Florida State, and he was a guy who came in and played as advertised from Day One. He was productive on the field, and he was a leader in the locker room, winning the team’s Bobby Bowden Leadership Award while also claiming third-team All-ACC honors.

Bethune led Florida State in tackles in 2023 and ranked second by All-ACC first-teamer Jammie Robinson in 2022. The Miami product also delivered his best two games as a senior with bookend performances against LSU in the opener (season-high 9 tackles) and Louisville in the ACC title game (8 tackles, 1 INT). Like Gibbons’ impact on the offensive line, Bethune showed Florida State’s other linebackers how the position should be played.

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6 — DB Jammie Robinson 

Jammie Robinson was Mr. Versatility and Productivity for Florida State. During his final season in 2022, he played 252 snaps in the box, 167 at nickel and 352 as a free safety, according to PFF. The South Carolina transfer was the Seminoles’ top tackler in each of his two seasons and posted elite PFF tackling grades of 86.6 and 89.9 in 2021 and ’22.

No play better exemplifies what Robinson was at Florida State than his sack on Miami’s Jacurri Brown in 2022. The Hurricanes had the ball at the FSU 1-yard line, Robinson flew into the backfield, blew up the quarterback keeper and rag-dolled Brown like he was a child. It was a defining moment not only in that game, but for the rivalry in general. Robinson also was very good in coverage and anchored the turnaround of FSU’s defense under Adam Fuller.

5 — WR Keon Coleman 

In a lot of ways, Coleman was the offensive equivalent of Jermaine Johnson. He came to Florida State for just one season but was able to help elevate the entire program with his performance on the field and his professional approach to practice. The Michigan State transfer’s impact was immediate, as he racked up nine catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns in the 2023 opener against LSU. Coleman also made a tremendous impact on special teams as well, serving as FSU’s most effective punt returner since Greg Reid.

Unfortunately, Coleman sustained a minor injury in October and never really looked the same afterward. Despite the injury, he still finished with a team-high 11 touchdown receptions by the end of the season — the most for Florida State since 2013, when Kelvin Benjamin ended the year with 15.

4 — WR Johnny Wilson 

While he might have taken a backseat to Coleman at times during the 2023 season, Wilson gets the nod as the more important transfer because of his contributions over two seasons. And it’s the numbers Wilson put up, but the circumstances surrounding many of his biggest catches. When FSU needed it most over both of his seasons in the program, Wilson delivered.

Remember when Jordan Travis went down against Louisville in 2022? Florida State turned to a young Tate Rodemaker at quartback, and Rodemaker turned immediately to Wilson. The 6-7 wideout was targeted nine times and caught seven passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson also came through big that year against Florida and Oklahoma, and he delivered several other similar moments during his two years in Tallahassee.

3 — RB Trey Benson 

As a freshman at Oregon in 2020, Benson sustained a severe injury to his right knee, tearing his ACL, MCL, lateral meniscus, medial meniscus and hamstring (per reports). Because of the severity of Benson’s injury, many wondered whether he would ever live up to his four-star billing out of high school. And Norvell and his staff received plenty of skepticism about their decision to take him.

Those questions seem silly to even think about today. Benson blew all expectations out of the water, accounting for 2,128 scrimmage yards and 24 touchdowns in his two years in Tallahassee. While he might not have been in the same tier as all-time Seminole great Dalvin Cook, he certainly shared Cook’s affinity for dunking on FSU’s in-state rivals. In four games against Florida and Miami, Benson tallied 492 total yards and 10 touchdowns. And while serving as FSU’s top back for most of the past two years, Benson never lost a fumble.

2 — DE Jermaine Johnson 

One could make a case that Jermaine Johnson is Mike Norvell’s Greg Reid. Not because he would make an elite punt returner or cornerback, but because he provided that flash of excellence that really can inspire belief in a program. Reid was one of the first players of the Jimbo Fisher era that was electric on the field; he was an impact player who could change the tone of a game in one snap. From his many incredible returns to his devastating hit on Marcus Lattimore in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Reid felt like old-school Florida State Football.

Jermaine Johnson felt like old-school Florida State Football. He was a fast, violent playmaker who jumped off the screen in almost every game he played. Who can forget his strip-sack scoop and score at Clemson? Or his monster three-sack performance in a streak snapping win against Miami? Jermaine Johnson was the light at the end of the tumultuous, dark tunnel that Florida State, and its fans, had been stuck in since Fisher’s last year in Tallahassee. Even though he was only on campus for one season, Johnson played a major role in setting the tone for the Mike Norvell Era. And he set the stage for FSU to land other top transfers, including the player who checks in at No. 1 on this list.

1 — DE Jared Verse 

With productive pass-rushers Keir Thomas and Jermaine Johnson leaving after the 2021 season, the recruitment of Jared Verse arguably became the most important acquisition for Norvell thus far. Florida State’s defensive end room at the time was a young, inexperienced group that lost the vast majority of its production and leadership. Luckily for Florida State, the 6-4, 250-pound Verse happened to be available.

When Verse announced he was transferring from FCS program Albany, he was one of the hottest names in the Transfer Portal and likely could have gone almost anywhere he desired. He had offers from Florida, Texas, USC, Miami and many others. When Verse chose the Seminoles, it entrenched Florida State as a power in the portal era. And that view was cemented after Verse roared onto the scene with a monster performance in the Superdome against LSU in 2022. In just his second game with the Seminoles, Verse tallied two sacks, five hurries and garnered an elite PFF pass-rush grade of 88.9. And he never looked back after that.

Verse accumulated 18 sacks, 51 hurries and 29.5 tackles for loss in his two years in Tallahassee before joining Johnson as first-round picks in the NFL Draft. Verse’s body of work, as well as his impact and what his recruitment ended up meaning for the program, puts him a cut above the other transfer portal players of Norvell’s FSU tenure.

Greg Barry is a Florida State student intern with Warchant.

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