Florida State football opens spring practice this week with all eyes on the quarterbacks.
The Seminoles must replace record-setting Jordan Travis, who helped return the program to national prominence behind his talent, charisma and leadership.
FSU coach Mike Norvell identified his top targets in the transfer portal, signing veteran DJ Uiagalelei from Oregon State.
Uiagalelei is the front-runner to win the starter’s job, while Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek are expected to compete for the backup role.
The Seminoles lost Tate Rodemaker (Southern Miss) and AJ Duffy (San Diego State) to the transfer portal.
Can Uiagalelei pick up where Travis left off?
Uiagalelei and Washington State’s Cam Ward were FSU’s two major quarterback targets in the transfer portal this offseason.
The program was very public about the effort to bring the two in for visits which eventually led the Rodemaker’s transfer out of FSU to Southern Miss.
The Seminoles eventually landed on Uiagalelei on New Year’s Day.
He completed 180 of 315 passes (57%) for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading the Beavers to an 8-5 record. They lost 40-8 to Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl.
Uiagalelei also has a 2-0 record against FSU when he was at Clemson for three seasons from 2020 to 2022.
The biggest concern is his completion rate, which has hung around high 50% and low 60%.
The targets Uiagalelei will be throwing to this season will be interesting as the Seminoles no longer have their power duo of Jonnny Wilson and Keon Coleman at wide receiver.
Senior Ketron Poitier and Alabama transfer Malik Benson are the two likely players to start at the wideout positions and it will be an adjustment for those three to play together.
All of them were on different teams last season.
Uiagalelei fills that gap of a veteran presence in the backfield, and multiple quarterbacks have talked about how they’ve enjoyed his leadership.
However, Uiagalelei’s passing efficiency is going to be huge if the Seminoles offense wants to keep chugging along the same tracks from last season.
More consistency for Glenn this fall
It’s safe to say that Glenn’s freshman season was nowhere near what he had suspected.
After the Travis injury, he was immediately moved up into the backup position and was there for one game. He started in the ACC Championship after Rodemaker suffered a concussion and was still undergoing protocol.
It was planned that Rodemaker was going to start in the Orange Bowl, but he’d unexpectedly enter the transfer portal on Christmas Day, leading the Seminoles to call up Glenn again to start in another big game.
He performed as most true-freshman would in the situations he was put into. He threw for 229 yards (19-of-51 passing) and two interceptions and rushed for one touchdown.
Glenn was thrown into the fire, but that could benefit himself and give the quarterback room more depth than it had last season.
At Tour of Duty, it was clear that Glenn had grown into his frame and put on a lot more muscle. He doesn’t look like a freshman anymore, but a college quarterback.
If everyone stays healthy, this could be a huge year for Glenn in really embracing the backup role, learning directly under a veteran quarterback like Uiagalelei and being more than ready to step into a starting role in 2025.
Kromenhoek likely settles into third-string role
Kromenhoek will likely be in the same position as Glenn last season as the third string.
He was a 4-star prospect out of Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, passing for 3,136 yards and 31 touchdowns his senior season.
Kromenhoek flew under the radar for a bit before making it to the finals of the Elite 11 quarterback competition. It was then that his recruitment exploded, ranked as the No. 3 quarterback by 247Sports in the Class of 2024.
He’s a young quarterback with a ton of potential, standing at 6-foot-4 inches and 210 pounds, but similar to Glenn last season will still need to adjust to the college game and pace.
Kromenhoek will likely get playing time in games against Charleston Southern and others where FSU is heavily favored or up by a lot.
Unless there are a ton of injuries and transfers like there was last season, we won’t see much of Dylan McNamara, Michael Grant and Trever Jackson.
Jackson was a late walk-on addition to the quarterback room.
McNamara was the closest to getting playing time last season, suiting up as a backup in the Orange Bowl.
FSU football spring practice schedule
March 19
March 21
March 23
March 26
March 28 (scrimmage)
March 26
March 28 (scrimmage)
April 2
April 4
April 6
April 9
April 11
April 12
April 16
April 18
April 20 (Spring Showcase)
April 21
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How DJ Uiagalelei, FSU football QB are picking up where Jordan Travis left off
