It’s been a rough couple of years for Gator fans as the Billy Napier Era crashed in a fireball explosion that the Artemis II would have been able to see during their mission, but it pales in comparison to what is happening down the road in Tallahassee. The Gators have knocked off FSU two years in a row, and the Seminoles seemingly don’t have an exit strategy to get off the Mike Norvell Experience.
This weekend’s NFL Draft served as a reminder that no matter how bad things have felt in Gainesville, it could always be worse.
Florida has more kickers drafted than FSU has total players
Florida had a solid weekend with seven players getting picked up in the NFL Draft. That was the 10th most of any program, and when Trey Smack and Tommy Doman were selected in the 6th and 7th rounds, respectively, it capped off the first time Florida had a player selected in each round.
FSU, meanwhile, had one single player selected. Darrell Jackson Jr. was taken in the 4th round by the Jets.
If you are keeping score at home, Florida had more kickers taken than FSU had total players.
And this isn’t a one-off bad year for FSU. Going back the last five years, FSU has had 15 total players drafted, which is tied for 29th among programs. It’s even worse when one considers that ten of those were taken in the 2024 draft after FSU threw a pity party for itself.
Which means Florida had more players drafted after a 4-8 season than Norvell and FSU had across the 2022, 2023, 2025, and 2026 drafts combined.
And Norvell is going to turn this ship around when exactly?
The problem for FSU is that their 2023 season, which ended with no playoffs, resulted in a massive extension for Norvell that came with instant buyer's remorse. And since FSU is broke, they have no way to get themselves out of the cycle they find themselves in.
Good luck, FSU. May the odds forever be in your favor.
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