Mike Norvell feels FSU football QB's were 'solid' in first scrimmage

Both Ashton Daniels and Kevin Sperry made a handful of explosive plays in Florida State football’s scrimmage on Saturday, March 28, according to head coach Mike Norvell.

The pair of quarterbacks have been the center of attention for the Seminoles in spring practice, with Daniels expected to be the starting quarterback when the season starts in the fall. Norvell praised the pair for the big plays they orchestrated in the scrimmage, which featured about 100 plays, but said there were areas in which both players needed to be sharper.

Through the first six practices of the spring, Daniels has performed well, and Norvell said he hit a big play early in the scrimmage.

“Started off opening drive, we got a chance to see a plus play down the field. Ashton hit [Jayvan] Boggs down the field on a big post,” Norvell told the media following his scrimmage.

Norvell said Daniels had a “really good first week” and that the program is “grading everything” that both he and Sperry are doing in practice.

Daniels threw for 797 yards and three touchdowns while adding 280 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his four appearances for Auburn last year. He spent the three seasons at Stanford prior to Auburn, and the 2026 season will be his final year of eligibility.

Sperry was recruited by the Seminoles out of Guyer High School, and he appeared in three games in his redshirt freshman season in Tallahassee. He threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 27 yards on the ground, but he was highly praised by multiple coaches in practice throughout the season.

There were a few plays that Norvell said both players needed to execute better during the scrimmage, highlighting some missed throws to receivers, but he said he liked how they responded to their mistakes.

“He’s [Daniels] completing the ball at a high percentage. Today, there’s a couple that we missed,” Norvell said. “Kevin has had a good first week, and there were some plays that he was looking to clean up upon. I thought he made a couple of really nice throws that he had missed earlier in the week. That was definitely a great response for him.”

As the Seminoles progress through the rest of spring camp, Daniels and Sperry will continue to be graded by the coaching staff. But after the first scrimmage, Norvell said that he was pleased with the overall performance of both.

“It’s a really good room, and those guys are battling,” Norvell said. “Today was a really solid day for them because of the good, and then some of the things we have to get corrected.”

FSU 2026 football schedule

• vs. New Mexico State | Aug. 29
• vs. SMU* | Sept. 7
• Bye
• at Alabama | Sept. 19
• vs. Central Arkansas | Sept. 26
• vs. Virginia* | Oct. 3
• at Louisville* | Oct. 9
• at Miami* | Oct. 17
• Bye
• vs. Clemson* | Oct. 31
• at Boston College* | Nov. 7
• at Pittsburgh* | Nov. 13
• vs. NC State* | Nov. 21
• vs. Florida | Nov. 27

Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How did FSU football’s quarterbacks perform in spring scrimmage