The FSU Seminoles spoke on Wednesday, the first day of the ACC Kickoff media event in Charlotte, North Carolina. Quarterback Ashton Daniels, wide receiver, and cornerback Ja’Bril Rawls joined head coach Mike Norvell.
All four took center stage to answer questions about the upcoming 2026 season for themselves and the Seminoles. It will be Daniels’ first year in Tallahassee, something he is excited about. Norvell heaped plenty of praise on his new starting quarterback, who he believes can do it all on the field.
The veteran brings plenty of experience to FSU’s quarterback room, something they lacked after Brock Glenn entered the transfer portal. Daniels started 23 games during his time with the Auburn Tigers and Stanford Cardinal and has played in 37. He has improved each year, completing 60.2% of his passes for 4,783 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions.
Daniels discussed why he transferred to FSU, his leadership, how he handles bulletin board material, and more. Read his full quotes from Wednesday’s press conference below.
What was it about Florida State that made it feel like the right program and fit for you?
Yeah, I think it really just came down to the people in the program. Obviously speaking with Coach Norvell, Coach Tucker, Coach Malzahn at the time, then obviously knowing Duce and a couple of the guys previous to me making that decision, just having conversations with them, you just know they’re the right type of people. You know they’re the type of people you want to surround yourself with every single day.
That meant so much to me.
I’m a relationship guy, a people person. Obviously coming on my official visit, seeing how Tallahassee was, obviously Doak Campbell, the environment, community, culture within the locker room, it was a no-brainer for me.
How are you preparing yourself to get ready to play one of the loudest stadiums in college football?
Yeah, I mean, I’ve had a lot of experience playing in a lot of different places that were very, very loud. I think we’re going to go into each and every week with a great plan, whether that be signals, whether it be any type of communication. We’re going to go into that week having a great plan.
I confide in that, I confide in our team, in our coaching staff, and we’re going to be prepared for this.
Coming out of Buford, you played for one of the most prestigious high school programs of all. Leadership and winning, how have you taken those attributes and poured it into the locker room here at Florida State?
Yeah, when it comes to the quarterback position, I think those are two things that are very, very important. When things get hard, they’re going to look to me as a leader. I know that. I own up to that every single day.
I know my actions on and off the field, in the locker room, in the community, everyone’s going to see that. They’re going to feed off that, and that’s how they’re going to know me as a person.
Just surrounding myself with winners I think is the biggest thing when it comes to winning. If you have a bunch of guys that will do anything to go out there and get the job done and get a win, you’re going to win games.
I think that’s what we have here at Florida State. Everybody in the program is a winner. They want to win. I think that’s so important, especially to feed to the young guys, the new guys, who come into a program, don’t know the ropes of things, how things go.
Those are two such important things that determine a winner and determine success in football.
Ashton, On3 recently released an ACC quarterback top ranking and left you off the list. Do you take that critique at bulletin board material?
It’s such a hard thing to handle because obviously you see that kind of stuff every single day. That’s social media nowadays. It’s football. It’s how the world is.
I think what separates the best players from the worst is how they handle that kind of stuff. If you sit there and you look at it and you sulk about it, you’re not going to get anywhere from it.
Obviously I saw that, but I don’t care. People can say whatever they want to. I don’t care. What’s going to show, like Coach said, is the actions on the field.
Obviously using that kind of like you said, as bulletin board material, that’s in the back of my mind. I want to win every single day. I want to show up to the facility, give my best every single day, and that’s what I’m focused on.
This is your third school in three years. That’s becoming a more common thing. When you think about what you’re seeing that’s different inside the program, outside of not having the 6’6″ receiver, what is different?
Yeah, I think kind of like I mentioned earlier, just the people. We have a team that I want to say over 50% is newcomers. The chemistry that we have right now from winter workouts to the spring to summer in the short time we’ve been together is like no other team I’ve been on.
Seriously, like we meshed so well together. You got guys on your team that will die for their brothers. I think that’s so important.
When things get hard, when you have those games where it comes down to one play, one drive, that’s what you count on, is your teammates. Who can I trust on my team? You look to your left and right and you know you can get the job done.
That’s the biggest thing. We have a bunch of guys that love each other, they love football, they love Florida State. Those three things combined right there, we can do anything with that.
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Everything FSU quarterback Ashton Daniels said at ACC Kickoff
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