The 2025 Florida State football season has already been a much bigger success than last season's disaster. Their defense is one of the most significant differences from the Seminoles this season. They have much better playmakers across the entire roster, whether on offense or defense; the roster is better. However, they lost a significant piece to their secondary after the Miami game.
Cornerback Quindarrius Jones was injured early on against Miami. He hurt his ankle and will require season-ending surgery. On3 Sports' Florida State website, Warchant.com, was one of the first to report on the story, with Tom Lang elaborating on what Mike Norvell said at his Monday press conference.
“He’s a young man that pours a lot into this football team,” Norvell said. “Obviously, unfortunate news for him, unfortunate news for us. I know he’ll bounce back from it, but it’s just one of those things that shakes up our defensive backfield.”
According to Florida State’s current depth chart, three redshirt freshmen will back up starting cornerbacks Ja’Bril Rawls and Jerry Wilson against Pitt this weekend: Cai Bates, Ricky Knight, and Charles Lester III.
“So now it’s an open-door opportunity for somebody else,” Norvell said. “We’ve got to continue to improve within our secondary.”
Quindarrius Jones was a three-star recruit out of Mississippi, but has become a solid college cornerback. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 193 pounds. He finishes the 2025 season with seven tackles, one sack, and a pass breakup.
This pass defense has been solid, even though Florida State lost its last two games. Carson Beck and Chandler Morris had good games, but were not overly impressive.
Despite Jones' injury, this defense should also have a solid matchup against a Pitt offense that benched Eli Holstein and went with freshman Mason Heintschel in his place. The result was a big Panthers win against Boston College, and a big matchup against the Seminoles was set up.
Mike Norvell was highly disappointed in how Florida State looked against Miami, especially at home. Despite Quindarrius Jones's injury, this defense needs to step up for the rest of the season, starting against Pitt this weekend.
