True freshman QB Kevin Sperry impresses Florida State staff with maturity

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Dustin Lewis | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Florida State is through its first two days of preseason practice. Now, it's time to see who rises to the occasion with the team donning pads beginning on Friday.

Obviously, there's a lot of intrigue surrounding the quarterback room in Tallahassee with the Seminoles set to field their third new starting signal-caller in as many seasons. Head coach Mike Norvell went out and brought in Boston College transfer Tommy Castellanos in an effort to spark the offense.

Outside of that, redshirt sophomore Brock Glenn is back with the program and Florida State also secured three-star true freshman Kevin Sperry and East Tennessee State transfer Jaylen King.

Sperry went through spring practice with the Seminoles. He made a positive impression on Norvell, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, and quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz at the time.

That has continued into fall camp. Some people play football, and others love footbal.

Sperry falls into the latter category as he's focused on improving at all hours of the day. That includes working on the whiteboard to learn plays before bed.

"We've tried to give younger guys as many reps as we can right now just based on the structure of practice," Tokarz said on Thursday. "I've said this before, I think that experience is a great teacher and right now he gets to do it in a practice environment which I think is huge. I've got to give credit to Kevin because that kid is all about football."

"If you ask him, every night he's going to cook a steak at his apartment, he's got a whiteboard at the foot of his bed that he draws up installs, draws up plays. He eats, lives, sleeps it, it's who he is," Tokarz added. "Then just his approach, I'm very impressed by it. The way he takes care of his body, the way he takes care of his mind, he's made of the right stuff so it's been pretty fun just to see that carry over and continue to build."

It's still early but Sperry has quickly proven that he brings the mindset of a veteran on and off the field. Though he isn't expected to see a ton of playing time in 2025, his work ethic could set him up for a bright future at Florida State.

Sperry will get another opportunity to shine when the Seminoles hold their first scrimmage of the preseason on Tuesday evening.