Florida State HC Mike Norvell reveals tough injury news for key contributor

The No. 14 Florida State Seminoles have to feel like they're riding a high after playing host to the No. 21 Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 1 of the 2025 college football season.

FSU was the unranked underdog, and then-No. 8 Alabama was, well, Alabama. Nonetheless, the Seminoles walked all over the Crimson Tide and came away with a 31-17 victory.

Florida State is now the owner of a new No. 14 ranking, and Mike Norvell just may have his program right back to where it was before last season's disastrous 2-10 campaign.

On Wednesday, Norvell did reveal a bit of bad news that could hamper FSU moving forward, though.  

Junior tight end Randy Pittman Jr., who transferred in from UCF this past offseason, is dealing with an undisclosed injury that's going to keep him out for the next few weeks.

Pittman had this injury in fall camp but was able to rehab it enough to get onto the field against Alabama. He caught two passes for 18 yards against the Tide.

Losing Randy Pittman Jr. is a tough break for Florida State 

“Randy Pittman will be out this week, probably here for the next couple,” Norvell said in a recent news conference (h/t On3). “We’ll see what it all looks like. He was dealing with an injury there early in camp and was able to kind of manage that for the Alabama game. But he’ll be out for just — it’ll be a short period of time, but he will be out for this week.”

This will be a tough loss for Florida State because Pittman was expected to be a big-time contributor for the 'Noles. He spent 2023 and 2024 under Gus Malzahn and UCF, so he knows the new FSU offensive coordinator's offense and tendencies better than most.

He played in 25 games over two seasons at UCF, catching 51 passes for 631 yards and three touchdowns. 

FSU will now have to have a "next man up" mentality at tight end. In line to get targets are players like Landen Thomas, Amaree Williams and Markeston Douglas.

“[It's an] opportunity to continue to see guys,” Norvell said. “Amaree, Landen. Being able to see, with Landen, excited to get him back into full effect and rolling. Then, Markeston, who played a good amount the other day. So, that’s going to be a great opportunity for those guys and I know Randy will be back here very soon, continuing to help our football team.”