Seminoles lose one of their most underrated players to an SEC foe who also desperately needed him
The Noles will miss what Edwin Joseph Jr. brought.
The Florida State Seminoles have lost three defensive backs in the transfer portal: Earle Little, Edwin Joseph Jr., and Cai Bates. Little has now transferred to the Ohio State Buckeyes, Bates to Wisconsin, and now Joseph to the Ole Miss Rebels. Joseph’s new team is a perfect fit for him, too, as he gets to go to a team that just played and beat the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff.
It’s an even better fit on the field for the Rebels, too. The Rebels needed a player like Joseph in the CFP after losing to the Miami Hurricanes. They needed a guy who could play physically and take over games. He did that at times for the Noles, and with his talent and experience, the Rebels will love pairing him with new Ole Miss safety Joenel Aguero, who just transferred there from Georgia.
The fit is perfect for Joseph and the Rebels, but what does this mean for the Noles?
How will the Noles replace Joseph?
Joseph primarily played nickel and some safety; he wasn’t really a boundary cornerback. So far, the Noles haven’t gotten a replacement for Joseph through the portal, at least not at the time of this writing. Nehemiah Chandler, the former South Alabama cornerback who was wanted by a ton of big-time teams, and former Notre Dame Fighting Irish CB Karson Hobbs are the only two defensive backs they have gotten in the portal.
Marcus Wimberly from the Oklahoma Sooners, Brandyn Hillman from the Michigan Wolverines, and Bryce Anderson from the Texas A&M Fighting Aggies are some of the three best safeties available in the portal. There are even more available than those, plenty available still with good experience, too.
Florida State also has Darryl Bell, Jordan Crutchfield, and Daylen Green coming in their 2026 recruiting class, too. Being a freshman doesn’t mean those guys can’t be starters in 2026. There were a ton of true freshmen in the secondary who started for a few CFP teams this year. The Sooners had one starter in the secondary who was a three-star recruit, and he started every game as a true freshman on the best defense in football.
The Seminoles still have plenty of options. Now, what they plan on doing is a completely different story. Only time will tell.
Florida State Seminoles News
Mike Norvell and the Seminoles accomplished what was likely one of their biggest and most important tasks this offseason
The Seminoles needed Boggs back in 2026.
