Florida State football has signed former Lafayette quarterback Dean DeNobile out of the transfer portal. He has two years of eligibility to play football.
DeNobile started the last 35 games while at Lafayette, passing for 6,956 yards and 53 touchdowns. He also rushed 170 times for 10 touchdowns and was named Patriot League Player of the Week on four different occasions.
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The 6-foot-1 198lbs DeNobile is one of two quarterbacks signed by Florida State through the transfer portal, with the other being Auburn Tiger transfer Ashton Daniels.
Led by Florida State’s effort to revamp his roster, head coach Mike Norvell has brought in 24 transfer portal players, including 11 players on offense.
At the end of spring practice, Norvell named Daniels the starting quarterback. DeNobile is expected to compete for the backup spot during fall camp. His competition will be second-year player Kevin Sperry and true freshman Jaden O’Neal. Sperry was considered the primary competition for Daniels in competing for the starting job during the spring.
In 2025, DeNobile was named team captain and passed for 2,542 yards, including 19 touchdowns. He was also named first-team All-Patriot League. For his performance against Bucknell, he was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, completing 26 passes for 316 yards with five touchdowns.
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DeNobile was named to the 2024 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. This would also be the first time he would serve as team captain. DeNobile passed for 2,417 yards and 14 touchdowns. The highlight of this season was against Monmouth when he passed for 394 yards on 31 completions, including 2 touchdowns in the air.
In 2023, DeNobile was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week on three different occasions. He started 11 games during the season and was named second-team All-Patriot League.
DeNobile played his high school ball in New Jersey at Morris Catholic. In his high school career, he passed for 4,322 yards and 44 touchdowns. He rushed for 308 yards and two scores as well. Even though he led the state in passing yards in 2020, he was a zero-star recruit by many publications and under-recruited.
Norvell has been clear about Daniels being the starter heading into the 2026 season. Daniels has 23 starts under his belt between Stanford/Auburn. His numbers improved each year as a starter, and Norvell needs the veteran playmaker to continue to ascend for Florida State to have a chance against a tough ACC schedule.
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Florida State starts training camp on July 30 in Tallahassee, Florida.
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