After a long offseason, FSU football is finally back.
Coming off two consecutive losing seasons, the Seminoles enter 2026 looking to get the program back on track, with returning star wide receiver Duce Robinson guaranteed to play an essential role in any potential turnaround.
Robinson finished his first season in Tallahassee with 1,051 receiving yards and six touchdowns, earning him a spot on the All-ACC First Team amongst other honors. This year, he’s earned spots on watch lists for the Biletnikoff
Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Maxwell Award and the Wuerffel Trophy while also being named to the AP Preseason All-American Second Team, the Sporting News Preseason All-American Second Team and the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Robinson’s individual success came during a difficult season for Florida State as he joined a Seminoles team that struggled to find consistent success, giving Robinson firsthand experience with the challenges the program is looking to overcome in 2026.
“This team, we do the little things [and] I think that’s something we were missing last year, ” said Robinson during his ACC Road Show Interview earlier this month. ”We had a ton of talent last year, guys who could make plays all over the place. But you know, we shot ourselves in the foot a lot. We didn’t do a ton of the little things right, and that’s what showed on the field…because you know if you’re too big to do the little things, you’re too little to do the big things, and so you know I think guys are really, really buying into that, and it’s showing on the field. We’ve been playing some really, really good football.”
Now entering his senior season with a new quarterback, an expanded route tree, and a larger leadership role, Robinson has the opportunity to make an even bigger impact for the Seminoles.
“This year they want to be able to see me all over the field, which is one of the great things about Coach Norvell and Coach Harris’ offense, is they put their playmakers in positions to win, no matter where it might be. So I’m really looking forward to being a part of that offense. Then to go along with that, just being able to run a little bit more of the route tree,” said Robinson at ACC Football Kickoff. “Last year I was running a lot of the same routes, so just being able to show that I can be a complete receiver in myself, be successful at the next level, that’s one of the main reasons I came back.”
Robinson is now preparing to play with his fourth quarterback in four years. That constant change has required him to adapt, regardless of who is throwing him the ball, though he says that when it comes to Ashton Daniels, he’s been amongst the best he’s gotten to work with, and Robinson’s confidence in Daniels extends beyond what the quarterback can do on the field.
“He’s a leader of men. He’s a guy who you want to rally a team around, and so you know I’m super super thankful that I get to play with him this year, and I think he’s going to do some really really big things,” Robinson said during his ACC Road Show interview.
The praise goes both ways, with Daniels paying him high compliments during an interview with local media at ACC Kickoff.
“No one has been like Duce Robinson….who he is off the field and the work that he puts in every single day, it’s so special,” Daniels said. “From the day that I stepped into the facility, I could tell this is the guy, everyone looks up to this guy and he’s the leader of this team. Seeing that pushes me every single day to be my best, it’s been a blessing, it’s crazy. All you gotta do is put it in his range, and he’s going to come down with it. He makes my job easy.”
For Duce Robinson, a successful senior campaign will mean more than putting up another 1,000-yard season. Florida State means more to Robinson than simply the program he transferred to for the final years of his college career. His father, Dominic Robinson, played wide receiver and defensive back for the Seminoles from 2001-04 and also played baseball at FSU in 2002. Duce grew up an FSU fan before eventually getting the opportunity to wear the same garnet and gold.
Robinson’s focus entering his senior season isn’t on how he got to Tallahassee. It’s about what he can help the Seminoles accomplish while he’s still there.
