FSU football's Kevin Sperry shows he's a 'football guy.' Here's why he adjusted quickly (2025)

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Kevin Sperry has been an impactful quarterback on every high school team he played on Kevin Sperry's approach is what was promised to Mike Norvell

Since becoming an early enrollee, Florida State quarterback Kevin Sperry has been quick on his feet, literally and figuratively.

What has stood out for the former three-star prospect who was once an Oklahoma commit?

Some will say it's his running ability. Mike Norvell pointed out how electric Sperry can be when the ball is in his hands, which he knew when he recruited him.

"I knew he could run," Norvell said. "You feel the athleticism, the twitch and the explosiveness. That is exciting."

FSU football's Kevin Sperry shows he's a 'football guy.' Here's why he adjusted quickly (1)

As a passer, his accuracy cannot be ignored. Linebacker Elijah Herring has been impressed by how accurately he throws the ball, along with his athletic gifted traits from a defensive standpoint.

“That boy, he can fly, and he can put the ball in the breadbasket for sure,” Herring said.

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has also been impressed by Sperry catching on to his offense. He acknowledged it is starting to become second nature.

"He's a football guy," Malzahn said.

"He's a natural guy and just being on the field and just getting the information as far as the signal, the protection, the direction, then you got to carry it over to the coverage and the defense and the read like, he has a bunch of natural stuff to him."

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Kevin Sperry has been an impactful quarterback on every high school team he played on

FSU football's Kevin Sperry shows he's a 'football guy.' Here's why he adjusted quickly (2)

The freshman quarterback has adjusted well and turned heads in his first spring ball. It might seem surprising to the team that he is holding his own, but not so much to the Texas native.

"I think it's kind of been because I went to like three different high schools, too," Sperry said. "I think every team I've been on was a little surprised and I'm just excited to showcase that on the college."

While Sperry has been a journeyman quarterback throughout his high school career, he has made an impact everywhere he has gone.

In his first two years, he played at Rock Hills High School in Frisco, Texas, where he broke out as a sophomore after throwing1,527 yards and nine touchdowns with 657 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. He was named District 5A-6A Newcomer of the Year.

FSU football's Kevin Sperry shows he's a 'football guy.' Here's why he adjusted quickly (3)

He then moved to Oklahoma as a junior and played for Carl Albert High School, where he led the Titans to a 14-0 record and a state title. He recorded 42 touchdowns in one season before returning to Texas, where he played senior year at Guyton High School in Denton.

Already a highly touted prospect who was being recruited by teams like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Baylor, and a few others, Sperry stepped in right away as a leader for Guyer even though his school coach, Reed Heim, didn't attend to that when he enrolled late in the spring.

Heim believed his work ethic spoke louder than his production and was not surprised by how Sperry adjusted to FSU's offense quickly than usual.

"One of the things that I was really impressed with was that I didn't really want to put him in a leadership role at the beginning because most of the time, you have somebody that moved as a senior," Heim told the Tallahassee Democrat.

"I think sometimes that's a hard space to be in to try to be a leader, and the only way that you can do that is if you're the type of quality character, person, and guy who works at the level that he works."

At first, Sperry was an OU commit, but consistent offensive coordinator changes led him to look at other options. When FSU came into the picture, he took it as an opportunity to play an offense that fit his skillset while hoping to be the next QB to bring the Seminoles back to playoff contention, like the 2023 season.

FSU football's Kevin Sperry shows he's a 'football guy.' Here's why he adjusted quickly (4)

"He saw how important the quarterback position was to Mike Norvell, and he was like, 'hey, if you get the right guy in there, that the team has shown that in his style and his program, when those pieces are in place, can be very, very good,'" Heim said.

"I think he looked at himself like, 'hey, they took a big hit when they lost a great quarterback, and I can go, I can go in and be that guy, and I can get him back to, you know, where they're at top three in the country. '"

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Kevin Sperry's approach is what was promised to Mike Norvell

FSU football's Kevin Sperry shows he's a 'football guy.' Here's why he adjusted quickly (5)

What Sperry has been doing on the field is not unusual. Even as a freshman playing behind two veteran QBs, Tommy Castellanos and Brock Glenn, the freshman was expected to make his mark immediately, hoping that FSU would see a future in the Texas native. It was a promise he made to Norvell before signing with FSU.

"I really just approached it with just getting better each day and competing against myself," Sperry said.

"I promise Coach (Mike) Norvell my best every day and just being myself so that's what I bring every day, but I feel like the whole offense has gotten better each day. I feel like we're all improving each week and each practice."

Outside of adjusting to the speed of the game and making presnap reads against Tony White's 3-3-5 defense, nothing came as a surprise for Sperry.

"The speed of the games obviously a little faster and then the defense is just disguising coverages a little bit better and blitzes is a little bit better," Sperry said.

"So just getting with coach Tony Tokarz and Coach Malzahn and seeing those things on film has really helped me a lot."

Sperry's mobility to extend plays with his legs and his willingness to make deep-ball throws downfield make the 6-foot-1, 212-pound freshman a fit in Malzahn's offense.

Sperry credited Malzahn with simplifying the offense so he could understand it and execute. But, of course, it's still easier said than done.

"It's not a super simple offense," Malzahn said. "I don't think any college offense is super simple, but the coaches make it a lot simpler for us by explaining everything and showing stuff on film."

“I think he brings a lot of maturity, a lot of leadership obviously, to the quarterback room, but the whole offense," Sperry said.

Sperry is also embracing the mental reps while learning behind Castellanos. He has been observing how the Boston College transfer has handled himself as a team leader and hopes he will do the same when he earns that right.

"So just listening to him, how he talks to the receivers, how he talks to the O-line, and how he communicates plays has been great for me," Sperry said. "Just learning thatI'm able to do that when I go on the field.”

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Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football's Kevin Sperry has been impressive throughout spring. Here's why