Florida State's injury puzzle comes into focus for camp

Florida State can't seem to get through an offseason without an injury storyline attached to Jayvan Boggs, and this summer is no different. The sophomore wide receiver and redshirt senior linebacker Mikai Gbayor are both working their way back as fall camp opens, and everyone in Tallahassee is watching the same countdown clock: the August 29 opener against New Mexico State.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Injury update on Florida State's Jayvan Boggs and Mikai Gbayor: t.co/0RL8CDIA0i

For Boggs, this is a familiar script. He fought through injuries for most of the 2025 season, first getting hurt in a win over Kent State, then reaggravating it during FSU's bye week and missing games against Virginia, Miami, Wake Forest and Clemson. He gutted through the finale at NC State with 4 catches for 56 yards and a two-point conversion, then collapsed postgame and had to be evaluated by medical staff in the locker room. It was a scary scene, and it's part of why any new update on his health gets attention now.

Gbayor's situation is different but no less notable. The linebacker missed the tail end of spring practice with a shoulder issue, and losing him for extended stretches would sting for a Seminoles defense trying to reload after a rough 2025. Per Mike Norvell, both players are "progressing really well," and the staff sounds genuinely optimistic they'll be limited to start camp rather than sidelined outright.

That's the key distinction here. Limited participation to open camp isn't a setback so much as a standard, cautious ramp-up for two guys who dealt with real injuries in the spring. Boggs and Gbayor both have what the staff is calling a realistic path to be full-go by the opener, which matters a ton for a Florida State roster that needs its returning skill talent and defensive leadership on the field from Week 1.

Boggs projects as a key piece of the passing game if he can stay upright, and Gbayor's experience at linebacker is the kind of thing you don't want to replace on the fly. Norvell and the staff clearly aren't panicking, but the pattern with Boggs specifically, hurt last September, hurt again in the bye week, a scary postgame collapse, means Seminoles fans have earned the right to hold their breath until he's actually out there in Week 1 pads on.

Camp updates like this one will keep rolling in over the next few weeks, and every siting of Boggs and Gbayor in full pads is going to be treated like news. For a program trying to steady itself after last season, getting its best skill-position weapon and a proven linebacker back healthy is about as important a storyline as anything happening on the field right now.