The Quiet Architect Behind Florida State Football | Florida State GM Darrick Yray
Thu Oct 30 2025
In this episode of Next Up with Adam Breneman, presented by Teamworks, Florida State General Manager of Personnel Darrick Yray joins Adam to break down how a modern college program actually builds a roster from high school recruiting vs. the portal, to retention as strategy, to culture built through competition. He shares the lesson he’s learned from Mike Norvell’s consistency, why comparing NIL/revenue sharing to the NFL is “lazy,” and the single trait he refuses to compromise: “Do you love football?”
We also get into war stories of big recruiting wins like Luke Musgrave, evaluating players like that still sting Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, and how evaluation has evolved from DVDs to data dashboards without losing the human read on character. If you’re a coach, recruiting staffer, or player trying to understand what actually moves the needle in 2025 roster construction, this one is a masterclass.
This conversation is part of a larger look, presented by our partners at Teamworks at how NFL-style general managers are changing college football. Their end-to-end solution, Teamworks GM, is purpose-built for this new era.
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Intro
1:31 - Darrick’s journey to Florida State GM
2:50 - West Coast Football vs East Coast Football
4:16 - Evaluating players: On and off the field
6:07 - Day to Day as Florida State’s GM
8:24 - Internal roster evaluation
9:31 - Roster construction
11:35 - Lessons from Mike Norvell
12:58 - Building culture in transfer portal era
14:59 - Favorite recruiting win
16:41 - Biggest recruiting loss
20:20 - Revenue sharing at Florida State
22:30 - Roster retention
25:05- Changes needed in CFB
26:42 - The power of Teamworks and analytics
30:48 - Evaluation success at Florida State
32:26 - Non-negotiable as a talent evaluator
33:49 - Advice to young people in sports
35:22 - Florida State’s season since beating Alabama
36:17 - CFB in 3 years
38:31 - Single transfer portal window
On Next Up, college football analyst Adam Breneman sits down with the most influential names in college sports and lets them tell their stories unfiltered, direct to the fans.
Next Up is a Front Office Sports Network show featuring candid, open, and honest conversations with the most impactful figures in college sports including head coaches, athletes, athletic directors, commissioners, entrepreneurs, media personalities, agents, and executives shaping the business of college sports.
Adam is a former All-American, Penn State alum and media personality. Front Office Sports is the leading multi-platform media and news organization covering the intersection of sports, business and culture.
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In this episode of Next Up with Adam Breneman, presented by Teamworks, Florida State General Manager of Personnel Darrick Yray joins Adam to break down how a modern college program actually builds a roster from high school recruiting vs. the portal, to retention as strategy, to culture built through competition. He shares the lesson he’s learned from Mike Norvell’s consistency, why comparing NIL/revenue sharing to the NFL is “lazy,” and the single trait he refuses to compromise: “Do you love football?” We also get into war stories of big recruiting wins like Luke Musgrave, evaluating players like that still sting Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, and how evaluation has evolved from DVDs to data dashboards without losing the human read on character. If you’re a coach, recruiting staffer, or player trying to understand what actually moves the needle in 2025 roster construction, this one is a masterclass. This conversation is part of a larger look, presented by our partners at Teamworks at how NFL-style general managers are changing college football. Their end-to-end solution, Teamworks GM, is purpose-built for this new era. PRIZEPICKS: Get a $50 bonus from PrizePicks with code "NEXTUP": https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/NextUp For sponsorships or business inquiries reach out to: advertising@frontofficesports.com SUBSCRIBE HERE: https://www.youtube.com/@NextUpWithAdam?sub_confirmation=1 FOLLOW NEXT UP WITH ADAM: INSTAGRAM | https://shorturl.at/d9IdQ X | https://x.com/NextUpWithAdam TIKTOK | https://shorturl.at/qasuc SPOTIFY | https://shorturl.at/5ZdaK APPLE PODCASTS | https://shorturl.at/mW49D CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Intro 1:31 - Darrick’s journey to Florida State GM 2:50 - West Coast Football vs East Coast Football 4:16 - Evaluating players: On and off the field 6:07 - Day to Day as Florida State’s GM 8:24 - Internal roster evaluation 9:31 - Roster construction 11:35 - Lessons from Mike Norvell 12:58 - Building culture in transfer portal era 14:59 - Favorite recruiting win 16:41 - Biggest recruiting loss 20:20 - Revenue sharing at Florida State 22:30 - Roster retention 25:05- Changes needed in CFB 26:42 - The power of Teamworks and analytics 30:48 - Evaluation success at Florida State 32:26 - Non-negotiable as a talent evaluator 33:49 - Advice to young people in sports 35:22 - Florida State’s season since beating Alabama 36:17 - CFB in 3 years 38:31 - Single transfer portal window On Next Up, college football analyst Adam Breneman sits down with the most influential names in college sports and lets them tell their stories unfiltered, direct to the fans. Next Up is a Front Office Sports Network show featuring candid, open, and honest conversations with the most impactful figures in college sports including head coaches, athletes, athletic directors, commissioners, entrepreneurs, media personalities, agents, and executives shaping the business of college sports. Adam is a former All-American, Penn State alum and media personality. Front Office Sports is the leading multi-platform media and news organization covering the intersection of sports, business and culture.