The 2026 season is a month away, and college football programs are preparing their rosters in the best way. Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles are not exempt from this process; however, they will be without one recruit in the 2026 class.

Freshman defensive lineman Chris Carbin will not be with the Seminoles in the 2026 season. The player’s name is also missing on the program’s online roster. The reason behind his exit is not known at the moment. The news was first broken by Chris Nee of Noles247. “He is no longer part of our program,” a Florida State University athletics spokesman told Nee.

Carbin was a three-star prospect in FSU’s 2026 recruiting class that was ranked No. 14 in the nation and No. 2 in the ACC. Per On3, the class had 34 commits, including 11 blue-chip talents, before the news of Carbin’s exit.

Carbin was one of 10 defensive linemen in FSU’s 2026 class, which saw Norvell emphasize the unit’s depth. He had made his commitment to the program in November 2025 and signed the following month during the National Signing Day.

He was recruited from Hillgrove High School, where he totaled 39 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble in the first nine games of his senior season. The 6-foot-4, 236-pound athlete was the fourth in-state player to join the program at the time.

Before joining FSU, Carbin was committed to Georgia Tech. A native of Powder Springs, Georgia, he decommitted last October, just before his official visit to Florida State. The Auburn Tigers were also in the race for him, but head coach Hugh Freeze was fired just before his visit.

At the time of his recruitment, he was the No. 731 player in the nation, No. 74 player from the state of Georgia, and No. 77 edge, per 247Sports composite. The program still has the very core of its 2026 class as it prepares for the new season.

Mike Norvell set for 2026 season

Mike Norvell spoke at the ACC media days kickoff last Wednesday, and he has promised a strong performance in 2026. Ever since the Seminoles got him on a contract in 2024, when rumors about him replacing Nick Saban at Alabama were on the rise, his team has been underwhelming.

Last season, the Noles started their campaign with an impressive win over Alabama. Things were looking quite bright with the OC-QB duo of Gus Malzahn and Thomas Castellanos. However, FSU began to fall apart defensively after its impressive start. Andy Staples of On3 reported that the program even considered firing Norvell, but decided against it at the end of the regular season. Going into the 2026 season, Norvell is in one of college football’s hottest seats, and he is aware of that.

“A year ago you lose five games by one score, there’s a lot of lessons to be learned. It’s about taking the lessons, the application of that moving forward to go be the best that we can be.” he said at the ACC Media Days on July 15. “We understand the expectation. There’s no person or place that has higher expectations than we have being part of this program, making sure we’re doing things the right way, the Florida State way, competing for championships, in all things that we do.”

A repeat of last year’s performance will lead to Norvell’s firing. The Noles haven’t made it to the bowl game for two consecutive years.