The Florida State Seminoles are set to hire Taylor Edwards as executive director of player acquisitions, according to multiple reports, adding another key piece to a front-office overhaul.
Edwards is expected to arrive from Miami, where he was hired in January and worked in a high-level personnel role similar to what Florida State is building now. Before Miami, Edwards spent several seasons in personnel and recruiting roles at South Carolina.
At a minimum, with his visibility into Miami’s recruiting, Taylor Edwards will be able to explain to everybody at FSU what they are doing wrong.
— Juevos Banchero (@JuevosBanchero) December 27, 2025
Florida State's move is part of a restructuring that also includes the expected hire of John Garrett to lead the program's front office as general manager. The Seminoles had to pivot quickly after longtime personnel leader Darrick Yray left Tallahassee for the same general manager title at UCLA.
The growth of college football personnel departments is a fast-moving arms race as schools across the country are building NFL-style front offices
Taylor Edwards prior to Miami and FSU
Edwards started at Jacksonville State (2013) in personnel and operations, became director of recruiting at UAB (2014), then moved to Samford as director of player personnel before joining Nick Saban's Alabama staff (2017) as a player personnel assistant.
From there, he climbed into SEC and Big Ten recruiting operations roles. Edwards was Arkansas' director of recruiting in 2018, helping Chad Morris' first Razorbacks staff land a top-25 class despite a 2-10 season the year before. He then spent two seasons at Maryland as director of recruiting operations, working under Mike Locksley.
Edwards arrived at South Carolina in February 2021 as director of player personnel, part of Shane Beamer's first staff. That stint ended in the summer of 2024 after South Carolina self-reported a Level III NCAA violation tied to Edwards. The violation involved Edwards sending prospective recruiting documents to a player before the player entered the transfer portal. The penalties included a one-week recruiting ban, a four-day reduction in spring 2025 recruiting days, and rules education.
After that, Edwards' name popped again in early 2025 when he was expected to join Bill Belichick's North Carolina staff, but he ultimately pivoted to Miami.