Former Duke defense back Ma’khi Jones has committed to Florida State, via the NCAA Transfer Portal. Jones only spent one season with the Blue Devils.

In his lone campaign at Duke, Jones played in all 14 of the team’s games. He recorded 35 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Ma’khi Jones played high school football at St. Joseph Regional (NJ), where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1,501 overall player and No. 137 safety in the 2025 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.

Jones is the 12th player who has committed to Florida State this offseason, via the NCAA Transfer Portal. As of this report, FSU is ranked No. 57 in On3’s 2026 Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

Florida State finished the 2025 campaign with a 5-7 overall record and a 2-6 mark in conference play. It was a disappointing outcome for the Seminoles, who began the season with an upset win over Alabama.

Florida State entered Week 4 ranked No. 8 in the country, but fell to Virginia and only won two more games through the remainder of the season. Despite Florida State posting back-to-back losing seasons, Mike Norvell is returning as the Seminoles’ head coach next season. Norvell believes his program isn’t far away from finding its footing.

“Obviously, we’ve got to be more consistent,” Norvell said in November. “We’ve shown flashes of being able to play at an elite level, but we’ve not been consistent enough or we haven’t played in a sense of complementary football, especially there on the road.

“Something that we’ve got to continue to improve upon. We’ve got a young team. We’ve got some young players, we’ve got some guys that do have experience, but ultimately it’s still about the application of that. I don’t think we’re far off.”

Along with Ma’khi Jones, Florida State has reeled in several transfer commitments from standout players. Most notably, former Texas running back Tre Wisner and Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels committed to the Seminoles earlier this month.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.