Florida State football knew that it needed to make major changes after recording a 2-10 record in 2024. This was coming off a 2023 campaign where the Seminoles finished with an undefeated regular season and a conference championship and was left out of the College Football Playoff.
Fast forward to the offseason, the idea of the College Football Playoff is seen by many individuals as a far-fetched dream by those who around around the Seminoles' program. Head football coach Mike Norvell saw that there is a standard at Florida State that cannot be broken.
Norvell came out into the offseason firing assistant coaches left and right. Some fans thought that he might not make that step in his coaching tenure. However, he understood the urgency of what the expectation is at Florida State.
Norvell hired some veteran names in the coaching circle. While it might not have been a popular pick to fire assistant coaches such as Alex Atkins because he had such a great relationship with offensive linemen on the team and recruits that he had secured.
However, Norvell could not play nice guy anymore and made the move to hire veteran coach Herb Hand to man the offensive line unit. Coach Hand has been through several stops, and this was a much-needed change for the Seminoles as they look to a new era in Gus Malzahn's offense.
Hand has already secured signings of transfer portal prospects such as Ole Miss offensive tackle Micah Pettus, Vanderbilt offensive tackle Gunnar Hansen, and UCF interior offensive lineman Adrian Medley. It seems like they now have their two tackles, but the Seminoles need to find its center to replace Maurice Smith after missing out on UCF's Caden Kitler and Arkansas's Addison Nichols.
Florida State went to the well again as they secured a massive pickup as Wake Forest interior offensive lineman Luke Petitbon has signed with the Seminoles.
An all-conference offensive lineman is bringing grit, toughness and intelligence to #Tribe25 - welcome to the #NoleFamily, @Luke_Petitbon!
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) December 26, 2024
🔗: https://t.co/zdh624RvLN pic.twitter.com/qHkogMCilm
Petitbon was the starting center for the Demon Deacons for the past two seasons. Fans are always invested in Pro Football Focus grades, and the offensive lineman is rated as a 70.8 overall grade (88.3 pass block grade). I wonder if the former Wake Forest player can adjust to blocking in an offense that does not require a slow-mesh.
In my eyes, this is a great get for the Seminoles as they look to get back on the right track for 2025.