Micah Pettus has 40 starts in his career with FSU and Ole Miss, but when it came time for NFL Combine invites, he was nowhere on the list. That was a sign that if the big-bodied tackle wanted to continue playing football professionally, he was going to have to make some serious changes.
Pettus, who was listed at 6-foot-7 and 349 pounds, had to get out of Tallahassee and head to the Sports Academy in Frisco, Texas to work with Duke Manyweather and make some lifestyle changes to transform his body and improve his overall skills. After several weeks with the founder of OL Masterminds, Pettus told the NFL Network he is down to a slim, trim 332 pounds.Â
Florida State OT Micah Pettus joined me on The Insiders on @nflnetwork to talk about his improved physique, how @BigDuke50 is helping his technique, why his Combine and Senior Bowl snubs are motivation and how he’s used his NIL money to give back. pic.twitter.com/nlmpzs70hl
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 2, 2026
"They had me on a meal plan down there, a new diet. You know my whole life I've been on a seafood diet — see food and I eat it. But they've got me on the right track," Pettus said. "I lost over 30 pounds of fat and gained nine pounds of muscle from my time out there. So I'm looking good and feeling good out there."
Micah Pettus hopes body transformation will lead to NFL opportunity
Pettus has always been built for power. He is a classic mauler that does most of his damage in the run game. He's tough to move off his block. But in the NFL, you have to have the footwork and the mobility. Those were the things that he had to fix along with his diet.Â
The likelihood of Pettus sliding into the late rounds of the NFL Draft is probably not great, but it's possible. It only takes one team to be sold, and I could see Pettus being appealing to a team that values a longer college football career and a player that has proven to be durable in the trenches. Worst-case scenario is that Pettus is an undrafted free agent and that might allow him to get into a better situation that could lead to playing time down the road.
Whatever happens next week, Pettus has been putting in the work to make himself more appealing to NFL teams, and he has always had high marks as a good teammate and a tough competitor. That should get him in a rookie camp with one of the 32 NFL teams.Â
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