The FSU offensive line in 2024 was about as bad as you could get under Alex Atkins. FSU fired Atkins and hired respected veteran offensive line coach Herb Hand, and he wasted no time upgrading the FSU offensive line through the transfer portal.
Hand took four players who became starters in the Winter Portal, and two developmental guys in the Spring Portal window. He also signed three high school guys (that he recruited) in the 2025 recruiting cycle. FSU will lose the four they brought in from the portal, and they don’t have much experience with young guys on the roster.
That means they’ll need to hit the portal again to supplement experience and depth while those young guys continue to develop. The FSU offensive line under Hand’s guidance was among the best in the ACC:
Updated ACC Offensive Line Grades, via @PFSNcollege:
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) November 26, 2025
Miami: 90.0
FSU: 87.7
Georgia Tech: 82.7
SMU: 81.6
NC State: 81.0
Virginia: 80.7
Duke: 80.7
Louisville: 79.1
Virginia Tech: 77.5
BC: 76.6
Wake: 76.1
Clemson: 75.1
Pitt: 71.7
Syracuse: 71.0
Stanford: 68.9
Cal: 62.6
North… pic.twitter.com/eUtuc1DwYG
Excited to watch these two DUDES compete at the @Hula_Bowl.
— Herb Hand (@CoachHand) December 18, 2025
Thankful for the opportunity to have worked with both @micahpettus2 and @GunnarHansenn. These two will represent @FSUFootball and our OLine UNIT well as they prepare for the NFL Draft. #GoNoles 🍢🔥💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/MPbyFWmwTl
Luke Petitbon earned multiple All-ACC honors at center, and Richie Leonard earned All-ACC Honorable mention. Hand is a good evaluator of talent and knows what’s needed to be successful in Gus Malzahn’s offense. The work he did in the transfer portal, even though he wasn’t hired until December 2024, likely means he has had more time to evaluate and target specific guys he’d like to have at FSU.
He didn’t have much to sell besides his reputation when he first arrived, but it should be easier to attract good talent from the transfer portal in this recruiting cycle. Also, there seems to be more offensive linemen with good experience in the portal, and more options could enter once the College Football Playoffs end, so it’ll be interesting to see how well they do. I suspect they’ll do well enough to have another solid offensive line in 2026, which should bode well for the FSU offense if they can find a good quarterback.