Offensive tackle Jeremiah Byers will have a successful 2024 campaign

Florida State offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins' position group has been improving since he came to the Seminoles in 2020. The offensive line has changed the perception from being one of the worst units in college football to a serviceable option.

The one facet that the fan base hyper-focuses on is the fact that Atkins prefers to place transfers picked up via the transfer portal over the recruits that he recruited while he is at Florida State. Other than Robert Scott Jr. (who he picked up in the 2020 recruiting class), it has been a challenge to get recruits on the field.

However, that perception might have to change considering that offensive linemen on the roster such as Maurice Smith, Richie Leonard IV, Darius Washington, Jeremiah Byers, Robert Scott Jr., Jacob Rizy (arriving this summer), and Keiondre Jones will be graduating after this season.

This will allow us to see if Atkins can put the recruits that he has recruited in the rotation such as Julian Armella, Jaylen Early, Lucas Simmons, Bryson Estes, and Andre Otto.

However, in this article, I want to focus on someone who will contribute to this season that should be significant in the Seminoles' success. Right tackle Jeremiah Byers is someone who started all 14 games from a season ago.

With that being said, it was not a smooth ride for the UTEP transfer as he dealt with inconsistencies as he navigated from playing with the Miners to the Seminoles. However, the coaching staff cannot afford for him to have the lapses this year as offensive tackle Robert Scott Jr. was out for the entire spring with injuries.

This brings up the fact that the offensive tackle depth is a bit thin. Versatile Darius Washington is slated to play at the left tackle position. In turn, Jeremiah Byers should play right tackle in hopes of keeping quarterback DJ Uiagalelei up right.

Overall, I believe that Byers puts everything together for the Seminoles in his second year of the program. I expect big things for the former UTEP transfer as he hopes to accomplish his lifelong dream of being an NFL draft pick.