THE HEALTH OF THE OFFENSIVE TACKLES
It all comes down to the health of a football team. It could be the difference between making a College Football Playoff and being snubbed by a one-loss Alabama Crimson Tide squad (yes, if you are wondering, I am still angry two years later).
The offensive line has an issue with suffering injuries from time to time. With that said, that is why the position group has many reserves, because those players go through so many bumps and bruises with having to make contact with defensive linemen on every play.
I am a huge fan of the Seminoles bringing in offensive line coach Herb Hand, who has had Power Four experience at schools such as Auburn, Texas, Penn State, Vanderbilt, and UCF. However, he still has to prove his worth with the Seminoles, as the offensive line was one of the worst units in all of college football.
Florida State has solidified both of its starting offensive tackles with Vanderbilt's Gunnar Hansen and Ole Miss's Micah Pettus. I am in favor of Hansen and Pettus, but both of them struggled with injuries in the spring. This is the first time in fall camp that the offensive line has maintained health.
With that said, I don't feel comfortable with reserve options such as Lucas Simmons, Jonathan Daniels, Jacob Rizy, Andre Otto, or others getting significant snaps if Gunnar Hansen and Micah Pettus get injured because I believe both of the starters are game-changers if they piece everything together.