Florida State's offensive line worked through hills and valleys during assistant coach Herb Hand's first year with the unit. The Seminoles performed well despite how inconsistent the offense was. However, it should be noted that Coach Hand grabbed a bundle of veteran transfers.
The Seminoles fired former offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins last offseason. Then they brought in Herb Hand, who has been at several Power Four schools. This type of leadership and experience appeared to contribute to Florida State's success in 2025.
The 2026 offseason appears to be much of the same, with Florida State bringing in several transfers to bolster the rotation. They acquired Xavier Chaplin, Paul Bowling, Nate Pabst, Bradyn Joiner, and Chimdia Nwaiwu.
Florida State wants to eventually start homegrown high school recruits on the offensive line. Multi-year pieces like Chavez Thompson, Andre Otto, Chastan Brown, Sean Poret, Jayden Todd, and Jonathan Daniels have to find a way to make a difference in the trenches.
Way-Too-Early Projection for Florida State's Offensive Line
We are a long way from Florida State kicking off against New Mexico State on Saturday, August 29th, in Doak Campbell Stadium, but the offseason is here, and fans always care about football.
The Seminoles have a ton of decisions to make on offense. Florida State will have head football coach Mike Norvell having the play-calling responsibilities once again in 2026, after former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn (who unexpectedly retired this offseason) had the duty last year.
Plus, Florida State will be welcoming in a new quarterback to the offense after signal-caller Thomas Castellanos exceeded his eligibility. They are likely choosing between Ashton Daniels, Kevin Sperry, and Malachi Marshall.
With that said, here is my way-too-early offensive line unit projection for the 2026 season.
I believe that Purdue's Bradyn Joiner and Troy's Paul Bowling could be interchangeable at the guard position. With that said, the offensive line isn't as flashy as it was last year, with missing high-quality players like Luke Petitbon, Micah Pettus, and Gunnar Hansen, but it is starting to be a good mix of homegrown recruits and experienced transfers.