Florida State struggled during the 2024 season, finishing with a 2-10 record. The offensive unit was much to blame for the failures. In the words of head football coach Mike Norvell, the coaching staff was super excited in the preseason about a veteran offensive line unit led by a potential "All-American" offensive lineman Darius Washington.
The truth of the matter was that the offensive line could not establish the running game, which was something that they felt could have been a strength. The veteran offensive linemen on the roster from year have left and previous offensive line coach Alex Atkins is now at LSU.
The Seminoles went out and hired former UCF offensive line coach Herb Hand to man the position group. He has served as an offensive line coach at Tulsa, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Auburn, Texas, and UCF so the experience and track record are there.
Florida State transformed its position group this offseason via the transfer portal and recruiting ranks. They added pieces such as Luke Petitbon (Wake Forest), Micah Pettus (Ole Miss), Adrian Medley (UCF), Gunnar Hansen (Vanderbilt), IOL Mario Nash Jr., OT Sean Poret, OT Chastan Brown, and IOL Sandman Thompson.
The starting lineup for the Seminoles will likely be composed of Petitbon, Pettus, Medley, Hansen, and returning starter Richie Leonard IV. All of these players have made multiple collegiate starts in their careers.
One consistent theme that we have heard this offseason is that Florida State wants to "run the ball". That is something that is music to my ears with the Seminoles' struggles to run the football last year. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has had a track history with wherever he has been with running the football. I don't expect that aspect to stop here.
While I am not beating down the table by saying that Florida State has the best offensive line in the country, I do believe that the Seminoles will be at least an average offensive unit in 2025, which is night and day different from last season.