Florida State football offseason evaluation: Offensive line

2025 has come and gone for Florida State football and though there was improvement in the overall record, the results still fell short of Seminole expectations. With next season make-or-break for head coach Mike Norvell, how he and his staff navigate the roster could save his job or end his embattled tenure in Tallahassee. How did each position group do last season and what does the future look like?

The 2024 Florida State Seminoles offensive line was one to forget about. The unit struggled mightily throughout the season with a combination of injuries and ineptness. To combat this failure, the FSU staff added four starters from the portal for the 2025 season. These four lineman combined with two previous transfer additions to handle the majority of the snaps in 2025. Was the portal gamble a successful one for Florida State?

2025 Florida State offensive line: PFF grades

19^th overall offense: 78.7 pass blocking, 66.9 run blocking 23 sacks allowed

• Gunnar Hansen: 61 overall, 71.6 pass blocking, 56.2 run blocking
• Richie Leonard IV: 62.6 overall, 75.2 pass blocking, 57.9 run blocking
• Luke Petitbon: 73.2 overall, 88.2 pass blocking, 67.3 run blocking
• Adrian Medley: 64.8 overall, 54.2 pass blocking, 66.5 run blocking
• Micah Pettus: 70.2 overall, 74.7 pass blocking, 67.1 run blocking
• Jacob Rizy: 71.8 overall, 86.2 pass blocking, 67.2 run blocking

2024 Florida State offensive line: PFF grades

122^nd overall offense: 66.2 pass blocking, 53.7 run blocking, 49 sacks allowed

• Jeremiah Byers: 66.4 overall, 73.3 pass blocking, 63.8 run blocking
• Terrence Ferguson II: 42.6 overall, 55.4 pass blocking, 36.3 run blocking
• Keiondre Jones: 55.6 overall, 59.4 pass blocking, 51.9 run blocking
• Maurice Smith: 63 overall, 73 pass blocking, 61.3 run blocking
• Darius Washington: 61.4 overall, 62 pass blocking, 60.2 run blocking
• Jacob Rizy: 72.8 overall, 73.1 pass blocking, 71.3 run blocking

In year one of veteran coach Herb Hand’s leadership, the Florida State offensive line was arguably the most improved unit on the field. With 49 sacks allowed in 2024, Seminole quarterbacks were scrambling before plays could be developed. In 2025, led by center Luke Petitbon, the FSU offense improved in every major category, including protecting their signal caller. Credit to the staff as there was a major need and it was addressed.

2026 offensive line recruiting: High school signees

The Seminoles added five true offensive linemen in the 2026 class, with one potential swing lineman from the defensive side of the ball — from our own NoleThruandThru:

The numbers are nice, but the problem with this group is that none of these guys are ready for significant playing time, which is what you’d hope for when you sign a JUCO player. FSU is going to have to hit the portal hard once again and hope that Hand’s developmental chops show up with some of the returning linemen who need to prove they’re still worthy of a roster spot. This class just feels like a lot of depth and filler to me, but hopefully Hand will be able to develop some of them well.

2026 projected depth

• Redshirt freshman Andre Otto
• Redshirt sophomore Lucas Simmons
• Freshman Chavez Thompson
• Redshirt freshman Jonathan Daniels
• Redshirt freshman Joshua Raymond
• Freshman Ja’Elyne Matthews
• Redshirt freshman Jayden Todd

2026 outlook

At some point, the Seminoles will need to start developing homegrown talent at the offensive line position. Can Otto and Simmons challenge for a starting spot next season? As much as the FSU staff would love to see this, there is still a major unknown about the existing options due to limited playing time the last two seasons. FSU will need to add significant numbers at the offensive line position, potentially bringing in an entire starting five.