Alex Atkins was brought to Florida State to turn around one of the worst offensive lines in the United States.

After a marked improvement up front in 2020, and with a group full of returners and experienced starters, the second-year Florida State assistant might be well on his way to doing just that.

For the first time since preseason camp started, the Seminoles' offensive line coach met with the media on Thursday. And from the sounds of things, he seems to like how his group is performing through a week and a half of practice.

"They know me," Atkins said of his players. "They know the expectation. They know the standard. So, there's no question, there's no wonder when you walk into the meeting room. There's no wonder when we come out here (to the practice field). There's no wonder when we leave stretch where I'm going.

"They know. So, you feel a little bit quicker step when you know where you're going."

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Atkins has seven players returning who have started multiple games for the Seminoles, and he also has added veteran Notre Dame transfer Dillan Gibbons to the position group.

There isn't a set starting five yet. Because a couple of players are coming back from injury, and being held out periodically, there hasn't been one constant first-team group getting most of the reps in practice.

But with the season opener just over two weeks away, Atkins doesn't see that as a concern. To the contrary, he believes the constant subbing and switching is something that will benefit his unit and the offense as a whole.

It's why he has sent young linemen like redshirt freshman Zane Herring and others into battle against the first-team defense.

"That was just something I learned as I'm growing in my profession and learning how to become a better O-line coach -- you can't develop guys unless they're going against the best," Atkins said. "So, there is no ones and twos. It's can you operate against Fabien [Lovett], I've got to see that early.

"There is no depth chart. It's just more, 'What can you do when your time is called?' So I get to see that early. Because if a guy is always going as a backup, he performs as a backup, and he prepares as a backup. So I rotate that quite a bit."

Returning senior Devontay Love-Taylor was the Seminoles' best offensive lineman in 2020. He is returning from an injury late last season and has been slowly working his way back into the rotation.

Atkins seemed very optimistic on Thursday about Love-Taylor's recovery.

"Devontay's ready to go," Atkins said with a smile. "I'm just being a soft coach, probably. No, but he's doing well. He's progressing well. I'm really proud of where he's at."

As for Gibbons, it's not as if he already has a starting job to lose. He's still very much battling for a spot on the first team.

But Atkins said the transfer has made a seamless transition so far, and his experience and leadership should be valuable moving forward.

"What I like about him is he's very similar to Devontay," Atkins said. "He's a guy that has helped build those relationships. He's still gaining the trust of those guys ... but he's doing a wonderful job."

Atkins was also asked about a few more returning players on Thursday.

On center Maurice Smith: "Oh man, Maurice is comfortable. He's still a young bull. But what I like about Maurice is he's taking the game to a more mental (place) and not physical -- seeing the pictures, seeing the alignment, seeing things before they happen, taking charge. And what you see is, as he does that, the group listens to him a lot more and they don't question."

On guard Dontae Lucas: "He's still rolling. He took the (starting) reps at right guard today. So, I was proud of his poise and his control, because those were some tough situations. Those are end-of-the-game situations, where it got chaotic. ... So, it's showing his growing up and his maturity. Because he was a guy that got thrown into the fire young, too. We forget that. He was a young freshman.

"So, he's still growing with the group as well."

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