Inside the huddle: FSU off to great start in trenches

The strength of Florida State's 2023 class is up front, with a pair of four-star offensive linemen and four defensive linemen. Let's take a closer look at the commitments and targets on both lines.

Lucas Simmons: Clearwater, Fla. – 6-7, 300

Roderick Kearney: Orange Park, Fla. – 6-4, 300

Zalance Heard: Monroe, La. – 6-5, 300

DJ Chester: McDonough, Ga. – 6-5, 300

Christopher Otto: Key West, Fla. – 6-5, 290

Tai Ray: Apopka, Fla. – 6-6, 290

FSU has rebuilt the line. Coach Mike Norvell and Alex Atkins landed Julian Armella, Qae’shon Sapp, Jaylen Early, Antavious Woody, Daughtry Richardson and Kanaya Charlton in the 2022 class. The Seminoles have also hauled in commitments from Lucas Simmons and Rod Kearney this summer in what may be the best two-year haul for offensive lineman at FSU in over two decades.

One of my favorite recruits is Woody, who would have been a five-star recruit if he measured in over 6-5 instead of 6-2. Woody has tremendous lateral quickness. I really like his length. He can play all three spots (tackle, guard and center). He reminds me of Isaiah Wynn, who played at Lakewood High and went to Georgia before developing into a first-round draft pick. This year’s class so far of Lucas Simmons and Kearney is very impressive. I have both rated in the top 20 in Florida this year. Simmons could end up being a five-star recruit before all is said and done. You can argue that Kearney is the best lineman in Florida.

FSU has recruited quality and quantity on the offensive line. Last year Atkins did that and had 5 players committed along the offensive line and on NSD pulled in Armella. This year he can pick and choose the guys he wants. Atkins zeroed in on Simmons and Kearney early on and landed two of his top targets. Tai Ray came to FSU’s mega camp and performed so well he pulled in an FSU offer. He probably was told to hold off on pulling the trigger until FSU sees a couple of his games from the upcoming season. Ray would give FSU another big-bodied tackle. Ray is a three-star tackle and one of the top five overall tackles in Florida, in my view.

FSU is also very high on Zalance Heard from Louisiana. He just came to the Seminole Showcase a weekend ago. DJ Chester is another player on FSU’s board and the coaches have recruited him very hard. FSU is one of the 2-3 schools Chester will choose from.

A name to remember is Christopher Otto. Turn on his highlight film and Otto moves extremely well. You don’t see big guys move that well. The level of competition will be questioned but he also came to Seminole Showcase and performed well. When you combine the past two classes coach Atkins took what was a major weakness on the football team and turned it into a strength in less than three years.

Keldric Faulk: Highland Home, Ala. – 6-5, 255

Lamont Green: Miami – 6-4, 225

Keith Sampson: New Bern, N.C. – 6-3, 285 (DT)

Jaden Jones: Hutchinson, Kan. – 6-6, 245

Rueben Ban: Miami – 6-2, 250

Jordan Hall: Jacksonville – 6-5, 300

Tavion Gadson: Savannah – Ga., 6-4, 300

Shymeik Jones: Camden, S.C. – 6-5, 255

I am a little biased towards players in the state of Florida. This comes from years of watching prospects live from across the country. Whether at camps, combines, live games the players in Florida are just better in most situations. With that being said, Faulk is a future All-American. He has all the physical tools you want: Size, length, quickness off the ball. His film reminds me of Josh Sweat before his terrible injury his senior season. Faulk is a pure pass rusher. He can set the edge. He also does a very good job of staying low. You will see him get under an offensive tackle and then whip by them. He will be a premier pass rusher in college and could make an impact Day 1. I am a big fan of Lamont Green Jr. Part of the reason is I have seen him play frequently in person. If Green was not committed and was still available to be recruited you would see him get hyped more. One thing Green does live in games is perform. He can get after the quarterback. He has the ability to also get off the ball quickly and get into the backfield. Green has good technique. This is no surprise since his father played football and is very involved in Jr’s life. He also loves football. When I turned on Keith Sampson’s film, I came away very impressed. Odell does this every few years. He finds that Letroy Guion, Andre Fluellen, Broderick Bunkley-type defensive tackle and they come to FSU and perform above their rankings. Sampson is big and can move. He needs to come in and be developed but the physical talents are there. He can get off the ball quickly. He also uses his hands well. He has the tools to be a starter down the road.

When it comes to junior college prospects I rely on my friend, Timmi Norlin, who runs JuCo Football Forer. He is a former coach and player. When it comes to transfers, he was the transfer portal before the portal was ever around. I called him after Jaden Jones committed and he felt this kid would be the No. 1 defensive lineman this year at the junior college level. Jones is very talented and look for FSU to have to fight off big time Power 5 programs once this year starts. He is a great athlete and Jones has all the tools. I will get his insight once the junior college season starts.

FSU will continue to recruit Jordan Hall, Tavion Gadson and Rueben Bain up front. FSU may have a shot at Bain mainly because the Hurricanes may choose to slow play the talented end from Miami Central. He is not real big but Bain can get off the ball. He has that twitch you need to play defensive end. He could also end up playing some outside linebacker in college. The No. 1 target left on the board is Jordan Hall from Westside. He is close with Roderick Kearney and both have discussed playing college football together. Hall was a heavy lean to FSU early on. Haggins is in a position of strength so he can swing for the fences now and try and land Hall. Gadson is an out of state prospect that I have not gotten to fully evaluate. He is said to be a lean to the Seminoles and may be choosing them before the high school season starts. The final prospect is Shymek Jones. He was offered by FSU at a summer camp. He is a former basketball player who went out for football this year. He is raw and it will take time to develop the South Carolina star.

If there are two areas of the FSU team that fans should not be concerned about it should be the offensive and defensive lines. If you can control both lines of scrimmage, it is easier to win games. FSU’s haul on the offensive line the past two seasons along with the transfer portal has put FSU in a position to win over the next few seasons. The defensive line recruiting has also been very good. It is needed on that side of the ball as FSU will lose some major parts of its line the next two off-seasons.

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