12/21/2022 football Edit

OL Christopher Otto signs with FSU

Patrick Burnham • TheOsceola

Football/Recruiting Analyst

Florida State has added another new piece to its 2023 signing class. Three-star offensive lineman Christopher Otto announced he's committing to FSU Wednesday, choosing the Seminoles over Syracuse and Stanford.

Otto is one of two high school offensive line prospects, the other being Lucas Simmons, that has signed with the Seminoles on Wednesday.

FSU also signed three transfer offensive linemen in UTEP's Jeremiah Byers, Colorado's Casey Roddick and Auburn's Keiondre Jones.

The Seminoles should be deep on the offensive line next season. The list of scholarship players expected to return on the offensive line in 2023 includes Robert Scott, Maurice Smith, Bless Harris, Darius Washington, Qae'shon Sapp, Zane Herring, Thomas Shrader, Kanya Charlton, Julian Armella, Bryson Estes, Jaylen Early and Daughtry Richardson. Lloyd Willis has entered the transfer portal and could have the option to return.

Otto, who is 6-5 and 285 pounds, is from Key West (Fla.) High. He is considered to be a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. Considered a bit of a late bloomer, Otto is an unranked prospect by Rivals at offensive tackle. He also considered offers from and took official visits to Princeton, Stanford and Syracuse before signing with the Seminoles.

Otto played on both sides of the ball this season for Key West and is also a wrester. While he has signed with the Seminoles during the early signing period, Otto will not enroll at FSU until next summer.

Pat Burnham on Otto: "He caught the eye of the staff this past spring and then was one of the standouts on the offensive line in July at FSU's Seminole Showcase Elite Camp, where he did more than hold his own against the likes of Keldric Faulk, who also participated in the camp. There will be questions about how long it will take him to acclimate to major college football, but he has some tools to work with. He is long, lean and athletic. Otto plays hard and is physical. He moves extremely well and looks more comfortable in his frame as a senior that he was a junior. He has some work to do fundamentally but he is strong, runs his feet through contact and moves extremely well for his size."

Charles Fishbein on Otto: "Otto plays offensive tackle for the Conchs. We project him as an interior lineman. He has great footwork. His strength is run blocking. He plays in a wing-T offense and he is used to coming off the ball and getting on a defender. He will need to work on his pass blocking technique at the next level. We expect him to redshirt and eventually become a starter down the road."