Florida State is expected to name Charlotte offensive coordinator/OL coach Alex Atkins as its next offensive line coach, a source confirmed to Warchant on Saturday morning.
Atkins spent one year at Charlotte after serving the previous three seasons as offensive line coach and associate head coach at Tulane.
Charlotte went 7-5 during the 2019 regular season before falling to Buffalo on Friday in the Bahamas Bowl.
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The 49ers ranked 41st nationally this season with 1.62 sacks allowed per game. Florida State ranked among the worst in the country at 3.67.
Charlotte's offense featured a potent rushing attack in 2019, averaging 200.4 yards per game and 4.94 yards per carry. The 49ers ranked 84th in passing offense at 211.5 yards per game.
The 49ers saw substantial improvement across the board in Atkins' one season as offensive coordinator -- in everything from yards per carry to the number of sacks allowed.
Atkins has a tie with at least one assistant coach on Florida State's staff, as he worked with defensive coordinator Adam Fuller during the 2012 season at Chattanooga.
With this hire, Florida State has eight of 10 assistant coaches now in place:
Chris Thomsen (deputy head coach/offensive assistant)
Kenny Dillingham (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
Alex Atkins (OL coach)
Ron Dugans (wide receivers)
Adam Fuller (defensive coordinator)
Odell Haggins (defensive line)
John Papuchis (defensive ends/special teams)
Chris Marve (linebackers)
The final two assistants will handle defensive secondary and either tight ends or running backs. Thomsen is expected to coach the other.
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Here is Atkins' bio from the Charlotte official site:
Atkins was Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line coach for the previous three years at Tulane. In 2018, he was also Running Game Coordinator. This year, the Green Wave went 7-6 and defeated Louisiana-Lafayette, 41-24, in the AutoNation Cure Bowl. They ranked 23rd in the nation with 218.2 yards of rushing offense. In 2017, the Green Wave ranked 20th in the nation in rushing with 231.5 yards per game. In 2016, the rushing attacked ranked 26th in the nation.
Atkins spent two years as offensive line coach at Georgia Southern in 2014 and 2015 as the Eagles put together back-to-back seasons of 9-4 and 9-3. In 2015, the Eagles won the GoDaddy.com Bowl in the school’s first-ever FBS bowl appearance. They led the nation with 363 rushing yards per game. In 2014, as GSU transitioned to the FBS, the Eagles went 9-3 and put up 384.0 rushing yards per game.
Atkins was also offensive line coach for two years at Chattanooga, in 2012 and 2013. He helped the Mocs to a 14-9 record that included an 8-4 season in 2013 when Chattanooga posted six Southern Conference wins, its most since joining the league in 1977. A Mocs’ offensive linemen earned first team all-Southern Conference honors each season.
He was an offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons at Itawamba (Miss.) Community College before heading to Chattanooga. The Indians ranked in the top 25 nationally in total offense in both 2010 and 2011.Atkins got his coaching start at his alma mater, UT-Martin, in 2007 and 2008 and was a grad assistant at Marshall in 2009.
A four-year starting offensive guard at UT-Martin, Atkins was a two-time all-Ohio Valley Conference selection. As a senior, the Skyhawks were ranked 12th nationally with a 9-3 record and the offensive ine helped produce two 1,000-yard rushers. UT-Martin won the OVC Championship and made its first-ever appearance in the FCS playoffs.
A 2007 UT Martin graduate with a degree in history, Atkins is a native of Chicago, Ill., and is married to his wife, Brittany.
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