It's safe to say Florida State's offensive line underperformed expectations in 2024.

The Seminoles allowed 49 sacks (most of any FBS team that played just 12 games) and ranked 132nd out of 134 FBS teams in average yards per carry (2.85).

So by that notion, a serious overhaul in personnel this offseason could have its advantages. The good thing for the Seminoles is that's exactly what they are getting, losing 36 of their 60 total starts on the 2024 offensive line and 159 career starts to graduation.

The other side of that, though, is that FSU has minimal returning experience on the offensive line. The Seminoles' 11 returning offensive lineman this offseason have made a combined 24 starts during their collective time at FSU.

That's a big part of why FSU brought in four transfer offensive linemen who have made a combined 105 career starts and played in 127 games at the Power Four level to give that position group the injection of experience that it was badly missing at the start of the offseason.

"I think it means a lot having guys in your room that have played a lot of snaps and played a lot of ball. We can bounce ideas off each other because we've all had different experiences, we've seen things, we can help the younger guys," Ole Miss transfer Micah Pettus said. "It's important for your program as an offensive line to have experience, to go out there with depth and everybody being able to play."

Spring camp will be a critical time for this position group to grow in familiarity, learn each others' play styles and set up a pecking order of sorts in terms of a depth chart entering the summer and preseason camp.

But even before then, the transfer additions are making an effort to build bonds that will pay off once they finally take the field for their first practice with their new teammates in March.

"We're not practicing so it's hard in that sense (to build chemistry), but getting together, doing drills, lifting together, being around each other, that's the start of building continuity," Wake Forest transfer Luke Petitbon said. "It's a process and once spring ball gets here, that's the time where you can really start ironing stuff out. I think that'll be a big time for us this spring. For now, I think the biggest thing is getting to know each other, doing what we can football-wise and more importantly, bonding on a personal level."

Entering the offseason, it seems likely that FSU's four transfer additions to the offensive front will be in the driver's seat for starting jobs with some likely knowledge about what positions they will hold down as well.

Pettus and Vanderbilt transfer Gunnar Hansen both made 29+ starts as offensive tackles at SEC schools. UCF transfer Adrian Medley is entering his seventh season in college football and started all 12 games at left guard for the Knights in 2024. Petitbon started 21 games at center for Wake Forest over the last two seasons, earning an All-ACC honorable mention honor.

However, each of them wants to show over the course of this offseason that they are worthy of a starting spot and have no expectations that a spot in the starting five will be handed to them.

"I don't think anything is going to be handed to anybody here. That's not what they do, they made that very apparent," Pettus said. "And I don't want anything handed to me. I'm coming to work every day. It doesn't matter if they want me to play tackle, guard, running back, wide receiver, quarterback, DB. I'm ready to play."

"It doesn't matter where I play..." Medley said. "Anything I could do to help the team I'm down for. I want to be a leader to these guys because I probably am the oldest person in the room. I want to be a leader."

Leadership is another essential thing that these transfers are likely to bring to FSU's relatively young offensive line room. That's something that appeared to be sorely lacking across the 2024 FSU roster, contributing to the team's inability to ever dig its way out of its early-season struggles on the way to a dreadful 2-10 campaign.

"I can be a vocal leader, I haven't really been in the past. I'll say stuff when needed, that's not ever really been my thing. But if there's stuff that needs to be said, I will speak up," Pettus said. "Lead by example, show the young guys the ropes, how to do things, how not to do things...Just try to help each other out. A mistake you make can help someone else not make that mistake. You can learn from another guy's mistake."

Petitbon, a captain on the Wake Forest team this past season, knows, however, from his five years at Wake Forest that being entrusted with a leadership role has to be earned and can't be taken.

"I don't think leadership can be faked. I think as a new guy, the first thing you have to do is build trust if you want to be a leader. I was a captain at Wake Forest and I was a leader at Wake Forest for a good amount of time. That was in part because I built trust over such a long period of time," Petitbon said. "I'm not going to force anything. That's not my position to do. I'm not going to sit here and try to force myself into a leadership role because that's not how good leaders are born. I think I'm just going to do my part, try to be the best teammate I can possibly be and if that brings me into a leadership role, I'm more than happy to take that on. But it's got to be natural. I think everyone knows leadership has to come naturally."

PFF grades, snap counts, statistical analysis of FSU's offensive line transfer additions

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