Florida State’s offensive line picture is still very much up for grabs as the Seminoles get ready for SMU.
Even though FSU used the same five starters in the season opener against New Mexico State, Mike Norvell said this week that the job is not locked in. Paul Bowling is among the players making a case for more playing time, and the next few practices will help determine whether the lineup stays the same.
“It absolutely is,” Norvell said when asked if the O-line battle was still ongoing. “That's something even coming out of the game, there was, there were some good performances. There are some performances that everybody needs to be better, but this would be a big week of practice, just to make sure that as you get into the game, guys got opportunities.”
Norvell’s message to the group is simple: camp matters, but what happens on the field matters more. He said the players need to use this week to show improvement, consistency and cleaner execution if they want to move up the depth chart.
“I tell them, what you see is where you are. We talked about what we want to be, and this is all of it, but it's just kind of where we are right now,” Norvell said. “So what are we doing moving forward, the improvement, the consistency, guys that might not have played, it's your opportunity to go show throughout the week that, what you do, the effectiveness and just the consistency of whether it's your assignments, your responsibility, your eyes, your communication, anything that might be hindering you from cracking that lineup, then let's get it fixed and let's get better.”
He also pointed to specific issues from the New Mexico State game, including finishing blocks and finding the right targets at the second level. Norvell said the Aggies made life difficult by changing looks up front, and he felt Florida State had stretches where it wasn’t balanced enough or sharp enough with its eyes.
“I thought New Mexico State did a good job of trying to junk up some of the front and leverages of how they were fitting. We had some times where we weren't, I'd say, in full balance or in power up front where we got kind of caught leaning or maybe not great with our eyes,” Norvell said. “But I also thought there was, I thought they did a really good job in some of the screen game out on the second level, helping spark what became explosive plays.”
One play in particular stood out to him: left tackle Xavier Chaplin getting downfield and helping clear the way for Tre Wisner’s big run.
“You look at, I think it was Tre, Tre Wisner's big run. You got Chaplin down there 10-12 yards down the field leading the block, that it was a great space block,” Norvell said. “You could find hits and misses in all of it, but yes, as a whole, we want to be better and cleaner.”
With Florida State heading into its conference opener, Norvell made it clear that the competition is still live.
“But competition is a beautiful thing. I know that, we've got a competitive group there, and there's definitely gonna be a push this week just to see if that's gonna be the exact group that's gonna run out there come Monday night, or if there's going to be adjustments,” Norvell said.
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Florida State Still Needs More From The Desir Twins Up Front
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Instead, the pressure came from elsewhere. Rylan Kennedy, Jalen Anderson and Mikai Gbayor accounted for the Seminoles three sacks and turned in the stronger pass-rush showings, while the Desir twins finished with only two total pressures and no sacks. For Florida State, the opener was a reminder that the defensive line has more than enough depth to flash, but it still needs the players projected to lead it up front to match that standard. [Read more 🡒]