FSU OC Tim Harris Jr. Sees Promise, But Offensive Line Needs To Be Better

The Florida State Seminoles are fielding an entirely new offensive line for the second straight year.

It certainly looked like that on Saturday, as the unit worked side-by-side against an actual opponent for the first time.

The Seminoles had their fair share of struggles, allowing 6 pressures on 32 dropbacks. FSU's offensive line also committed four penalties, including one that essentially turned a field goal into a touchdown.

Obviously, the unit doesn't have the high-level P4 experience it did a year ago. At the same time, the 2025 offensive line was banged up throughout the offseason and didn't get to build a ton of chemistry before the fall.

That was opposite for this group of Seminoles, who primarily stayed available in the spring and preseason, outside of a few bumps and bruises.

Offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. provided his review of the trenches on Monday.

Decent Start But Long Way To Go For FSU's Offensive Line

Florida State Seminoles running back Ousmane Kromah (32) gets tackled by New Mexico State Aggies linebacker Tory Gethers (6) and New Mexico State Aggies cornerback Lorenzo Smith (0).The Florida State Seminoles defeated the New Mexico State Aggies 34-17 at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Harris Jr. was satisfied with the offensive line's performance, considering it was the first game. New Mexico State tried a bunch of things defensively to confuse the Seminoles, and it worked early.

As the contest went on, FSU was able to adjust, averaging 5.6 yards per carry on 39 attempts.

"I think for a first game they did a really solid job," Harris Jr. said. "New Mexico State, they did a good job of junking up the front a little bit in the run game. They ran a lot of twists in the middle of the defense, which is where we were pushing a lot of our runs."

"A couple of series early on, it took us just some talking on the sideline how we wanted to attack things," Harris Jr. added. "Our guys responded; you look at the end of the game, the way that we ran the ball. 5.6 yards per carry, they did a good job there."

5.6 yards per carry looks ok on paper, but it was against a middle-of-the-pack, maybe even bottom-tier, defense. When you dig deeper, the Seminoles' struggles become a little clearer.

15 of Florida State's rushes were considered inside the tackles, per PFF. On those carries, the Seminoles averaged 3.4 yards per attempt and totaled 51 yards.

Outside of the tackles, it was a different story. That was where FSU produced 5 of its 6 10+ yard runs, and the other one came on a scramble. Overall, the Seminoles had far more success targeting the edge, rushing 16 times for 151 yards, a whopping 9.4 yards per carry.

Even if you take out Ousmane Kromah's 52-yard rush, Florida State still averaged 6.6 yards per carry on outside concepts.

Basically, those numbers say the offensive line didn't do their job at a high level, and it was up to the running backs to make plays by themselves.

The passing game is also a work in progress, as Chimdia Nwaiwu looked like a liability, and Bradyn Welch-Joiner didn't have a strong performance.

"In the passing game, I think it goes beyond just the offensive line when you talk about pass protection," Harris Jr. said. "I know sometimes you can look at a quarterback scrambling out of the pocket, and you always think that it's the offensive line. There's a lot of things that go into that."

"Running backs are keyed into it, sometimes tight end, and then quarterbacks on themselves," Harris Jr. added. 'Making sure that they can stay in the pocket sometimes, maybe step up and not scramble."

Harris Jr. sees plenty of room for improvement, but thinks that will come over time as the group gets used to playing alongside each other.

"I definitely think our group has to continue to grow. We got in some 1-on-1 situations, there's some things that we want to be better with but I'm excited about the group," Harris Jr. said. "I think the more that you play in that unit, the better you'll get. The more reps that you continue to get with games, the communication, all that stuff. We'll continue to get better there."

Florida State opens ACC play against SMU on Monday, September 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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