Former Florida State Offensive Lineman accepts position at Arizona State

Since being hired by Arizona State in December, Kenny Dillingham has been hard at work on the recruiting trail while trying to fill out his coaching staff ahead of his first season as a head coach. At this point of the offseason, Dillingham is in the process of bulking up his support staff in Tempe.

On Tuesday, he made another addition when former Florida State offensive lineman Devontay Love-Taylor announced on social media that he was joining Arizona State as an Offensive Recruiting Specialist. This marks the beginning of Love-Taylor's coaching career where he'll start on the ground floor of a program that is being rebuilt by the up-and-coming Dillingham.

Thankful to be a part of @KennyDillingham’s staff! So excited for this opportunity and to #ActivateTheValley! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/hgbbWMk8wr
— Devontay Love-Taylor (@DevontayTaylor) February 14, 2023

The connection here is obvious as Love-Taylor played under Dillingham during his two years in Tallahassee as a graduate transfer from 2020-21. At the time, Dillingham was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida State before moving on to Oregon in the same role this past season. His work with the Ducks ended up landing him the top job at his alma mater.

Love-Taylor began his career at FIU and was named an honorable mention All-Conference USA in 2019 after helping the Panthers rank sixth nationally in fewest sacks allowed with 1.08 per game. He ended up appearing in 32 games, with 16 starts, in three years before transferring to Florida State.

In his first year with the Seminoles, Love-Taylor started the first seven games of the season before suffering an injury. He displayed versatility by making four starts at left tackle, two starts at right tackle, and one at right guard. At the conclusion of the season, he was honored with the Don Powell Award which goes to the unsung heroes on the team.

The Florida native returned for his final season of eligibility in 2021 and was named a team captain. Though he dealt with various injuries, Love-Taylor started nine games at right guard and earned honorable mention All-ACC honors while making the All-ACC Academic Team for the second consecutive year.

He went undrafted in 2022 and ended up accepting a mini-camp invite from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Love-Taylor did not end up making the final roster and instead decided to pursue his coaching career.

The connections he built at Florida State were instrumental in landing Love-Taylor his first job. His ties to Florida could be a valuable trait in his role as a recruiting specialist for Arizona State.

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