Jeremiah Byers on Offensive Line Depth and the Brotherhood at FSU
The Florida State Seminoles are once again a part of the elite programs in college football as they are now ranked fourth in the AP, Coaches, and College Football Playoff polls.
As the Seminoles have crossed the point in the season where injuries start to come up while preparing for the ninth game. Florida State's offensive line as accumulated some bumps and bruises but has remained consistent while relying on an eight-man rotation of juniors and seniors who have played a lot of football.
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"It's super beneficial. We're a very old o-line, a lot of banged-up people, but we make it work," said FSU offensive tackle Jeremiah Byers. "It just shows you how big the unit is and how much depth we have to go out there and execute with eight and there's no drop-off, that's the biggest thing."
Byers transferred from the University of Texas at El Paso in the spring after signing with the Seminoles in December. While he may have gotten his start at a smaller school, Byers was the number 1 OT in the transfer portal. He came to FSU to grow as a player, but he also came because he saw a spark in the team after the 10-win 2022 season.
"Oh yeah that's why I came," Byers said. "I knew this team was special from last year and I just wanted to come and be a part of something that's family-oriented and something that cares about their kids and want to go win."
One major advantage Byers and the offensive line have over other teams is being able to go against a top defensive line every day. With the FSU defense having six sacks in the past game, including two from defensive end Jared Verse, there is no doubt the O-line is a better unit because they practice against such a strong group on the other side of the ball.
"They're great players, great players. Jared, everybody knows what Jared is, and Pat, he's just a young buck that's coming up. It's just crazy the lineage of d-lineman that have come through here," said Byers.
Despite the 'Noles officially being in college football playoff contention for the first time since 2014 during the CFP's inaugural season, Byers admitted that nobody on the team really cares about that right now, and all focus is instead on the upcoming game against the Pitt Panthers this Saturday.
"Somebody tagged me in it on Instagram, I just told them we've got Pitt this week so I'm not really even worried about the playoffs."
The Seminoles and Panthers face off Saturday, November 4th at 3:30 PM ET in Pittsburgh's Acrisure stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the 2023 season.
