We heard all offseason long about the on and off-field impact that Wake Forest center transfer Luke Petitbon was making within the Florida State football program.
It took basically no time at all once the Alabama game began for everyone who hasn’t been out at practice to see that for ourselves.
Petitbon, as the center on FSU’s revamped unit which featured four new transfer starters and one second-year transfer in Richie Leonard IV who missed most of 2024 due to injury, anchored one of the better performances
in recent FSU history on Saturday.
Facing an Alabama defense loaded with future NFL talent, the FSU offensive line provided the program’s first sack-free performance since September of 2023 while also running for 230 yards and four touchdowns.
According to FSU OL coach Herb Hand, Petitbon called a perfect game in his first time handling pre-snap assignment calls in a new offensive scheme.
“He got every call right because he made a decision and he called out what he thought …,” Hand said. “One of the most important parts about playing center is ID what you see, make a call and live with it. That’s what we tell him is have balls, make a call and live with it, man. And then the other guys have got your back, and you go out there and you execute what the center says.”
Petitbon’s remarkable effort in his FSU debut was recognized at the conference and national levels. He was named the ACC’s offensive lineman of the week as well as the Outland Trophy national player of the week for his role in the Seminoles’ top-10 upset of the Crimson Tide.
Per FSU, Petitbon finished with an 85 percent job grade and a 96 percent effort grade vs. Alabama, with seven knockdown blocks and seven blocks that set up either a first down or a touchdown.
Considering Petitbon has been talked about all offseason as a likely leader at FSU after he was previously a captain at Wake Forest, it makes sense that he didn’t want to take much credit for himself, instead lumping it onto his teammates.
“It really helps to play center when you’re surrounded by four veteran guys who have played a bunch of football and have a great understanding of the game,” Petitbon said. We prepared our tails off, and we all were dialed in on the gameplan. When it’s like that, it’s easy to go out there and communicate and be on the same page. Those guys, they make it easy on me. We all help each other because we’re all preparing, doing the right things during the week.”
He added of FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos, who was named the Davey O’Brien national quarterback of the week, “I think when you have a quarterback like Tommy and you watch him play, I’d say he plays an inspiring style of football, where if you’re on his team and you watch what he’s doing, it’s impossible to not play your hardest, whether you’re on offense or defense. If you’re an offensive lineman, you want to block your tail off because you watch a guy like Tommy, he’s doing everything in his power every single play to make us have success.”
Similarly, Norvell, when asked about Petitbon’s performance, praised the offensive line as a whole, being sure to shout out all five starters who each played every offensive snap vs. Alabama. However, his words for Petitbon certainly stood out.
“He’s different …,” Norvell said. “He’s come in and, really, he embraces it all. I love the young man. I believe that he’s got a chance to be one of the best centers in college football. I really see him at that level. … He’s everything. He really is. You get the total package when you get him. I’m really proud of his investment in this program.”
While it was just one game, it’s fair to wonder, considering the opponent in that opener, if this unit is on track to be FSU’s best offensive line since 2013 and Petitbon is FSU’s best center since Bryan Stork, who anchored that unit.
