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Making the grade: What the analytics say about Florida State’s offensive line against Virginia Tech

How did the Noles’ OL perform against the Hokies?

By Tim_Alumbaugh
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Virginia Tech v Florida State Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images

The Florida State Seminoles improved to 5-0 on the season after their blowout victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies last weekend.

On Saturday, Florida State shuffled its offensive line, once again, as two tackles traded places. Bless Harris missed the game with an injury, while Robert Scott returned and recorded snaps in his second appearance of the season (Scott played briefly in FSU’s season-opening win over the LSU Tigers before getting injured).

The Hokies made the game interesting in the second quarter before the road-graders paved the way for two huge Trey Benson touchdown runs to help seal the game in the second half. The offensive line helped Benson become the first Seminole to accrue 200 yards rushing in a contest since Dalvin Cook dominated the South Florida Bulls with 267 yards in 2016.

After each week, Tomahawk Nation will take a peek at FSU’s PFF grades along the line, offering some insight into the numbers and performances. Please note, any player seeing fewer than 10 snaps is excluded due to the small sample.

Florida State offensive line grades through Week 6:

Florida State offensive line grades through week 6

Player LSU Total Snaps LSU Run Blocking LSU Pass Blocking Southern Miss Total Snaps Southern Miss Run Blocking Southern Miss Pass Blocking BC Total Snaps BC Run Blocking BC Pass Blocking Clemson Total Snaps Clemson Run Blocking Clemson Pass Blocking Virginia Tech Total Snaps Virginia Tech Run Blocking Virginia Tech Pass Blocking Overall Run Blocking Overall Pass Blocking
Player LSU Total Snaps LSU Run Blocking LSU Pass Blocking Southern Miss Total Snaps Southern Miss Run Blocking Southern Miss Pass Blocking BC Total Snaps BC Run Blocking BC Pass Blocking Clemson Total Snaps Clemson Run Blocking Clemson Pass Blocking Virginia Tech Total Snaps Virginia Tech Run Blocking Virginia Tech Pass Blocking Overall Run Blocking Overall Pass Blocking
Julian Armella n/a n/a n/a 13 56.1 77.3 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 56.10 77.30
Jeremiah Byers 60 65 51.8 56 54.7 67 60 63.5 59.1 52 52.9 45.1 40 61.5 32.6 59.52 51.12
Jaylen Early n/a n/a n/a 13 68 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 68.00 0.00
D'Mitri Emmanuel 41 51.3 84.8 41 80 75 22 50.3 80.7 44 59.2 74.1 34 60.8 55.2 60.32 73.96
Bryson Estes n/a n/a n/a 13 68.9 76.3 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 68.90 76.30
Bless Harris 55 63.7 87.5 56 68.6 79 60 71.8 75.3 62 48.4 91.4 n/a n/a n/a 63.13 83.30
Keiondre Jones 35 60.8 83.9 15 69.8 79.3 38 79.5 52.2 18 55.3 69.9 22 61.9 74.0 65.46 71.86
Casey Roddick 60 56.3 56.2 56 68.7 81.3 60 71.3 85.5 62 44.3 55.4 56 61.5 1.0 60.42 55.88
Robert Scott 13 58.3 81.2 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 27 56.7 69.7 57.50 75.45
Thomas Shrader n/a n/a n/a 13 74.2 76.3 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 74.20 76.30
David Stickle n/a n/a n/a 18 63.4 74.9 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 63.40 74.90
Maurice Smith 68 58.6 36.2 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 61 58.3 61.9 56 56.5 58.3 57.80 52.13
Darius Washington 8 79.6 66.1 56 62.1 55.8 60 67.6 82.9 11 60.0 86.6 45 71.2 85.0 68.10 75.28

Florida State offensive line performance takeaways with @Ricobert11

PFF is not a perfect scoring system. The graders cannot be 100% of the assignments on each play.

PFF CFB Scale: 90-100 Elite, 85-89 All-Conference, 70-84 Starter, 60-69 Backup, <60 replaceable

  • I am a little worried about Byers, who followed up a 45.1 pass blocking grade vs the Clemson Tigers and their stout defensive line with a 32.6 against a Virginia Tech team with considerably less talent. It’d be nice if it was him playing at less than 100% healthy, as opposed to (simply) struggling mightily in pass pro.
  • Serviceable game from Meech. Not a special guy, but a solid college guard.
  • Not sure how Roddick scored a 1 in pass blocking (see PFF scoring system note above).
  • Serviceable game from Scott. We expected FSU’s run game to tick up a bit with him returning, as he’s adroit at wrapping (a type of block) as the second puller on counter plays.
  • Washington’s numbers here match the eyeball test — I thought he played on a great base while pulling; balance and strength are underrated aspects of linemen play. From that perspective, I thought Washington showed next-level ability. Have to think he’s the best sixth man amongst offensive line unit nationally.
  • For his performance, Washington was named the ACC offensive lineman of the week.

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