Florida State Mount Rushmore: Who was voted as a top all-time interior offensive lineman?

To help the off-season pass a bit faster, Tomahawk Nation is running our new Mount Rushmore series, determining the top four Florida State Seminoles in school history at each position.

On Monday, we posted a poll for the Tomahawk Nation community to choose your top four all-time Seminoles’ interior offensive linemen, and yesterday, presented the choices from some of our staff and contributors.

Today — the results. The Tomahawk Nation community has spoken!

Without further ado, we present to you the Mount Rushmore of FSU interior offensive linemen.

Who are the top four interior offensive linemen in FSU history?

Rodney Hudson (90.2%)

Rodney Hudson signed with Florida State in 2007 out of Rain High School in Mobile, Alabama, and immediately took over FSU’s left guard position, a stranglehold he would keep for all four years in the Garnet and Gold.

Hudson was one of the most decorated offensive linemen in FSU and ACC history, beginning his career with first-team Freshman All-America honors and then becoming a first-team All-American in 2009 before a Unanimous All-America season in 2010. He was the conference’s first offensive lineman to earn first-team All-ACC honors three times. He was a back-to-back Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner, taking the conference’s best offensive lineman recognition in 2009 and 2010, and his nine career ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors also were the most in conference history.

Hudson started 46 of the 47 games he played at FSU and helped lead the Seminoles to the 2010 ACC Championship game. The Seminoles won three bowl games in his career, including the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl over South Carolina to wrap up a 10-win season.

He was selected in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs and recently retired after a 12-year career that also included time with the Raiders and Cardinals. During his time in the NFL, Hudson played in 159 games with 143 starts, was voted to three Pro Bowls, made the playoffs three times and twice signed contracts making him the highest-paid center in the league.

via nolefan.org

Jamie Dukes (71.8%)

“Jamie Dukes wears T-shirts the size of pup tents. His shoulders could be used to park a helicopter. His legs look like they’re pilings on loan from the Sunshine Skyway. Jamie Dukes is, as you might guessed by now, large.” That’s how a St. Pete Times sportswriter described Florida State’s fifth consensus All-American, offensive guard Jamie Dukes. And large he was, in stature and in spirit. Leading FSU’s offensive line from 1982-85, Jamie started every single game over those four years, 48 total games. And behind the lead of Dukes over the course of those four years, the Seminoles finished in the top ten nationally in scoring offense, rushing offense, and total offense. His All-American honors could almost fill a page of their own in Florida State record books. His senior year, he received almost every All-American honor available including Walter Camp, Football Writers, UPI, AP, Football news and NCAA Consensus. Following his illustrious career with Florida State, Dukes signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent in 1986.

via nolefan.org

Bryan Stork (54%)

2013:

Senior consensus All-America center anchored the FSU offensive line and led the FSU offense with 40 career starts…helped lead Florida State to a 14-0 record and the 2013 VIZIO BCS National Championship…played every offensive snap in the 34-31 come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Auburn in the national championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif….winner of the Rimington Trophy as the top center in the nation…one of five Outland Trophy semifinalists that is given annually to the top interior lineman by the FWAA… runner-up for the ACC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy that went to line-mate Cameron Erving…named to several All-America teams and was an All-ACC First Team selection by the league’s coaches and media…a valuable asset in helping FSU quarterback Jameis Winston become nation’s top-rated passer and the youngest winner of the Heisman Trophy…FSU’s most consistent offensive lineman had highest average grade on the team…had highest grade among offensive line in the last two regular season games – 89 percent against Duke in the ACC Championship Game and 88 percent at Florida…also led Noles with a grade of 87 percent at then-No. 3 Clemson and 95 percent against Bethune-Cookman…helped hold Pitt’s Aaron Donald, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner, and Clemson All-America Vic Beasley to just four tackles and one TFL combined…the Noles set FSU and ACC records for single-season total offense (7,267 yards), points per game (51.6) and yards per play (7.67) and the national record for points (723)…the Noles led the country with 94 touchdowns…FSU set the ACC and school records for total touchdowns (94), passing touchdowns (42) and the school record for rushing touchdowns (42)…ranked first in the ACC and sixth in the nation in total offense (519.1)…with the nation’s top offensive line providing protection and opening holes, Florida State rushed for 2,844 yards (5.6 ypc), while passing for 4,423 yards…competed in the Senior Bowl.

2012:

Redshirt junior who came into the season as the lone offensive line starter with more than one career start and anchored the young unit…started 13 games at center after working extensively at tackle in the spring…posted a team-leading season average grade of 85.6 percent…ranked second on the team with 26 knockdown blocks…made his 27th career start against Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl…has also started at guard during his FSU career.

2011:

Made 10 starts as a redshirt sophomore and played in 12 of 13 games…opened the year as the starting left guard, filling the void for graduated All-American Rodney Hudson, after making four starts at right guard in 2010…got his first work at center in the second half against Charleston Southern and took over the starting duties the following week against No. 1 Oklahoma…a tenacious competitor whose physical skills as a dominant run blocker were honed as a high school tight end in a run-based offense…led all Seminole linemen with 27 knockdown blocks on the year, including a season and career-high six at Clemson…added five knockdowns against Maryland and four each against Charleston Southern and Virginia…boasts the highest season average grade among linemen at 78 percent, posting six grades of 80 or better, including five through the first six games of the season…notched his top grade – 88 percent – against Virginia…missed the Boston College game while battling recurring headaches, but returned to action in the first half of the Miami game…was penalized just four times in 692 snaps on the year…had a 10-game stretch without allowing a sack and yielded just three over the course of the season…selected the offensive warrior in the weight room at the team’s annual banquet.

2010:

Redshirt freshman who began the season as a reserve, but was thrust into action at right guard…participated in 361 plays but saw only spot action until replacing veteran starter David Spurlock midway through the Boston College game…made his first career start the following week at NC State and performed admirably on the big stage…missed the next two games with illness…returned to action on the road at Maryland, replacing Henry Orelus at right guard in the second quarter…started the last three games of the season and graded out at 77 percent in the ACC Championship game against Virginia Tech…followed that performance up by grading out at 80 percent with a 92 pass grade in the Chick-fil-A Bowl against South Carolina…an outstanding pass blocker, also registered 13 knockdown blocks, including three each against Boston College, NC State and Virginia Tech.

via seminoles.com

Clay Shiver (53.3%)

Clay Shiver grew up in the shadows of Seminole Territory. In his back yard he was usually the quarterback for the fantasy game. He never dreamed of becoming an All-American hero at center but that’s just what he did.

In 1993, Clay perfected the shotgun snap for a quarterback named Charlie Ward. He gave up just 1/2 a sack over 700 snaps to help lead the team to its first National Championship trophy. By the 1995 campaign, Clay had become one of the top linemen in the country. He was a dominating blocker with quickness to pass block in FSU’s intricate offensive system. Shiver was named to four All-American teams as a junior in 1994 including first-team honors from the Football Writers Association and Scipps Howard. As a senior he was an NCAA Consensus All-American, named on five additional lists including American Football Coaches Association (first-team), Football Writers Association (first), AP (second), Football News (second) and UPI (second). He was a three-time All-ACC selection and received numerous ACC Player of the Week honors as well. In his junior and senior years, Clay was awarded the prestigious Jacobs Trophy presented annually to the best blocker in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In 1996, Clay was the first Seminole selected to the NFL draft, 67th overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys. Clay played in 14 games for Dallas his first season, started in all 16 games in ‘97 and nine of 13 games in the ‘98 campaign. After three seasons with Dallas he became a free agent, signed in ‘99 with Denver and Carolina before having to give up the game with a shoulder injury.

via nolefan.org

The rest of the top ten:

• Tre Jackson (43.4%)
• Jason Whitaker (13.2%)
• David Castillo (12.9%)
• Patrick McNeil (7.3%)
• Montrae Holland (7%)
• Del Williams (6.5%)

So there you have it, folks.

What do you think about these choices? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to vote each week for your top four choices for each position group.

Previous results

Quarterbacks: Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke, Jameis Winston, Jordan Travis

Running Backs: Warrick Dunn, Dalvin Cook, Greg Allen, Amp Lee

Wide Receivers: Peter Warrick, Fred Biletnikoff, Rashad Greene, Ron Sellers

Tight Ends: Nick O’Leary, Pat Carter, Lonnie Johnson, Melvin Pearsall

Offensive Tackles: Walter Jones, Alex Barron, Pat Tomberlin, Cam Erving