Florida State hires new offensive line coach from UCF
News

Florida State hires new offensive line coach from UCF

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

Florida State will hire an offensive line coach who has worked directly with head coach Mike Norvell and new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

UCF offensive line coach Herb Hand is following Malzahn to Tallahassee, 247Sports first reported. Hand is a veteran at the collegiate level with 35 years of experience. He has been with the FBS since 1999, including the last four years with the Knights. Hand has coached the offensive line at six programs over the past 18 years.

Hand was Tulsa’s offensive line coach in 2007-09 when Norvell worked his way up from graduate assistant to wide receivers coach. Malzahn was co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the program during Hand’s first two seasons. After stints at Vanderbilt and Penn State, Hand reunited with Malzahn at Auburn in 2016. After two years at Auburn, he had a brief stint at Texas before working with Malzahn again at UCF.

READ MORE: Five-star offensive lineman ‘disappointed’ he couldn’t sign with Florida State

The 56-year-old has established himself as one of the best offensive coaches in the country. The Knights averaged more than 225 rushing yards per game during his final three years with the program, including 248.1 yards per game in 2024 (No. 7 in FBS). He produced seven all-conference selections at UCF and had offensive tackle Tylan Grable selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

In 2017, Hand’s offensive line at Auburn was one of three finalists for the Joe Moore Award, given to the best offensive line in the country. UCF’s offensive line was named to the 2023 Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll. Hand was the running game coordinator at Penn State during two of NFL star Saquon Barkley’s three years with the Nittany Lions.

Hand is credited with recruiting 21 young talents over the course of his coaching career. That includes five-star offensive lineman Calvin Ashley in 2016. He was the primary recruiter for 14 of those players.

The New York native reportedly made $500,000 this season at UCF. The Seminoles paid former offensive coordinator/offensive coach Alex Atkins $1.25 million in 2024. Atkins was fired by Florida State in November before the end of his fifth season in Tallahassee.

READ MORE: Former Florida State quarterback enters transfer portal for second time

Stick with it NoleGameday for more FREE coverage of Florida State Football throughout the off-season

Follow NoleGameday on and Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, And TikTok

• BREAKING: Florida State knocks out elite running back from Georgia Bulldogs

• Florida State loses another top commit on early signing day

• Florida State hires new defensive line coach from Nebraska

• Florida State announces first #Tribe25 signees

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *