With Alex Atkins suspended, analyst Gabe Fertitta will handle FSU OL in Ireland
With Florida State offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Alex Atkins serving an NCAA-mandated three-game suspension to start the 2024 season, the Seminoles have put their plan in place for handling his duties this Saturday against Georgia Tech.
Senior offensive analyst Gabe Fertitta, who has been on the Florida State staff since February 2022, will manage the offensive line in the season opener in Dublin, Ireland.
Florida State head coach Mike Norvell discussed the Seminoles’ plans during his weekly press conference Sunday afternoon. He also explained that FSU practiced this scenario during its two preseason scrimmages.
“Alex will not be available there on game day,” Norvell said. “We’re going to go through a normal week of practice — obviously everything leading up — but on game day, he will not be with us. We’ve got a plan in place. We kind of implemented the plan in our scrimmage opportunities here in fall camp. … Alex has done a wonderful job, and he continues to do a great job in helping prepare our players in all things, and Coach Fertitta will take over that role there on game day, game-day operation.
“A lot of confidence in him and what he brings and what he has brought to our program over the last few years. It’s going to be as smooth of a transition as we can have.”
Fertitta has worked closely with Atkins since he left Louisville to join the FSU staff nearly three years ago, and their relationship actually dates back to 2010, when Fertitta helped give Atkins his first college coaching job at Itawamba Community College in Mississippi.
“Alex and I would stay up there all hours of the night, trying to find ways to scheme people and beat people,” Fertitta told Warchant last year for an article on their relationship.
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“He’s a good ball coach and he has a wealth of knowledge,” Atkins said of Fertitta. “He’s not only a good ball coach, but he’s smart, analytical, a people person, and a good staff guy.”
Atkins will be able to make the trip to Dublin with the team, and he has been able to take part in all practices and meetings. But once the game starts, he won’t be able to participate.
The Florida State assistant coach was suspended by the NCAA for a recruiting and NIL-related violation that took place in April 2022.
Even though Atkins also serves as Florida State’s offensive coordinator, most of his duties in that capacity are handled during the week of preparation. Norvell calls the offensive plays on game day.
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