Florida State University Athletics
Staff Directory
Herb Hand
- Title:
- Offensive Line Coach
Renowned offensive line coach Herb Hand was named Florida State's offensive line coach on December 10, 2024, and enters his second season at Florida State in 2026.
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In 2025, Hand reunited with Florida State head coach Mike Norvell - who he coached with at Tulsa - and FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who he previously worked with at Tulsa, Auburn and UCF. Hand has coached offensive lines that blocked for rushers that broke the program’s career rushing records at West Virginia, Tulsa and Vanderbilt and, most recently, helped RJ Harvey post the second-highest career rushing total in UCF history.
Hand and Malzahn have produced a top-15 rushing offense and top-20 total offense in four consecutive seasons after the Seminoles ranked No. 6 nationally in total offense and 12th in rushing offense. FSU led the ACC with 472.1 yards per game and 218.7 rushing yards per game, the Noles best rushing output since 1995. Starting center Luke Petitbon earned first-team All-ACC honors, the first Seminole to earn that distinction since 2013.
Petitbon was named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week after FSU's 31-17 win over No. 8 Alabama, when FSU ran for 230 yards and four touchdowns against the Crimson Tide. Petitbon earned ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors against the Tide, and right guard Adrian Medley won ACC honors the following week in FSU's 77-3 win over East Texas A&M, when FSU passed for 368 yards and ran for 361 yards.
Hand's offensive line in 2025 consisted of four one-year transfers that were blocking for a first-year quarterback. The results produced the best single-season turnaround in the country, as FSU had the most-improved total offense, yards per play, third-down offense, scoring offense and passing yards per attempt in 2025 compared to 2024.
Along with Petitbon on the first team, left guard Richie Leonard IV earned All-ACC honorable mention while also being named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which annually recognizes the nation's top community service participants.
A model of consistency, FSU started just six offensive linemen in 2025: Petitbon, Medley and left tackle Gunnar Hansen started all 12 games; Leonard and right tackle Micah Pettus started 11 games; and sixth-man Jacob Rizy started twice, one game each in place of Pettus and Leonard. The unit did not allow a sack in three games, FSU's most in a season since 2022.
Behind Hand's offensive line, Florida State set school single-game records with 498 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns and 27 rushing first downs in FSU's 66-10 win over Kent State. FSU's 775 total yards and 498 rushing yards were the most in the country in 2025.
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Prior to Florida State, Hand brought 25 years of coaching experience at the FBS level, with stops at Clemson, West Virginia, Tulsa, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Auburn, Texas and UCF. He has been part of six conference championship teams and three more that won division crowns, and he has coached 40 all-conference performers.
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Hand coached eight all-conference linemen while helping UCF produce a top-10 rushing attack in each of his last three seasons in Orlando. The Knights ranked seventh in 2024 with an average of 248.1 yards per game after ranking fourth in 2023 and ninth in 2022. The 2023 team also was eighth in the country in total offense, averaging 487.0 yards per game, fourth in third-down conversion percentage and eighth in passing yards per completion.
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UCF’s 2024 offense ranked 16th nationally in total offense behind first-team All-Big 12 running back RJ Harvey who ranked in the top five nationally in all-purpose yards, points per game, rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns. Hand wrapped up his first season in Orlando with 288 rushing yards in a win over Florida in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl before helping the Knights reach the 2022 AAC Championship Game with an offense that averaged 469.6 yards per game to rank 16th in the country in total offense.
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His time at Texas produced nine All-Big 12 linemen that helped the Longhorns earn three bowl wins, including a victory over No. 6 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to conclude the 2018 season. In 2020, left tackle Samuel Cosmi earned first-team all-conference and third-team All-America accolades before being selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Hand worked with Malzahn for two seasons at Auburn, where he produced a Joe Moore Award finalist unit in 2017 led by first-team All-American and the conference’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner Braden Smith. The line also blocked for running back Kerryon Johnson, the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-American. That year, the Tigers were one of five teams in the country to average at least 230 passing yards and 215 rushing yards per game and also broke the school’s single-season record by scoring at least 40 points in eight games. The 2016 Auburn offensive line featured two All-Americans and three All-SEC selections. Running back Kamryn Pettway ranked 11th in the country with his SEC-best average of 122.4 rushing yards per game.
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Before his time at Auburn, Hand spent two seasons as Penn State’s run game coordinator and offensive line coach. In 2015, his group paved the way for Big Ten Freshman of the Year Saquon Barkley to break the program’s freshman rushing record with 1,076 yards on the ground. Hand’s first season in Happy Valley produced second-round NFL Draft pick Donovan Smith who went on to a nine-year NFL career that included wins in Super Bowl LV with Tampa Bay and Super Bowl LVIII with Kansas City.
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Hand coached the offensive line at Vanderbilt for four seasons from 2010-13 and added run game coordinator responsibilities in 2013. With Hand as the run game coordinator, the Commodores rushed for 34 touchdowns, including a single-season school-record 14 rushing scores by Jerron Seymour. Prior to Seymour’s breakout performance, Hand’s offensive line helped Zac Stacy break Vanderbilt records for rushing yards in a season and in a career.
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Hand joined the Vanderbilt staff after three years at Tulsa. With Norvell, Malzahn and Hand on staff, Tulsa put together the best offense in the nation. The 2007 offense averaged 543.9 yards and 41.1 points per game before improving to 569.9 yards and 47.2 points per game in 2008. Tulsa led the nation in total offense in 2007 and 2008 and ranked second nationally in scoring offense in 2008. In 2009, Hand and Norvell continued the run by marking the first time in program history the Golden Hurricane had a 1,000-yard receiver in three consecutive seasons.
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Before his time at Tulsa, Hand was the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at West Virginia from 2001-06, helping the Mountaineers win three conference championships and earn five consecutive bowl appearances. The 2006 team finished 11-2 after defeating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and produced an offense that ranked No. 2 nationally in rushing, No. 3 in scoring and No. 4 in total offense.
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Hand began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant coaching linebackers at West Virginia Wesleyan. He was then defensive coordinator at Glenville State from 1994-96, helping the Pioneers win three straight conference championships, before moving to Concord College as defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator in 1997 and 1998. He moved into FBS coaching as an offensive graduate assistant at Clemson in 1999 and 2000, helping the Tigers reach the Peach Bowl and the Gator Bowl.
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Hand earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Hamilton College in 1990 and completed his master’s degree in business administration from West Virginia Wesleyan in 1993. He was a three-year starter on the offensive line at Hamilton College, where he also served as a team captain and earned All-New England Small College Athletic Conference honors in 1989.
Hand and his wife, Debbie, have two sons, Trey and Cade, and one daughter, Bailey.
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| Years | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2025- | Florida State | Offensive Line Coach |
| 2021-24 | UCF | Offensive Line Coach |
| 2018-20 | Texas | co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach |
| 2016-17 | Auburn | Offensive Line Coach |
| 2014-15 | Penn State | Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach |
| 2013 | Vanderbilt | Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach |
| 2010-12 | Vanderbilt | Offensive Line Coach |
| 2009 | Tulsa | Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach |
| 2008 | Tulsa | co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach/Director of Recruiting |
| 2007 | Tulsa | co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach |
| 2001-06 | West Virginia | Tight Ends Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
| 1999-2000 | Clemson | Graduate Assistant |
| 1997-98 | Concord College | Defensive Coordinator/Special Teams Coordinator |
| 1994-96 | Glenville State | Defensive Coordinator |
| 1991-93 | West Virginia Wesleyan | Graduate Assistant |
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