Florida State Football: Top 5 Targets for National Signing Day

2. Ira Henry, Offensive Tackle

I know I’ve mentioned the Florida State offensive line from last season a lot in this piece but that’s what it takes to express just how bad they are. A few statistics for your enjoyment or misery depending on your Florida State fandom from last season…

• Florida State had a 24.9 percent stuff rate which ranked No. 125 nationally (Seminole backs were getting stuffed once in every four rushes).
• Cam Akers opened the year up with an 82 yard game against Virginia Tech in which his longest run was 85 yards.
• Florida State finished No. 109 in sacks allowed
• No. 128 in tackles for loss
• No. 128 in rushing plays of 10 yards or more
• No. 129 in Standard Downs Line yards per carry (The raw, unadjusted per-carry line yardage for a team on standard downs (first down, second-and-7 or fewer, third-and-4 or fewer, fourth-and-4 or fewer)). According to Football Outsiders
• Cam Akers dropped almost a yard and a half in his yards per carry from a season ago from 5.7 to 4.4 while also dropping a touchdown from his 2017 total.

So when I talk about how bad the Seminoles offensive line was a year ago just know it’s not without good reason.

If Florida State expects to get better, they must bring in Ira Henry. Henry walks on campus at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds and has proclaimed Auburn as his current leader. Florida State is also considered his dream school and could sell playing time very, very easily. If the Noles want to have any resemblance of a run game (which Taggart wants to do) they have to block to some degree which makes Henry, along with JUCO-transfer James Price, a priority target heading into National Signing Day.