Luke Petitbon arrived at Florida State in January with multiple levels of high expectations.
A center transfer from Wake Forest who made 22 starts and appeared in 38 games for the Demon Deacons, the Annapolis, Md. native was one of four transfer offensive line additions in the December transfer portal window tasked with saving a unit which struggled mightily for the Seminoles in 2024.
But even more than that, Petitbon, a captain last season at Wake Forest, was someone who immediately was pegged as a primary leadership candidate on the 2025 FSU football roster.
When Petitbon talked shortly after enrolling at FSU before spring camp, he made it clear that he wasn’t going to force himself into a leadership role. He was only going to take on a similar role in Tallahassee to the one he left behind in Winston-Salem if it was what his new teammates wanted.
Talking after FSU’s first preseason practice on Wednesday, Petitbon still wasn’t ready to commit to taking on a major leadership role for the Seminoles. His reasoning hasn’t changed. However, he does feel he made some real strides within the locker room this offseason to ingratiate himself.
“I’ve definitely been doing my best (as a leader). That’s something I’ve worked at every single day, starting in the winter, through the spring and now going into fall camp. But it’s not a question that I really can answer. You have to see the guys and how they react to you,” Petitbon said. “I’m still going to try to earn their trust every single day. That’s kind of what fall camp is all about, that’s kind of the point of it is the team grows together and we rally around each other. We’ll see come fall.”
While Petitbon may still be waiting for an official or unofficial coronation, coaches seem adamant that they expect the center to be a leader for the team this season. When head coach Mike Norvell was asked who has emerged as leaders in an offensive line room that could start four new transfers and a second-year transfer in Richie Leonard IV, Petitbon’s was the first name out of his mouth.
“The great thing is that I think there are a number of (leaders), but Luke Petitbon is someone that I think is next-level. I love watching him come to work every day. The urgency, the standard, the belief, the buy-in. He’s answered the bell on everything we’ve asked him to do,” Norvell said. “... This is a guy that has started multiple years and played at a high level, but his confidence has even grown because of the things that he’s been challenged to do here and the things that he knows he can overcome and be able to accomplish…He is going to be a great player for us this year. Especially at that position, all the communication, all the knowledge, he’s done a remarkable job.”
FSU offensive line coach Herb Hand said earlier this week at the media luncheon that part of the staff’s recruiting process with Petitbon was talking to his former coaches at Wake Forest about the type of person that he is.
It sounds like what the Seminoles heard about Petitbon from his former coaches has been proven quite accurate during his first six-plus months in Tallahassee.
“When we did our research on him, he is exactly who they said he was, which is awesome. I love him. I think he’s got tremendous leadership. He leads by example and verbally,” Hand said. “One of the things that came up during our research of him was a coach said that we’re going to love him because he’s not afraid of confrontational leadership. That’s a dying art right now. A lot of times, people worry about conflict. Conflict can be good, as long as it’s healthy. Having the ability to really hold somebody accountable, Luke’s not afraid to do that. It’s a great trait to have, particularly when you have the ball in your hand…
“Luke’s an alpha. Luke is a real, real dude. I’m really happy and thankful and grateful that he’s with us.”
For now, Petitbon is just happy to have his offensive line unit intact after a number of FSU’s top offensive linemen missed at least part of spring camp due to injuries.
“I’m happy that everyone’s healthy. Obviously football-wise but also for them personally,” Petitbon said.”I’ve been injured before and I know how hard it is. It’s cool to see everyone back out there flying around, getting better. It was nice (Wednesday) seeing all those guys healthy.”
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