Offensive line coach Herb Hand didn’t have to criticize the ACC crew that flagged Xavier Chaplin for holding in double overtime against Miami. Hand just had to explain how he coaches.

Florida State’s left tackle was flagged for holding on a Hail Mary attempt, in which he blocked and chopped a defensive lineman’s arm. Quarterback Ashton Daniels lofted a pass into the end zone, which was caught my receiver Micahi Danzy, only to see Chaplin flagged.
Hand doesn’t speak to the media in-season often, but he was slated to talk as FSU (3-4) comes off the bye and prepares for Clemson on Saturday night (7 p.m. on ACC Network).

“He did exactly as I coached him to do,” Hand said. “He's not to carry that because that's a heavy burden, heavy load to carry for somebody, and he did exactly (as) he was coached to do on the play. And that's on me.”

Hand went on to broadly describe the technique.

“Now that's a technique that we teach, and we know that it is sound technique in fundamentals, and we'll continue to teach it, and our guys will continue to execute it, and we'll do that going forward,” Hand said on Tuesday. “But that was the last game. Not focused on that anymore. Just everything going forward.”

A day after the FSU-Miami game, ACC Network analyst and Clemson offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain said on Twitter/X, "That holding call on the first Hail Mary was insane...was an absolute miss... The LT literally CHOPPED the DE's stab... wow."

A second Hail Mary attempt ended with Miami cornerback Bryce Fitzgerald earning an interception after Duce Robinson high-pointed a Daniels pass. The ACC crew ruled it as an interception, which frustrated the FSU coaching staff that had argued for “simultaneous possession” that would award a catch to the Seminoles.

FSU coach Mike Norvell argued to no avail that the crew see if Robinson had simultaneous possession. Norvell said, "From what I've been told, simultaneous possession never even came up in the conversation of review."

On Monday, Norvell’s stance softened considerably. In part, Norvell still spoke of the significant of the referees’ decisions, “That's where he's able to teach his officials on things that they see or what they think they see," Norvell said. "In some of those moments, they can be game-changers. They can be life-changers."

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