A common theme among transfers at Florida State: The experience and production has shown up but a player feels he can still make big strides late in his college career. With the 6-foot-8, 340-pound Xavier Chaplin, a massive man who is expected to be the Seminoles’ left tackle, it’s a massive motivator.
“I feel like I didn't have the season that I wanted out there, and I just got another year to prove myself,” Chaplin said of his 2025 at Auburn. “That's just how I see it. I don't feel like there's no pressure at all. I know what I could do.
“I feel like I should be dominating every single play, not just 80% of the time, 70% of time. I feel like I should be dominating 100% of the time. It should be no question who Xavier Chaplin is. He's the most dominant left tackle in college football.”
Chaplin is the biggest addition to FSU’s new-look offensive line room, a group that also includes Bradyn Joiner (Purdue/Auburn), Nate Pabst (Bowling Green), Paul Bowling (Troy), Chimdia Nwaiwu (Stephen F. Austin). The Seminoles are replacing five starters up front, although line coach Herb Hand also returns redshirt freshman Chavez Thompson and redshirt junior Andre’ Otto.
FSU’s coaches coveted Chaplin, who started 12 games at Auburn and 25 games at Virginia Tech in 2023-24. Chaplin didn’t grade very well as a run blocker (56.4) but was considerably better as a pass blocker (68.2). He allowed on average one hurry per game, although four came against Texas A&M. And he was flagged for a team-high 12 penalties, with nine of them coming in road games (likely with crowd noise a factor in some of the pre-snap flags).
Chaplin wanted the opportunity to work with Hand, who he describes as a “really cool guy” and someone who can help the lineman maximize his skill set.
“I just feel like Coach Hand could get me developed best to get to next level,” Chaplin said. “That's the ultimate goal for every o-linemen. And Coach Hand has a history of getting o-lineman to the NFL, and he has a lot of connections in the NFL, so it wasn't really hard.”
Chaplin reflected on the physical and mental challenges of FSU’s offseason Tour of Duty workouts as well as how much he’s looking forward to the start of spring practice. He also gave his early impression of the work ethic on a roster that features more than 50 newcomers.
“I feel like it's a lot of people that's bought in,” Chaplin said. “There's a person I feel like he's not a part of the program. Like it's always some players at some programs, feel like they're better than the team and stuff like that. But I feel like everybody holds yourself to the team standard, like they do what's best for the team.”
That’s something coming from Chaplin, who is now at his third school and has experienced life in the ACC and SEC. Cohesion is building up front, and so is the accountability.
“I feel like he really holds us accountable for each other,” Chaplin said of Hand. “If one person is just sitting there, showing up late for meetings, we all are gonna get punished for it. We're all just trying to bring each other along. It's five playing as one out there. If one messes up then it's like everything goes bad.”
When it comes to leadership, Chaplin mentioned Duce Robinson and Otto. But he was also asked about quarterback Ashton Daniels, who was his teammate last season at Auburn.
“As a person, a leader, Ashton really gets on you. If you really are just sitting there slugging around, even at practice, sitting around slugging at practice, he gonna get on you. Like, 'Let's go. Hurry up. Let's go.' I feel like teams need that at certain times, even when we down bad or losing, he still has the same mentality.”
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