Harvard Offensive Line Transfer Jacob Rizy Arrives At FSU Football Ready To Compete

One of the newest Seminoles is coming into Tallahassee ready to make an immediate impact.

Robert Malcom | Jul 13, 2024

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Florida State Seminoles

The Florida State Seminoles are just weeks away from beginning the preseason, and while fans were able to get a glimpse of the majority of the 2024 squad, there were a few names that will be on the roster in the fall that were not present throughout spring camp. One of those players is former Harvard offensive lineman Jacob Rizy, who arrived in Tallahassee in late May after committing to the Seminoles in January.

Despite playing right tackle in his time at Harvard, Rizy will be adding depth to the interior as a Seminole.

"Right now I'm taking a lot of center reps, just being able to snap the ball is kind of the only real live thing I can practice with what we're doing, but ultimately interior is where I'm going to compete. Tackle was what I played for two years, I played a little guard during spring ball in my time at Harvard and in one game my sophomore year, but interior is ultimately what I'm going to be competing for," Rizy said.

Rizy noted that consistency within the program is something that drew him to Florida State over other schools. He added that the on-field results speak for themselves and the wins played a big role in his recruiting process.

"Florida State stood out in my recruiting process, I loved every single school that gave me an offer so it was a really tough decision ultimately, what it came down to was the fact Coach Atkins and Coach Norvell have been here for five years now, and you don't find that in college football very often. Not only that, they win a lot of games and I really like winning games," Rizy said.

With lots of depth along the interior, as FSU returns Maurice Smith at center as well as Keiondre Jones at guard, and fellow transfers TJ Ferguson (Alabama) and Richie Leonard IV (Florida) playing guard as well. The four linemen have a combined 80 starts inside, and although Rizy's 20 starts were all at tackle, he intends to compete for a starting role in the Garnet and Gold.

"I like to compete. I want to win jobs, it doesn't really matter who's in front of me or whatever the deal is, if guys got here earlier. The great part about Florida State's O-Line room is it's very competitive but it's a group of brothers. Everyone is like-minded in terms of wanting to win football games, and that's the best part about football, so that's another reason I came here. Ultimately, I'm gonna compete my tail off and whatever happens, happens."

Going into fall camp, Rizy will likely be competing for snaps at center with Maurice Smith, who has been the primary starting center for FSU since 2020, as well as redshirt freshman Andre' Otto, who saw action in just one game last season at right tackle. He might get into the mix at guard as well.

Despite not being enrolled for spring practice, Rizy has a lot of confidence he'll be able to acclimate to the level of competition at Florida State pretty quickly.

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