FSU Offensive Coordinator Alex Atkins Named Broyles Award Semifinalist

Atkins is one of 15 semifinalists for the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach.

Florida State offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins is one of 15 semifinalists for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach.

Atkins, in his first year as the Seminoles’ offensive coordinator and third as offensive line coach, oversees an FSU offense that leads the ACC and is 14th nationally with 217.0 rushing yards per game; is 23rd in the country and third in the conference with 35.4 points per game; and is 16th nationally and second in the league with 473.7 yards of total offense per game.

READ MORE: Recruits react to FSU's 49-17 win over Louisiana, four-game winning streak

The Seminoles are in the midst of their most dominant stretch under Atkins, outscoring opponents by at least 25 points in four straight games. Quarterback Jordan Travis, with 21 passing touchdowns and 5 rushing touchdowns, became just the fourth player in FSU history with 20 passing touchdowns and 5 rushing touchdowns in a season. Travis is one of two quarterbacks with an active five-game stretch with at least three touchdowns and one or fewer turnover, and is just the second quarterback in FSU history with a five-game streak. Travis is second in the ACC in yards per attempt, yards per completion and completion percentage for the season and he leads the country with an 81.6 completion percentage and 205.09 passer rating in November.

On the ground, FSU has rushed for over 200 yards in six straight games, the longest streak in the country this year and the longest for Florida State since 1995. In addition to leading the ACC in rush yards per game, the Noles also lead in yards per carry (5.54, 9th nationally), and running back Trey Benson became the first player in history to be named outright ACC Running Back of the Week in three consecutive weeks. FSU has had four different players rush for 100 yards in a game this season: Benson (4), Treshaun Ward (2), Lawrance Toafili (1) and Travis (1).

FSU also was the first team since 2000 to have three different players named ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week in consecutive weeks. Before Atkins became the Florida State offensive line coach in 2020, the Noles had not had an ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week since 2016.

Florida State leads the country with seven touchdown drives of 90+ yards and is second nationally with 15 touchdown drives of 80+ yards. The Seminoles are one of three teams in the country are averaging at least 250 passing yards and 210 rushing yards per game this season and rank sixth nationally with an ACC-best third-down conversion percentage of 51.4.

The Broyles Award was created in 1996 recognizing Coach Frank Broyles’ legacy of selecting and developing great assistants during his hall of fame career as head coach at Arkansas.

Florida State ends its regular season by hosting Florida on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.

*Press release courtesy of Florida State Athletics

READ MORE: Florida State leaves RB Cedric Baxter Jr. with a decision to make

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the season.

Follow NoleGameday on Twitter and Facebook