ESPN College Football

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State offensive line coach Rick Trickett likes to joke that the Seminoles have their own version of the United Nations.

Star defensive end Bjoern Werner is a native of Berlin, Germany, and the Seminoles’ starting offensive tackles this coming season might be from England and Switzerland.

Anything might be better than the inexperienced group the Seminoles put on the field last season. Because of injuries, Florida State started four freshman offensive linemen in its 18-14 victory over Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl.

As FSU begins spring practice, those freshmen are now sophomores, and two JUCO transfers -- Daniel Glauser and Menelik Watson -- might step in to anchor the offensive line.

Glauser, a native of Rheinfelden, Switzerland, enrolled at FSU in January and is participating in spring practice. Watson, from Manchester, England, is expected to join the Seminoles this summer.

“The [foreign-born] players are more mature,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said.

But when it comes to football, Glauser and Watson are relatively inexperienced. Glauser grew up playing soccer in Switzerland, but he was encouraged to move to the U.S. by his American-born coach to play college football. Glauser, 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, spent the past two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute. Fisher was so impressed with Glauser that he offered him a scholarship even though he’ll have only one season of eligibility at FSU.

“New Mexico Institute didn’t know they could have redshirted him,” Fisher said. “They didn’t know. We didn’t know.”

Watson took an even longer route to Florida State. He came to the U.S. to play basketball at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Watson, 6-6 and 320 pounds, averaged 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds for the Red Foxes during the 2010-11 season.

“Watson was a Division I basketball player,” Fisher said. “He was 270 pounds and was a wing, not a post player. He wasn’t scoring with his back to the basket. He was making moves and driving to the basket.”

Because of his size, Watson figured he’d reached his ceiling as a basketball player. After briefly considering a professional boxing career, Watson enrolled at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., where he not only had to learn how to play offensive tackle but also the game’s rules. He played in eight games at Saddleback last season. The Gauchos’ other offensive tackle was Kyle Long, son of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long, who signed with Oregon.

Watson still has a long way to go in his development, but he’ll probably compete with Glauser and sophomore Bobby Hart for the starting offensive tackle jobs this coming season. The Seminoles lost departed senior tackles Zebrie Sanders and Andrew Datko, who combined to play in 90 games in their FSU careers. Datko missed all of last season because of shoulder injuries and chose to turn pro, instead of appealing to the NCAA for another season of college eligibility.

Sophomores Austin Barron, Tre’ Jackson and Josue Matias, who started against Notre Dame at center, right guard and left guard, respectively, are coming back to compete in the middle of the offensive line. Cameron Erving, a converted defensive tackle, also will be in the tackle mix.

“I like the young guys,” Fisher said. “They’re all sophomores. They’re big and athletic. They actually know they can play with the way they came back [against Notre Dame]. They’re confident now. They don’t have to walk on the field and think, ‘Can I play?’ They know they can play.”

Right guard Bryan Stork said continuity and staying healthy are keys for FSU’s offensive line this coming season.

“Before you’re at the top, you’re always at the bottom,” Stork said. “I feel like we’re a diamond in the rough. We’ve got the guys. It’s just everybody getting better together.”

Our offseason spotlight series continues today with Florida State. A reminder: This series features individual players, position groups and coaches who really need to have big offseasons -- starting this spring.

Spotlight: Offensive line.

2011 Summary: Florida State’s woes up front began at this time last year, when several players were injured during the spring and the group never truly gained any cohesiveness or continuity, as injuries remained an issue through the entire season. The players who lined up for the season opener had only practiced together for about a week, and by the time FSU hosted Virginia on Nov. 19, the Noles had used six different starting lineups. No single group was in the same position for more than three straight games, and true freshman tackle Bobby Hart was thrown into the starting lineup at 17 years old. Four freshmen were in the starting lineup against Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl, and that’s where the Seminoles will start off this spring.

The skinny: The good news is that David Spurlock, who missed more than five games with a knee injury, is back in the mix. The most pressing question is who will replace the two talented tackles in Zebrie Sanders and Andrew Datko. Hart, Austin Barron, Josue Matias and Tre' Jackson were the starters for the bowl game, and matured rapidly from one half to the next. If the Noles are going to get more out of their offense, particularly the running game, they’re going to have to get more out of their young linemen.

• More in this series

It's time to wrap up the 2011 season with the top performers from the bowl games. No, they’re not all from Florida State and NC State. Although they could be …

Offense:

QB: Mike Glennon, NC State: He was named the MVP of the Belk Bowl after throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns to lead NC State past Louisville 31-24.

RB: Preston Lyons, Georgia Tech: The senior fullback started in place of injured David Sims and rushed for 138 yards in the overtime loss to Utah. Before this, Lyons had never rushed for more than 50 yards in a game.

RB: David Wilson, Virginia Tech: He broke the school’s single-season rushing record in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against Michigan with 82 yards on 24 carries. He finished the season with 1,709 yards. His 11-yard run on his second carry of the third quarter enabled him to surpass Ryan Williams’ mark of 1,655 yards set in 2009.

WR: Rashad Greene, Florida State: He had five catches for 99 yards and a touchdown in the 18-14 win against Notre Dame and was named the MVP of the Champs Sports Bowl. His 15-yard touchdown catch with just over 13 minutes to play gave the Noles a 15-14 lead.

WR: T.J. Graham, NC State: He finished with seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the win against Louisville. He also had three kick returns for 63 yards and one punt return for two yards.

WR: Kris Burd, Virginia: He had six catches, 103 yards, two touchdowns and a broken collarbone. He became only the third player in school history to score two receiving touchdowns in a bowl game.

OT: Zebrie Sanders, Florida State: He was the lone senior on an offensive line that started four freshmen. He posted a career-high grade of 94 percent in his final game at left tackle.

OT: Rob Crisp, NC State: Hey, no other lineman in the ACC had a reception in a bowl game. Granted, his teammates keep ribbing him for rumbling and fumbling, but Crisp played a good game, paving the way for the offense from the right tackle spot.

G: Josue Matias, Florida State: As one of four true freshman starters on the Noles’ line, Matias posted a grade of 82 percent from the left guard position in his first career start.

G: Shaq Mason, Georgia Tech: Even with guard Omoregie Uzzi sitting out with an injury and suspended tackle Phil Smith on a bus back to Atlanta, Tech rolled up 311 rushing yards and 448 total yards against a Utah defense that was ranked among the nation’s best entering the Hyundai Sun Bowl.

C: Dalton Freeman, Clemson: Freeman had an 84 percent grade and four knockdowns in helping Clemson to 443 yards and 33 points against West Virginia.

Defense:

DE: Brandon Jenkins, Florida State: He finished with two tackles (both solo), including one sack for minus-10 yards. His sack in the third quarter took Notre Dame out of field goal range.

DT: Nikita Whitlock, Wake Forest: He finished with six tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery in the loss to Mississippi State.

DT: Markus Kuhn, NC State: He finished with three tackles, including 1.5 for a loss of seven yards. He also had one sack for a loss of six yards in the win against Louisville.

DE: J.R. Collins, Virginia Tech: He finished second on the team with seven tackles and had one tackle for loss in the loss to Michigan in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

LB: Nigel Bradham, Florida State: He closed out his career with a team-high nine tackles (eight solo) against Notre Dame, finishing the season with a team-leading 86. He was the first FSU player to lead the team in tackles for three consecutive years since All-American Marvin Jones (1990-92). Bradham also added his third career interception in the win.

LB: Tariq Edwards, Virginia Tech: He finished with a team-high eight tackles, one sack for a loss of seven yards and two tackles for a loss of eight yards in the loss to Michigan.

LB: Audie Cole, NC State: The senior ended his career with a team-high 10 tackles, including a pair of sacks and four tackles for loss.

DB: David Amerson, NC State: He had two interceptions and returned one of them 65 yards for a touchdown in the Belk Bowl win against Louisville. He became the ACC’s leader in interceptions in a single season with 13. It was one shy of the Football Bowl Subdivision record set by Al Worley of Washington in 1968.

DB: Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech: He intercepted a pass by Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson in the first quarter. The interception marked his second of the season and the second of his career.

DB: Merrill Noel, Wake Forest: He had a team-leading seven tackles and one interception for 18 yards in the 23-17 loss to Mississippi State.

DB: Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State: With Notre Dame inside the 5-yard line, Joyner intercepted his team-best fourth pass of the season. His 77-yard kickoff return after Notre Dame went up 14-0 was the longest kickoff return by a Seminole this year. It was also the third-longest in FSU bowl and Champs Sports Bowl history.

Special teams:

P: Shawn Powell, Florida State: He punted 8 times for 378 yards and a 47.2-yard average. He had three punts of more than 50 yards and landed two inside the 20-yard line. His performance sealed his title as the nation’s leader in punting.

P/K: Justin Myer, Virginia Tech: Myer entered the game 0-for-2 on the season but made field goals in the Allstate Sugar Bowl of 37, 43, 36 and 25 yards, recording a field goal in every quarter and tying Georgia’s Billy Bennett (2003) for the BCS bowl record. The four field goals tied for second-most in Sugar Bowl history. Myer missed on his fifth try, a 37-yard attempt in overtime. The field goals were the first in Myer's collegiate career. The Hokies made six field goals of 30 or more yards all season entering the game.

A/P: Sammy Watkins, Clemson: Despite the loss, Watkins broke two school records in the Discover Orange Bowl and finished with 205 all-purpose yards, giving him 2,282 for the season -- second-most in ACC history. He had seven kick returns for 143 yards, and he had five catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.