After winning NCAA waiver, OL D’Mitri Emmanuel elated to help Florida State take next step

D’Mitri Emmanuel was fairly confident during these past four months he would receive a waiver from the NCAA to play this fall for the Florida State football team.

That didn’t diminish his excitement when he finally received the news.

Emmanuel, who actually got the call from offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Alex Atkins on Monday morning, described his initial emotion as one of “relief.” Then by the time Tuesday’s practice rolled around, it felt more like a celebration.

The Seminoles’ starting right guard was seen repeatedly throwing up the chop during pre-practice stretches, as the warchant blared from speakers inside the Indoor Practice Facility.

“Just a great moment, honestly,” Emmanuel said of the big news. “It felt really good just to be back and help the team next season.”

Emmanuel, who started all 13 games in 2022 after transferring from Charlotte to Florida State, gives the Seminoles a potential fourth returning starter — and a player who has started nearly four full seasons of college football. The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder started 25 games at Charlotte and now has 38 starts for his career.

The North Carolina native, who thanked Florida State’s coaches and compliance staff for “fighting” for his eligibility, isn’t guaranteed a starting job in 2023 for the Seminoles. Coming off a 10-win season and with championship aspirations this fall, FSU brought in three additional experienced transfers this offseason — Jeremiah Byers from UTEP, Casey Roddick from Colorado and Keiondre Jones from Auburn.

But Emmanuel definitely makes the Seminoles’ line much deeper and stronger.

“There’s a lot of competition on the O-Line, which is great,” he said. “We’re also still very close as a unit. Those are two things that are really essential to being a great group. You need guys that are going to be close, and also you need good players. … I really like how the group has been, how they’ve taken to coaching so far, and I think we can be a really good group. We’ve just got to keep putting the work in.”

*Impact Analysis: What D’Mitri Emmanuel’s return means for Florida State offensive line

Atkins, who coached Emmanuel for one season at Charlotte in 2019 and was instrumental in bringing him to Florida State three years later, was not available to speak with the media on Tuesday. But head coach Mike Norvell was elated to have the veteran lineman back for another year.

“He’s a great young man, and obviously all the experience that he’s had,” Norvell said. “He is great for our locker room. He is great for our team. He’s got a wonderful spirit about him. He truly wants to push and help people get better. … Really big for our team.”

The basis of Emmanuel’s appeal was that he hadn’t yet had the opportunity to play four full seasons.

He was redshirted in 2017 like most college linemen, then missed the ’18 season due to a medical or injury-related issue. And while he did play from 2019-’22, the 2020 campaign doesn’t count for any college athletes because COVID shortened virtually every team’s season.

Even though Emmanuel was confident his waiver would be approved, he admitted there were moments of doubt — times when he thought he might be better off beginning his preparations for professional football. He even worked out before NFL scouts during Florida State’s Pro Day earlier this month, just in case his appeal was denied.

In the meantime, he also attended every Florida State practice, workout and meeting since the 2022 season ended, just in case he could suit up with the Seminoles again this fall.

“I didn’t want to miss anything with the team,” Emmanuel said. “I just wanted to still be around and still help out, regardless of the outcome. I’m really just glad everything worked out so I could come back for another season.”

Emmanuel actually never stopped helping his teammates, even when his future was in limbo.

While he wasn’t necessarily participating in Florida State’s practices during the first month of the spring, he was frequently seen talking to younger teammates about ways they could improve.

On Tuesday, he was back lining up next to them.

“It just helped me see the game from a different perspective,” Emmanuel said. “Helped me understand the offense even more. … And then also just being able to help guys on the O-Line, certain things that I’m seeing.

“I wanted to be more intentional about trying to help out the younger guys.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.

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