Ethan Onianwa reflects on the FSU visit and the timing of the decision before Christmas

Ethan Onianwa has continued to improve throughout his career at Rice. The offensive tackle’s next step is to find a home and continue to develop for his final year of college football while prioritizing his team’s success.

“I choose not to complete my studies at Rice University and enter the portal just so that I can find a place where I can grow the most,” Onianwa said. “And with a good orienteering coach I can find a place where I can face good competition, but also in training.”

“Probably the most important thing is to find a group of people who are committed to winning, who are committed to being great. If you have a team of ‘me boys,’ people who aren’t serious about wanting to be great, you’re just wasting time and money.”

Onianwa will be a big – big at 6-foot-10, 345 pounds – part of the offensive line for a Power 4 school in 2025. He has completed his visits and mentioned FSU among schools like Ohio State, Iowa and Texas A&M as ones he is considering. A decision should be made before Christmas, said Onianwa, who still has one year of eligibility.

While Onianwa said he “loved the staff here at FSU,” he reflected on his time with new offensive line coach Herb Hand. Onianwa said the FSU staff is looking at him as a possible option at left tackle.

“He’s an incredibly detailed guy,” Onianwa said of Hand. “I’m just watching a movie. He broke down some of the guys he has coached in the past who are similar to me. That really showed how good a coach he is.”

Onianwa was a two-star prospect in the class of 2021 and redshirted his freshman year at Rice. He then made 23 consecutive starts at right tackle for the Owls.

Despite missing some time due to injury in 2024, Onianwa allowed just one sack on 294 pass block attempts. When asked about his strengths, Onianwa spoke about areas he has worked on over the years.

“Coach Herb told me I could move well for a 345-pound guy,” Onianwa said. “I feel like it’s obvious in the film. And just the ability to move people. But at the same time just being consistent, the hand placement and the punch, the footwork in general. When you’re a big, strong guy, there’s only so much you can do if you don’t have the right technique.

“That’s the main reason I want to have a good O-line coach to work with, to refine that technique, be precise and everything.”

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