When D'Mitri Emmanuel tried to transfer from Charlotte to Florida State, offensive coordinator Alex Atkins offered a blunt statement.

"I told him he wasn't good enough," Atkins told the Democrat.

Emmanuel was a part of Atkins' offense at Charlotte for a year before he left for the offensive lineman coach job at FSU in 2020.

It was a short time that the two spent together in North Carolina, but left a lasting impression on Atkins on what kind of player and person Emmanuel is.

"Meech is like the little engine that could," Atkins said. "When I met him in Charlotte, he was a young guy who hadn't played a bunch but had a lot of determination. He felt like he was under-recruited and played with a chip on his shoulder."

The mentality to work hard that Atkins saw in Emmanuel has paid off. He went from not seeing action for his first two college seasons to one of the top offensive linemen in Conference USA. In 2022, Emmanuel entered the portal and Atkins gave Emmanuel the long-awaited opportunity to play in Tallahassee.

Now one of the Seminoles' top producers on the offensive line, Emmanuel is halfway through his seventh and final college football season.

"I'm just blessed to still be playing the game," Emmanuel told the Democrat. "I've really grown a love and appreciation for the game each year, especially when I was a freshman coming in and seeing all the seniors leave, year in and year out."

"The longer I've been in college, the more I would appreciate it even more. I definitely didn't see this being a thing in high school, but I'm glad I'm still able to keep playing."

Queen City made

He came to Charlotte as a 3-star offensive lineman from Marvin Ridge High School, about 30 miles away from where he'd play college football. He redshirted his freshman season in 2017 and did not play in 2018.

However, once he got his opportunity in 2019, his stat lines exploded. Emmanuel was a three-year starting tackle with the 49ers, made 24 consecutive starts spanning from 2019 to 2021, and earned multiple conference and national honors for his play.

Along with not playing in what would've been his freshman and sophomore years, Emmanuel had to adjust to a new offensive line coach every year he was at Charlotte.

Emmanuel said that his two years at FSU have been the first time that he's had the same positional coach in back-to-back years.

However, he doesn't see the constant turnaround of coaches over his college career as a negative. Emmanuel said that he's learned more from different perspectives and was able to better his game.

"The first time it happened, I really saw it as an opportunity for me to showcase who I was as a young player at Charlotte," Emmanuel said. "After my freshman year, the O-line coach had left to go to Marshall, so I just saw the opportunity for me to showcase who I was as a young player to the new O-line coach who came in."

"I really think it's been a blessing, just being able to learn different techniques and learn the game from different types of coaches."

After the speed bump of his first two years at Charlotte, Emmanuel's game began to take off. He was an anchor for the 49ers' success on the offensive line and even helped them to their first-ever Bowl Game appearance in the 2019 Bahamas Bowl.

However, by the time the 2021 season had wrapped up, he felt like he had hit a ceiling for growth and success in the program. He wanted to challenge himself even more and for the first time in his life was gearing up to play football outside of North Carolina.

"I think it was a big deal for me to just try and challenge myself," Emmanuel said. "At Charlotte, I kind of hit a ceiling of self-growth and self-improvement. Also, I had a coach Atkins in 2019, and he obviously came to Florida State.

"I was really just looking to be challenged for what I thought was going to be my last year. I wanted to challenge myself and play at a different school."

Hardworking mentality

In May 2022, Emmanuel reunited with Atkins as he announced his transfer to FSU, which was a major acquisition from the portal. Upon entering the program head coach Mike Norvell expected Emmanuel to have an immediate impact on the offensive line.

In his first season, he did not disappoint, starting all 13 games at right guard and earning third-team All-ACC honors at the end of the season.

So when it was found out that the NCAA approved Emmanuel to play for a seventh season, the Seminoles couldn't have been more excited.

“We are happy to have D’Mitri with our program for another year,” Norvell said following Emmanuel's approval of a seventh season. “Since he joined the Nole Family as a graduate transfer prior to last season, he has displayed tremendous leadership, effort and football knowledge."

On the field, his hard-working mindset is one that Atkins wishes that he could spread to every player.

"I wish I could spread his mindset to every single human being. His mindset is no matter the circumstance, no matter what's going on, I'm going to find my way and find my role to contribute," Atkins said. "Whatever time he can find to help, he's going to plug himself into that. Whatever element he has, his mindset is going to overcome it."

Being there for his teammates

Emmanuel's presence is felt on the field, but he's brought something to the team that cannot be duplicated by just any other player: leadership and companionship. His time around the game has built him into a natural leader and one younger player can always count on.

And that's what he's wanted to be. Someone that people can go to and count on.

"I really just want to have an impact on people's lives, throughout the season," Emmanuel said. "Whether that's my teammates or just people in the building, I just want to continue to be a great person and a great teammate."

This officially being his last year, he wants to have an appreciation for where he is now and for the people that are around him.

Staying on theme with that helpful mentality, he wants to be there for his teammates, for the good and the bad. Someone that they can go to and depend on no matter what.

"I just really think this is who I am, an interactive guy," Emmanuel said. "Of course, I try to be close with all my teammates, so they can come talk to me about anything, or we go hang out, go get food, and just continue to build that relationship."

"You never know, in a moment, when you need somebody and it's a lot easier to talk to somebody and hold people accountable when you have a relationship with that person."

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams. 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football's D'Mitri Emmanuel's hardworking, helping mentality sets him apart