Florida State’s backfield is starting to tilt toward one name, and the more Ousmane Kromah keeps stacking buzz in fall camp, the harder it gets to imagine a true committee carrying this offense into the season.
Kromah was already viewed as a breakout possibility for 2026, but that conversation has only gotten louder with Week 0 drawing near. If the sophomore really is as ready as the camp chatter suggests, the Seminoles may have found the kind of runner who can anchor a run-first attack and make the idea of spreading carries around feel unnecessary.
That’s a big shift for a player who entered last season as one of the top backs in the country. Kromah, a top-five running back in the 247Sports Composite for the 2025 class, finished his true freshman year with 408 yards on 72 carries. He was playing behind Gavin Sawchuk at running back, while quarterback Tommy Castellanos led the team in carries for offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.
Now, with Mike Norvell back on the headset, the picture looks different. Pete Nakos reported for On3 on Tuesday that Kromah has been the leader of Florida State’s running back room throughout fall camp, and the bigger question is no longer whether he’s the guy. It’s how much separation he’ll create from Quintrevion Wisner and Samuel Singleton Jr.
Wisner’s arrival from the transfer portal made sense on paper for a team bringing Kromah back for his second season. A reliable veteran to help cover the gaps in a young back’s game fits what Norvell has done before, especially with his comfort level in multi-back offenses.
Singleton also belongs in the mix. But the current momentum around Kromah is hard to ignore.
The case for leaning harder on him starts with what he already showed as a freshman. Kromah was a useful receiver out of the backfield, catching nine of 11 targets for 147 yards, and he held up reasonably well in pass protection, handling 23 opportunities. At 6-foot-1 and 216 pounds, he has the frame to take on linebackers, keep Ashton Daniels clean, and absorb the kind of workload that comes with being a bell-cow back over the course of a season.
He also showed enough as a runner to hint at more. Kromah averaged 5.7 yards per carry last season, and his game was more about steady production than splash plays. He can make the first defender miss in tight spaces and has the physicality to finish runs falling forward, which is exactly the sort of profile that keeps an offense on schedule.
There were still some freshman habits in the film, though. Kromah often tried to bounce runs outside and chase the big play instead of settling for what was available. That made sense in a season when he knew opportunities would be limited, and former running backs coach David Johnson’s heavy rotation made it tough for any back to settle into a rhythm.
That’s where Kam Martin comes in. He has said he wants to ride the hot hand, which could mean Kromah gets a steady workload right away. If he looks the part against New Mexico State in Week 0 and then backs it up in Week 1 against SMU, that should only strengthen the case for riding him more heavily.
The timing matters because Florida State doesn’t have many obvious edges elsewhere in the ACC. The Seminoles do not have the league’s top quarterback, and the rebuilt offensive line is not expected to match Miami’s front. At receiver, Duce Robinson was a first-team All-ACC selection last season, but there are still questions if Micahi Danzy is still developing as a route-runner and true freshman Jasen Lopez is projected to start in the slot.
Other ACC backfields have their own talent, too. Miami’s Mark Fletcher Jr. flashed in the CFP last year, but he wasn’t the same player Carson Beck was handing off to all season. Louisville has Isaac Brown, who can turn a carry into a highlight, though his availability has been an issue and he started fall camp banged up.
That leaves a lane for Kromah to make his case as the conference’s top running back. If he takes that step, it could change the way Florida State’s season looks. With Norvell under pressure after back-to-back losing seasons, the simplest answer may be the right one: trust Kromah, give him the ball, and stop pretending this has to be split up evenly.
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