Florida State coach Mike Norvell felt he needed to add another running back to the roster. $650,000 later, that new addition, Quintrevion Wisner, has just 4 carries for 34 yards and no touchdowns. A negative return on investment. The Seminoles should double their NIL payout to Ousmane Kromah.
During the transfer portal window, Florida State coach Mike Norvell went looking for a running back, even though he already had Ousmane Kromah and Sam Singleton Jr. on the roster.
Norvell plucked former Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner from its depths, thinking he would be a productive piece of the Florida State offense. Two games into this season, that could not be further from the truth.
The acquisition of Wisner has morphed into the college football equivalent of buying a broken-down used car. Imagine Norvell, carrying a suitcase with $650,000 in NIL greenbacks, approaching Wisner’s agent.
The $650,000 was initially reported by Tomahawk Nation in a column on Aug. 19.
The agent, with slicked-back hair and wearing a polyester leisure suit and sharkskin boots, tells Norvell “trust me.” So, with the stroke of a pen and over a half a million dollars later, Wisner arrives at Florida State and immediately sets out to find a comfy spot on the Seminoles’ bench. After two games, Wisner has just four carries for 34 yards and no touchdowns.
Because when college football hands you lemons, Norvell and Florida State buy them.
Wisner has been trending downward. With the Longhorns last season, Wisner led the team with 597 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In 2024, Wisner was a 1,000-yard rusher for Texas with five touchdowns.
It was questionable why Norvell felt the need to add another running back to the roster. Kromah was trending upward and was the leading returning rusher this season for the Seminoles. He rushed for 408 yards and 5.6 yards per carry last season.
So far this season, Kromah has been the productive workhorse everyone thought he would be. After two games, Kromah has posted 231 yards and two touchdowns, and has averaged 6.42 yards per carry. Kromah ranks third in the ACC in rushing yards per game with 115.50. Whatever Florida State is paying Kromah in NIL money, double it.
In Monday night’s loss to SMU, Florida State essentially abandoned the passing game and ran the ball the majority of the game (45 running plays, 23 passing attempts). Nothing like being one-dimensional, so the opposing defense can key on you. Despite that, Kromah still rushed for over 100 yards for the second consecutive week.
At his post-game press conference, Norvell talked about the lack of a passing game and leaning on the run.
“I mean, there, had some run pass things that we called that really was going to take what they gave us in regards, and we had some good runs that that showed up off that,” Norvell said. “But also wanted to try to get some consistency going into the passing game and unfortunately, you wasn't able to do that to level and be able to sustain that throughout. So, there were some dynamics of that we were doing some good things in the run game and so, wanted to have a little bit more balance, but also wanted more production in what we were trying to do there.”
Florida State has a good and productive rushing attack behind Kromah and Singleton. Both players provide a spark when it is needed most. Wisner has not had a productive hand in the offense, and the fact that he did not see the field and had zero carries against SMU is frustrating and telling.
Wisner missed two important scrimmages in fall camp because of a nagging injury. In fall camp and over the first two games of this season, Wisner has not played well enough to earn playing time ahead of Kromah and Singleton. $650,000 in NIL money to ride the pine, sign me up.
