The Seminoles need a reignited backfield. Here's why Ousmane Kromah is being counted on to make it happen.
The spring presents a pivotal time for certain Florida State football players.
As much as head coaches across the nation deny starting spots are on the line, they still turn to this period to see who's ready to take the next leap. Such is the case for running back Ousmane Kromah in front of FSU head coach Mike Norvell.
Kromah was a four-star signing for the 2025 class and a summer enrollee. He's one of the talents Brendan Sonnone of Noles247 believes must take the next step starting with the spring sessions.
"Ousmane Kromah gave you more than flashes of his physical tools as a true freshman as he put up a steady 5.7 yards per carry in route to 408 rushing yards, which ranked 10th nationally among all P4 [power four conference] running backs," Sonnone wrote. "There's something, a vast something, to Kromah's game."
The big 6-foot-1, 218-pounder showed flashes. But Sonnone pointed out some notable flaws that plagued the RB during his first collegiate season.
"But keeping him from getting the ball at a steady rate was his lack of consistency with running tracks. His inability to take proper angles in the run game was evidenced by his 1.51 YPC rate before contact," Sonnone said.
Even physical tools came with some noticeable flaws.
"And the physical tools, those were evidenced by the 4.11 YPC rate after contact as well as his 40.3 Avoided Tackle Rate, which ranked second nationally among all freshmen," Sonnone said.
But to Kromah's credit, he's addressing the mistakes from his freshman campaign by attacking the spring.
"More or less, we work on certain things like track and stuff like that," Kromah said of what he's focused on this spring to Noles247. "Last year I didn't necessarily have the time to just work on my track because I came in during the summer."
He added what he aims to build on this season.
"But this year it's helping me improve my game completely because I got Coach [Kam] Martin getting on me about the smallest things. My game—by the time we get to the season—should be fluent and efficient," Kromah said.
Kromah stepping up becomes huge for an FSU backfield that needs an improvement. Norvell added College Football Playoff experience in the room by landing Texas RB Quintrevion "Tre" Wisner in the transfer portal. But Kromah adding his strength, power and speed will make this offense click further.
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