Ousmane Kromah has emerged as Florida State’s offensive centerpiece and has become the ACC’s top running back through two games.
Florida State has plenty to fix following its 27-24 loss to No. 19 SMU, but through two games, the Seminoles appear to have found something they can build their offense around.
Ousmane Kromah.
The sophomore running back has quickly emerged as one of the most productive backs in the country, and the underlying numbers suggest his early-season success is about much more than simply taking advantage of a couple of favorable matchups.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Kromah is the highest-graded running back in the ACC through Florida State’s first two games, posting an 84.6 rushing grade. More impressively, he sits No. 19 on PFF’s national running back rankings among the players shown with an 85.1 overall offensive grade.
Through two games, Kromah has carried the ball 36 times for 231 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.5 yards per attempt.
Those numbers alone are impressive.
How Kromah is accumulating them might be even more encouraging for Florida State.
PFF credits Kromah with 183 yards after contact, meaning nearly 78% of his rushing production has come after a defender has made contact with him. His 5.08 yards after contact per attempt illustrates just how difficult he has been to bring down.
Kromah has also forced 10 missed tackles and already produced five runs of at least 10 yards.
That combination is exactly what Florida State needs from its backfield.
The Seminoles have struggled to consistently generate explosive plays through the passing game, something that became painfully obvious against SMU. Ashton Daniels finished with just 125 passing yards in the loss while Florida State was outgained 585-324.
Kromah, however, gave Florida State an element SMU struggled to eliminate.
He rushed 22 times for 116 yards and a touchdown, accounting for more than a third of FSU’s total offense. His biggest play was officially recorded as a 54-yard run after a penalty erased part of what had been a 65-yard gain. Later, his six-yard touchdown tied the game at 17 late in the third quarter.
It wasn’t a one-game explosion, either.
Kromah has now established himself as Florida State’s clear leader on the ground. Quintrevion Wisner has five carries for 34 yards through his first appearance, while Samuel Singleton Jr. has 16 carries for 66 yards.
The gap between Kromah and the rest of the room has become difficult to ignore.
Perhaps the most interesting part of his PFF profile is where the damage is occurring.
Florida State has generated 455 rushing yards through two games, but its success has been dramatically better when attacking the right side of the formation.
FSU runners have produced 127 yards on 15 attempts behind the middle-right area, an average of 8.5 yards per carry, and another 119 yards on 11 attempts off right end, an eye-popping 10.8 yards per attempt.
Kromah has been especially lethal there.
On 10 carries to the middle-right, he has gained 82 yards, including 71 after contact. His six attempts around right end have generated another 69 yards.
That’s 151 yards on only 16 carries when Kromah attacks those two areas averaging 9.4 yards per attempt.
Compare that with his 31 yards on 11 attempts through the middle-left, and Florida State’s early-season rushing identity begins to take shape.
Get Kromah moving toward the right side, give him an opportunity to reach the second level and make defenders tackle him.
Good luck from there.
The advanced numbers also reinforce something that is becoming apparent on film: Kromah isn’t dependent on perfectly blocked plays. His 183 yards after contact and 10 forced missed tackles show a runner creating additional offense after the blocking has done its job and sometimes when it hasn’t.
For a Florida State offense still searching for consistency, that’s invaluable.
There are significant questions surrounding the Seminoles after falling to 1-1. The passing game must become more dangerous. Third-down execution has to improve. FSU can’t expect four takeaways every week to keep games close.
Kromah isn’t one of those questions.
Through two games, he has arguably become Florida State’s most dependable offensive answer.
