⚡ CFB Dashboard

TALLAHASSEE – Through three games, running back Ousmane Kromah has been Florida State's best and most consistent player. The sophomore has totaled 311 yards and three scores, notching 100-yard outings (the first of his career) against New Mexico State and No. 22 SMU – the first Seminole to hit the century mark in consecutive games since Trey Benson in 2022. That's 16th in the country in rushing, a rank that may only increase in the coming weeks if he has to take on an even heavier portion of the backfield work with Samuel Singleton Jr. expected to miss an "extended period of time." Plenty of Kromah's work has had to come by his own volition. Florida State's line ranks 79th in the country in terms of the yards they've generated before contact for their backs. But Kromah has been slippery, in the 74th percentile of qualified FBS backs by averaging 3.98 yards after contact and the 69th percentile for avoided tackle rate. It doesn't take long to see how special he can be when you turn on the tape, turning what seem like negative plays into positives and even big chunks on the ground. When he broke away for 52 yards in the season opener against New Mexico State, he had to make a linebacker miss behind the line of scrimmage, step through another tackle, and juke two more defenders at the second level before taking off. And when the hole is there for him, he'll hit it and take off, with his elusiveness coming into play at the second level. Where he can get into trouble will come from searching for the big play when it isn't necessarily there, bouncing in the backfield to find a hole that never opens. But his quick ability to change directions with jump cuts has also gotten the Seminoles out of trouble plenty of times. When Alabama safety Bray Hubbard closed the hole on a third-and-short dive up the middle, Kromah hit the breaks and bounced to the outside for 27 yards on Florida State's opening touchdown drive. Against New Mexico State, he turned a carry that looked like it would be stuffed at the line into seven yards on first down. As expected, the majority of Kromah's work has come on inside zone carries, the basis of O-line coach Herb Hand's run-game. But he's executed those extremely efficiently by averaging 6.2 yards per attempt. Some of his best work has come to the right-side A-gap between center Bradyn Welch-Joiner and whoever is playing right guard (Nate Pabst for the first game-and-a-half, and Paul Bowling since), averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Kromah's other most-efficient area between the tackles – averaging 7.5 yards per carry – has been the B-gap between left tackle Xavier Chaplin and guard André Otto, especially on outside zone designs when his blocking has set up well. Against the Tide, he found a cutback lane between Chaplin and Otto, put his foot in the ground, and was nearly off to the races before safety Ivan Taylor tripped him up. Unsurprisingly, Kromah's best runs have come outside the tackles, averaging 8.2 yards per carry when he gets to the edge. That has included plays like a beautiful G/T Counter Bash that took him to the end zone on Saturday. And it's often come on one of Mike Norvell's favorite calls this year – a Power Read Toss that Kromah's taken three of for 32 yards.  As a running back, Kromah's ceiling is capped to a certain extent by the talent of those around him. Although he does his best to work with what's given, he needs blocking to set things up and a quarterback that can keep defenses honest through the air.  Opponents have played increasingly heavier boxes against Florida State (up from New Mexico State's 3 percent, to 12 percent from SMU, and nearly 20 percent from Alabama) as quarterback Ashton Daniels has delivered inconsistent results that allow them to feel comfortable loading up for the run. As expected, this has hurt Kromah's numbers, with his yards per carry falling from 8.5 against light six-man boxes to 5.4 against seven and just 1.7 when defenses put eight in the box. Through three games, Kromah has been the Seminoles' most dynamic player and has the talent to deliver such results. But without Singleton now, they will have to rely even more heavily on the second-year back and provide him with the support necessary to maximize Kromah's explosive skill set.