Florida State is less than two months away from kickoff, and as we continue rolling through our position preview series, up next is the running backs. This might be the group I’m most excited about heading into 2026.
The Seminoles have talent and depth at their disposal, and while the ground game will be heavily dependent on the performance of a retooled o-line, there is genuine reason to be excited about what is possible from this group.
College football expert Phil Steele has this running back room ranked 3rd in the ACC, 10th nationally, and projects FSU to have the second-ranked rushing offense in the conference, and honestly, I agree. Let’s break it down.
The Setup
We know the offense is going to look a little different this year. Gus Malzahn has retired, Mike Norvell has taken over play-calling duties, and Tim Harris Jr. steps in as the new offensive coordinator. However, I still expect it to lean heavily on the ground game with the way the roster is constructed. Norvell has always leaned on his running backs, with formations like 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end) being a staple in his offense.
He likes to use the run to set up the pass, and get his backs involved in the passing game, too. Since arriving at FSU, running backs have accounted for around 20 percent of the offense’s total receptions. Norvell is going to find ways to get the ball in his backs’ hands when he has playmakers at the position.
Outside of 2024, Norvell’s rushing offenses have generally produced. FSU ran for over 200 yards per game in 2020 (202.0) and 2022 (214.1). While Mike wasn’t technically calling the plays, they passed that mark again in 2025 (218.7).
Even 2021 (177.8) and 2023 (150.2) were respectable. The outlier is 2024, when the wheels completely fell off up front, and the running game cratered. That’s the o-line question looming over this entire preview as FSU must implement five new starters again this year. The good news is that Herb Hand has proven he can build a good offensive line before, and if he does it again this year, this backfield has a real chance to be dangerous.
I know things haven’t been the same offensively at FSU as they were at Memphis, but I wanted to throw this out there. In 2018, at Memphis, they had talent in the backfield and leaned heavily on the run game. Norvell’s rushing offense ranked fourth in the country that year at nearly 280 yards per game with one running back hitting almost 2,000 yards and another going over 1,000. Those are numbers you’d typically only see from option teams. And they still had a 1,000-yard receiver that year, too.
The Kam Martin Factor
This might be the most underrated storyline in the room. New running backs coach Kam Martin has produced a 1,000-yard rusher in all four seasons he’s coached the position, at three different programs, and three of those four seasons saw his top back clear 1,400 yards.
In 2022, he coached the FCS national rushing leader (1,436 yards). In 2023 and 2024, he had RJ Harvey at UCF, who put up back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons, both behind a Herb Hand offensive line. Last year, at Tulsa, he coached another 1,000-yard back.
For comparison, previous FSU running backs coach David Johnson never developed a 1,000-yard rusher in his coaching career and actually spent more time coaching wide receivers than running backs. That’s not a knock on Johnson so much as it is a reason for real optimism with Martin now leading this room.
The other thing Martin needs to fix is the rotation. FSU had a rather confusing plan at running back last year, which I speculate was one of the points of frustration between Norvell and Malzahn that he hinted at.
Kam Martin has typically had one primary bell cow who gets a bulk of the carries, with a second back getting a chunk but only about half as many as the primary.
Here’s a look at how his top 3 running backs split up carries over the past four seasons.
- 2025: 212 | 97 | 32 (QB 95)
- 2024: 232 | 51 | 34 (QB(2) 113)
- 2023: 226 | 87 | 18 (QB 106)
- 2022: 212 | 70 | 69 (QB 132)
I expect Wisner and Kromah to soak up 80 to 90 percent of the meaningful carries this season, condensing that rotation considerably. There’s nothing wrong with two good backs splitting work, especially as a hedge against injury, but last year’s version of usage needs to go. I am interested to see how they distribute the workload with two guys who are good enough to be feature backs, but that’s a good problem to have.
Personnel
Tre Wisner (6’0, 201, Sr.) arrives from Texas as the steady veteran piece. He appeared in 38 games with 21 starts across three seasons there, and 2024 was his breakout year: 226 carries for 1,064 yards (4.7 YPC) and 5 touchdowns, plus 44 catches for 311 yards and a score, in 15 games. He did have 4 games with single-digit carries early in the season as he earned a larger role throughout the year, so his totals could have been even more impressive.
He ripped off four 100-yard games, every one of them against Power 4 competition, including 110 yards and two touchdowns against Clemson and 186 yards (147 after contact) against Texas A&M. He helped get Texas to the playoff that year and graded top 25 among Power 4 backs in yards, PFF run grade, missed tackles forced, yards after contact, and runs of 10-plus and 15-plus yards.
2025 was a down year in volume only, as an injury cost him time, but his per-game efficiency barely moved. He finished with 131 carries for 597 yards (4.6 YPC) and 3 touchdowns, and he still gashed good competition when healthy, including 80 yards against Ohio State’s No. 7 rush defense, 94 yards against Oklahoma’s No. 3 unit, and 155 yards against Mike Elko’s Texas A&M defense.
Comparing seasons, his workload dropped slightly, but averages were right on par: 15.0 carries and 70.9 yards a game in 2024 versus 14.6 and 66.3 in 2025 and the YPC barely budged at 4.7 vs 4.6. Wisner is a battle-tested, hard-nosed runner with good contact balance, vision and enough juice to make you pay in space. He’s only fumbled twice in his career (knock on wood). Before I make him sound like the second coming of Dalvin Cook, he’s not exactly an elite home run hitter. He’s been held under 3 YPC four times in the last two seasons and only has 8 rushing touchdowns in the past 2 seasons, but he’s a dadgum good, dependable back. Health is the only real question.
Ousmane Kromah (6’1, 225, So.) is the other half of this 1A/1B punch, and he might be the most exciting name in the room. As a true freshman, he played in all 12 games and posted 72 carries for 408 yards (5.67 YPC) and added 9 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown.
He topped 4 YPC in 10 of his 12 games and had a season-high 63 yards on just 12 carries against UVA, plus 55 yards on only 7 carries versus Pitt. Among Power 4 freshman running backs, he ranked 4th in yards after contact per attempt, tied for 6th in runs of 10-plus yards and missed tackles forced, and 8th in YPC. He finished 8th nationally among all Power 4 backs in PFF’s elusive rating, and he led every Power 4 running back in yards per route run, which is a real signal for a receiving threat rather than a guy who just piled up easy checkdown targets.
Kromah was praised throughout spring for taking a real step forward, and remember, he was summer enrollee last year who didn’t get a spring camp. He’s now entering year two with a full season of experience, college-level strength and conditioning and a spring camp.
He showed flashes of why he was a top-5 running back and top-100 overall recruit nationally. In my opinion, Kromah is the x-factor of this offense. If he truly has taken a big step, and gets a larger workload, he could be a game-changing type of player. That’s a big if, but it’s certainly plausible for a player with his talent who flashed as a true freshman that was thrown straight into the fire. If he were to have a breakout season, that changes what the ceiling of this offense can be. Some people like talk about the lack of elite talent on the 2026 roster, and that’s fair, but Ousmane Kromah doesn’t belong in that conversation.
Sam Singleton Jr. (5’11, 200, Rs-Jr.) profiles as the change-of-pace piece behind the top two. He ran 51 times for 360 yards (7.06 YPC) and 4 touchdowns last season, plus 21 catches for 93 yards. A good chunk of that production (168 yards and 3 of his 4 scores) came against lesser competition, but he also put up 91 yards and a touchdown against Wake Forest. He’s a pure speed threat, and he gives Norvell a way to keep Wisner and Kromah fresh without losing much explosiveness. He hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities over the years, but he showed flashes of what he can do last year. Let’s not forget he was consensus blue-chip recruit himself.
Beyond the top three, Gemari Sands (5’11, 200, Rs-Jr.) transfers in after leading FAU in rushing with 105 carries for 465 yards (4.43 YPC) and 40 catches for 217 yards. He only faced one Power 4 opponent last year (Maryland, where he managed 9 carries for 44 yards) so how he translates up a level is the real question, but he’s a solid all-purpose depth option.
Amari Thomas, a former 247Composite four-star and the No. 24 running back nationally in his class, put up big high school numbers and earned praise this spring for making the most of his reps. And Zay Parks put up 15 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown combined against lesser competition, though he didn’t see the field much beyond that.
Final Thoughts
Wisner was brought in to be the steady presence next to a talented, but young Kromah. I view them as 1A/1B, with Singleton as a legitimate RB3 and Sands, Thomas and Parks rounding out depth. Don’t be surprised if the bottom of the room barely sees the field unless it’s against the weaker parts of the schedule. And don’t forget Ashton Daniels factors largely into this run game too, which only adds another layer up front for defenses to account for.
If the o-line can be even decent, and Kam Martin’s track record suggests he can get the most out of this group, FSU has the pieces for a real ground game.
The last time Kam Martin and Herb Hand roamed the same sideline was at UCF in 2023-2024. They produced a top-5 rushing offense two years running. That’s the blueprint here if things line up.
Now a couple of things to watch for that I feel are worth touching on. Obviously, teams will change from year-to-year, but six teams on this year’s schedule had a top-25 run defense last season, so there’s a chance it won’t be easy sledding.
One of my biggest questions, and it’s not really about the backs themselves. It’s whether Ashton Daniels can throw it enough to keep defenses honest. FSU can’t live in a world where opponents feel comfortable stacking the box, and we saw exactly what that looks like in 2024 when teams were flat out disrespectful with their defensive alignments because they knew the passing game wasn’t a threat… But then again neither was the run game. If Daniels forces defenses to respect play-action even a little, this running back room has a real chance to be special, not just good.
The offensive line still has to prove itself before I fully trust this offense, but this running back room, combined with a quarterback who is a real threat in the run game, is talented and deep enough to be the identity of this team either way. And I’m genuinely excited to see what they can do. There are a lot of questions surrounding the 2026 Florida State Seminoles football team, but I truly feel like this stable of backs could be one of the best in the conference if things line up. Thanks for reading, and Go Noles!