During the highest success of the Mike Norvell era at Florida State (thus far), a prolific and persistent running attack was a staple of the offenses that delivered Florida State to a 23-4 record over a two-year span.
The 2022 Seminoles featured an ACC-best No. 14 ranked rushing attack in the nation that gashed defenses for an average of 214 yards per game. The 2023 attack saw a significant dip in terms of yards per game (150.21 YPG), but those who remember the 2023 season know that the rushing attack still managed to produce in clutch situations — including 164 combined rushing yards against Louisville in the ACC Championship game to help FSU capture its first ACC title since 2014. It also didn’t hurt that you had Trey Benson, who was the second running back taken in the 2024 draft.
But like nearly every facet of Florida State football during the 2024 season, production and effectiveness of the rushing attack careened off a cliff. There were only four teams worse at running the football last season in the FBS.
Of course, it’s a two-man dance when talking about the running game. The running backs and the offensive line work in lock-step with each other and while the offensive line was horrid, the running backs struggled to find consistency and could not produce when called upon. It may come as a surprise, but when two of your top four rushers are your freshman quarterbacks — that’s not good.
The Osceola continues its position preview series with a look at the running backs, who look to have a revitalized season under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.
Pre-Camp Depth Chart
Redshirt senior Roydell Williams (5-foot-10 and 221 pounds)
Redshirt senior Caziah Holmes (5-foot-11 and 219 pounds)
Redshirt junior Jaylin Lucas (5-foot-9 and 173 pounds)
Redshirt junior Gavin Sawchuk (5-foot-11 and 202 pounds)
Redshirt sophomore Samuel Singleton Jr. (5-foot-11 and 201 pounds)
Sophomore Kam Davis (5-foot-10 and 217 pounds)
True freshman Ousmane Kromah (6-foot-1 and 214 pounds)
Florida State’s 2024 rushing stats
Lawrance Toafili — 456 yards on 109 rushing attempts, three touchdowns
Kam Davis — 173 yards on 52 rushing attempts, no touchdowns
Samuel Singleton Jr. — 93 yards on 21 rushing attempts, no touchdowns
Caziah Holmes — 84 yards on 15 rushing attempts, three touchdowns
Roydell Williams — 53 yards on 26 rushing attempts, two touchdowns
Jaylin Lucas — 13 yards on two rushing attempts, no touchdowns.
Offseason transactions
Departures
Lawrance Toafili (Ran out of eligibility)
Micahi Danzy (moved to wide receiver)
Additions:
Gavin Sawchuk (Oklahoma) transferred in during the post-spring window
Ousmane Kromah (Lee County High School) signed in December and arrived post-spring
On the rise
The good news is that despite losing leading rusher Lawrance Toafili to the NFL, Florida State is returning all of its production from last season. The bad news is also that Florida State is returning all of its production from last season.
Barring Kam Davis, freshman quarterbacks Brock Glenn (97 yards) and Luke Kromenhoek (113 yards) rushed for more yards over the course of the season than every returning running back from last year’s team.
The context is that Florida State’s running back room was one of the rooms hit the hardest by the injury bug in 2024. Both Jaylin Lucas and Roydell Williams suffered season-ending injuries within the first four weeks of the season, and Kam Davis also missed three games while playing injured through the back-half of the season.
The optimism for the group lies within the unknown. Lucas was all that anyone could talk about during fall camp last season. Misuse during the first two games and the aforementioned injury robbed Florida State fans from seeing a player that can be electric and versatile. Williams was underwhelming prior to his injury, but we've frequently been told that FSU likes what they have in him. Davis has slimmed down this offseason to better hit gaps, but his role is a bit more unclear. Could they all excel under a run-first offense and a presumably better offensive line?
Gavin Sawchuk is an intriguing addition to the room. FSU fans will remember Sawchuk from rushing for 100 yards against the Seminoles in the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl as a true freshman at Oklahoma. But his usage dipped in 2024 after a quality redshirt freshman year (744 yards on 120 attempts, 9 touchdowns) and he looked for greener pastures. Florida State could have snagged themselves a home-run hitter.
There is real excitement about true freshman Ousmane Kromah. He has a college-ready physique and there has already been buzz about Kromah during off-season workouts. Both running backs coach David Johnson and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn absolutely gush when they talk about the potential Kromah has. It would not be a surprise whatsoever to see Kromah get touches this season.
Biggest questions
The stats don’t lie, Gus Malzahn has had a top 5 rushing offense in the country for two straight years at UCF. Malzahn also had one of the best running backs in the country in RJ Harvey, who had back-to-back 1,500-yard rushing seasons. Are those two facts co-dependent or are they independent of each other? And are Florida State’s upperclassmen capable of that production? Lucas and Williams are coming back from severe lower body injuries. Will they be able to come back and pick up where they left off?
Can Kam Davis take the next step? Logic would dictate that it’s Williams and Sawchuk as RB1 and RB2 — with Lucas taking on a gadget role. This offense will use a lot of running backs and it would really benefit Florida State to have a reliable third option.
How much can Florida State get out of Caziah Holmes and Sam Singleton Jr.? They didn’t make the most out of their opportunities on a depleted depth chart last season, but how much of that was indicative of Florida State’s problems on offense as a whole?
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