As thecollege football preseason slowly creeps to the start of the 2026 season, anothernational award watch list came out on Tuesday.
Florida State running backsOusmane Kromah and Quintrevion Wisner have been named to the 2026 Doak WalkerAward watch list. Florida State is one of only seven schools (and one of two inthe ACC) to have multiple players named to this watch list. So far, thepreseason accolades for the Seminoles have gone to just four players, with themajority of attention given to receiver Duce Robinson.
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OusmaneKromah
Lastseason as a freshman, Kromah rushed for 408 yards, but no touchdowns. He didhave one receiving touchdown on 147 receiving yards. Last season, Kromah’sseason-high in rushing yards was 63 yards against Virginia.
Over thespring and summer, Kromah (6-foot-1, 216 pounds) has lost some weight and hashad a great fall camp. He is expected to have a breakout year this season andwill be counted on to be the lead back on the field.
Kromah wasa consensus four-star recruit coming out of high school, a top 100 prospect andNo. 4 running back nationally by On3. He landed on the ESPN300 at No. 139.Kromah was the 6A Player of the Year in the highly-talented, super-competitiveGeorgia high school football. As a senior, Kromah rushed for 1,356 yards and 15touchdowns, and added 741 receiving yards and eight more scores. Florida Statecoach Mike Norvell snatched Kromah away from Kirby Smart and Georgia, Auburnand Tennessee.
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QuintrevionWisner
Will the2024 version of Wisner please stand up? That season, Wisner led the Texas Longhornswith 1,064 yards and found the end zone five times. He postedfour games of over 100 yards, including 186 yards in a victory over in-state rivalTexas A&M.
In theplayoffs, however, Wisner was the Invisible Man. Wisner rushed for less than 50 yards ineach of two playoff games against Arizona State and Ohio State, and averagedless than three yards per carry in those games.
Lastseason, Wisner cut his yardage total in half, rushing for only 597 yards, andscoring just three touchdowns. He missed four games last season, including theCheez-It Bowl against Michigan. He rushed for 155 yards in another win overTexas A&M before sitting out the bowl game.
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Kromah andWisner will run behind a retooled, but experienced offensive line, one thatboasts 107 combined starts. The Seminoles backfield, including quarterbackAshton Daniels, will be talented for sure.
As theplay caller this season, Norvell will have to be creative, turning the pages inthe playbook to those few X’s and O’s diagrams that the defense will not expect.The kind that you have not shown all year and master only during a particulargame week, play calls that put Kromah and Wisner in position to make big playsfor big yardage.
Do that,and the Seminoles could have a respectable season. Do it not, and Florida State’soffense becomes one-dimensional, a state of being that does not bode well forgridiron success, nor coaches on the hot seat.
