What we all figured would happen with former FSU RB pledge Amari Thomas is happening -- he's trending to South Carolina and will likely make his announcement to the Gamecocks in the next week or two.
Thomnas, a composite four-star prospect out of Northwest Florida (Blountstown/Marianna), was the only running back in the recruiting class. Given the depth that FSU likes in its running back room, not having a back in the class is less than ideal.
NEW: Rivals’ @SWiltfong_ and @JohnGarcia_Jr have logged expert predictions for South Carolina to land 4-star RB Amari Thomas🤙https://t.co/m5O6ZUvG6i pic.twitter.com/qCbhYqGr07
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 18, 2025
One of the high-end running back targets that visited FSU, five-star prospect Derrek Cooper, committed to Texas over the weekend as expected. Obviously, there is no official end to a recruitment until the prospect puts pen to paper (and even THAT doesn't matter these days), but it wouldn't hurt FSU to continue to keep Cooper's number on speed dial in case things change over the next six months
Cooper is a far reach - it's unknown if FSU would even put together a competitive financial package for him that matches Texas, especially given how many resources they used to recruit highly-touted freshman running back Ousmane Kromah. But if there's one thing that Mike Norvell needs to learn about recruiting is that you can't have too many elite players. A backfield of Cooper/Kromah immediately becomes one of the top five in the nation and changes the discussion around the program.
Lackluster results put FSU RB coach under spotlight
DavidJohnson has been the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for the Seminoles since Norvell arrived. He's been a mixed bag on the field and on the trail. The running back room is made up mostly of transfers (Roydell Williams, Gavin Sawchuk), He had one notable home-grown back, Lawrence Toafili. Another prominent recruit, Rodney Hill, left after a season and Kam Davis had a lackluster freshman year on a horrible team.
Norvell tends to get the credit for Kromah, butJohnson had plenty to do with that recruitment. I'm not suggesting Johnson IS on the hot seat, but it's a question worth exploring. His connections to Louisiana haven't really worked in FSU's favor and more times than not it's either been a waste of resources or a disappointment (see Hill, Destyn).
Running back recruiting should be a strength of the program, especially with Norvell and now Gus Malzahn running the offense. If Malzahn's offense has some success, he's going to want to bring in more of "his" guys and you best believe Johnson will be a coach in his crosshairs.