This week, Mike Norvell announced that Florida State would not be releasing a depth chart before game day this season. With the Seminoles favored by 31.5 points in their Week 0 season-opener, there didn’t seem to be much reason for secrecy; however, Norvell may have been attempting to hold a schematic change close to the vest.
Saturday, ahead of the 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff at Doak Campbell Stadium, FSU’s depth chart was finally released, and it listed both Ousmane Kromah and Samuel Singleton Jr. as starters on the FSU offense. Norvell has spoken about his desire to lean into 21-personnel with two running backs and one tight end on the field, but this is a step further than most expected.
FSU Depth Charts for New Mexico State: pic.twitter.com/KqgkEBX2AQ
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) August 29, 2026
Now, it’s a question of how much Norvell will ultimately use 21-personnel on the field this season, but if the depth chart is any indication, it might be home for this FSU offense. And if that’s the case, it’s familiar territory for Norvell.
Ousmane Kromah and Samuel Singleton both named starters
Kromah, the sophomore former four-star, generated quite a bit of buzz this preseason. He appears poised for a breakout after rushing for 408 yards on 72 carries as a true freshman. There were some questions about how much the FSU staff believed in him after the Seminoles added Texas transfer Quintrevion Wisner in the transfer portal, but Kromah is likely to be RB1 in this offense.
Surprisingly, it’s not Wisner who is going to cut into Kromah’s workload, however. The veteran missed much of fall camp with an undisclosed injury, and though he’s cleared for Week 0, Samuel Singleton is set to start alongside Kromah. Singleton ran for 360 yards and four touchdowns on 51 carries last season and returned with Kromah for his fourth year in Tallahassee.
Wisner will still get some work, and 6-foot-2, 225-pound Auburn transfer quarterback Ashton Daniels will likely be a factor in the run game as well. That’s a lot of mouths to feed, but Norvell has been in this situation before and likely called on his days at Memphis to construct this offense.
Mike Norvell is familiar with a primarily 21-personnel offense
Norvell has reclaimed the headset after handing it over to Gus Malzahn last year, and along with returning to the role, he’ll return to some of his run-game roots. In 2018, Memphis had four NFL running backs on its roster. Kenneth Gainwell didn’t work his way into the mix, but Darrell Henderson Jr. rushed for 1,909 yards on 214 carries, Patrick Taylor Jr. went for 1,122 yards on 209 carries, and Tony Pollard added 552 on 78 attempts.
That Memphis team almost always had two running backs on the field, and it worked to great effect as the Tigers averaged 3.00 points per drive, which ranked No. 11 in the country that season.
How much Norvell leans on 21-personnel in practice remains to be seen, but in theory, that’s the plan for this team, and the depth chart release ahead of Week 0 kickoff confirmed it. And, if Kromah and Singleton both put up 1,000-yard seasons as Henderson and Taylor did in 2018, this FSU offense will be in good shape to lead the program back to a bowl game.
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