Florida State football went 5-7 last season, so the fan base knew that something had to change. This is another offseason where the Seminoles went through a massive roster overhaul via the transfer portal and high school recruiting ranks.
However, that is the reality of the college football landscape nowadays. The fan base is just hoping that head coach Mike Norvell can find a way to turn the ship around because having six losing seasons in eight years is unacceptable at a place like Florida State.
After the success of the 2023 season, the thought process from Coach Norvell was to have coach continuity on the staff. This was something that he wanted to lean on to allow the players to have a consistent voice to listen to.
However, all of that continuity talk went out the window after the 2024 season since they finished with one of the worst records in school history. Former head coach Jimbo Fisher tended to keep coaches around on his staff longer than they should have. At some point, Coach Fisher needed to let them go. Mike Norvell had to look himself in the mirror and do the same.
Assistant coach Kam Martin is starting to trend for four-star running back prospect Ty Keys
Florida State running backs coach David Johnson had been with the program since Coach Norvell was hired in 2020. He wore multiple hats with responsibilities within the program, including being a recruiting coordinator. Johnson ended up going to Arkansas this offseason, and the Seminoles hired former UCF running backs coach Kam Martin.
Martin was a former running back at Auburn and is considered a young and energetic mind in the recruiting space. The running back room at Florida State is filled with talent. They entered the offseason with veteran Sam Singleton Jr. and second-year Ousmane Kromah.
Singleton Jr. and Kromah were thought to be enough with four-star prospect Amari Thomas coming in from the 2025 cycle, but they decided to bring in a productive rusher via the portal in Texas's Tre Wisner. This shows that the Seminoles want to run the football in 2026 with Mike Norvell calling the shots on offense.
Florida State isn't done recruiting the position for future classes, as they are heavily involved with four-star running back Ty Keys from Poplarville, Mississippi. He arrived on campus this morning for an unofficial visit with the Seminoles.
Four-star RB Ty Keys ( @Ty_Keys5 ) arriving at #FSU today https://t.co/JcauqKB4vD pic.twitter.com/hVKmoyyqrx
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) March 30, 2026
Keys isn't just any running back prospect. He was very dynamic during the junior season at Poplarville, where he recorded 3,285 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns (according to MaxPreps).
The Mississippi native is planning to take his official visit on June 5th to Florida State, but a commitment could happen sooner rather than later for Keys, as On3's Steve Wiltfong put in an expert prediction in favor of the Seminoles.
This would be a great prospect for Coach Martin to land and build around the future of the backfield.