FSU coaches had a vision of Kromenhoek's development - and QB never wavered
When Florida State first saw Luke Kromenhoek, the 2024 quarterback prospect hadn't yet played a snap as a high-school quarterback.
It was the summer before his sophomore season at Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military School and all Kromenhoek had done the previous fall as a true freshman was cover kickoffs, buried behind a future Power-Five quarterback on the depth chart.
And yet, what FSU saw that day as Kromenhoek worked out at FSU's Mega Camp in the summer of 2021 was undeniable. They saw remarkable potential and decided to give the quarterback his first scholarship offer, even though he wouldn't make his first start at quarterback for BMS until over a year later.
"It was definitely surreal. I'm probably not supposed to say this, but I remember (my dad) tearing up a little bit when I got the offer..." Kromenhoek reminisced on Friday in his first interview at FSU since enrolling in January. "For coach Norvell and the staff to give me an offer when I hadn't even played a snap as a quarterback in high school, it was really awesome. I'm forever thankful to them."
Nine months later in March 2022, Kromenhoek, still an unranked prospect who was not yet his high school's starting quarterback, committed to FSU.
Now nearly two years after that, Kromenhoek is finally an official Seminole. He signed in December as the No. 90 overall recruit and No. 7 pro-style quarterback in the 2024 class according to Rivals.
It's a far cry from the total lark the FSU staff took on him as an unproven prospect all the way back in 2021. And his tweet from June 2021 announcing his FSU offer is still his pinned tweet atop his Twitter profile nearly three years later.
"We saw the physical ability at camp. Some guys it’s just different," FSU quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz said in December after Kromenhoek signed. "I remember watching him warm up. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Holy cow. How old is this kid?’ And then I found out it was who I thought it was. You’re kind of taken back by it, from a physical side of it, just how impressive it was...
"He committed to us at a time where not everybody saw the vision. He did. He saw what it could be both on the field and off the field for us at Florida State. And he stuck with it while still trying to bring other guys on board."
FSU head coach Mike Norvell added: "We saw something special in Luke and he's just continued to do all the things that we believed that he would ultimately become. I think that he's just getting started on this journey."
From the moment he committed, Kromenhoek never wavered whatsoever in his pledge. When a few major programs made a late run at him to make sure he was 100% locked into his long-time FSU pledge, he sent a clear message on social media: A picture of the definition of the word loyalty with the caption, "Thanks but no thanks."
"It was kind of just a statement. I wanted everyone to know that I had been loyal to Florida State and I wasn't planning on doing anything else," Kromenhoek said. "There were some teams that came around towards the end of it, tried to see how it was, if I was shaky or not. But I knew in my heart I wanted to be a 'Nole. That's what I wanted to do so I just felt like making the statement and letting everyone know that I'm here to stay and I'm a 'Nole 100%."
Not only was the quarterback commit totally locked in, he was an ace recruiter in the Seminoles' 2024 class. Kromenhoek and running back commit Kam Davis started a contest between them to see who could bring in the most commits to FSU's 2024 class as recruiters.
Kromenhoek says now he believes he won that competition. Beyond the competition, though, the reasons why Kromenhoek worked so hard as a recruiter were multiple.
"I just felt like as the quarterback of this class, you have to be the leader. That's kind of what you're supposed to do. I felt like, 'Why not get dudes here that are going to make me look better, make my job easier?' " Kromenhoek said. "I was all in on getting everybody here and recruiting guys. I felt like that was kind of my job. I feel like this class is an unbelievable group of dudes who want to go and work for things, not have it given to them. That was one of the big things with this class. I feel like we've created this 2024 class, they're here to work. We have a great bunch of dudes ready to work here."
That effort from Kromenhoek came across in a few ways. When four-star defensive back Charles Lester III picked the Seminoles in his commitment ceremony last July, Kromenhoek and his father, Jon, made the six-hour drive down to Sarasota to be there in person.
"I feel like Luke was definitely a leader in our class. He would pull up to peoples' signing days, always checked in with me, asking how my family was," freshman tight end Landen Thomas said of Kromenhoek. "I feel like Luke was a great leader, somebody that was encouraging me in my recruiting process and stayed on me."
Being committed for nearly two years before he signed allowed Kromenhoek to build extraordinarily strong bonds across the FSU football program.
Tokarz was still only a senior analyst when FSU offered Kromenhoek, taking over the QBs coach job in December 2021 after Kenny Dillingham went to Oregon. The quarterback committed three months after Tokarz took over the position and immediately became a primary factor in his recruitment.
"Coach Tokarz was probably the main reason why I chose Florida State," Kromenhoek said. "Him and his family have treated me and my family just like their own during the whole recruiting process and since I've been here."
Kromenhoek's relationship with Norvell -- and seeing what he could do in Norvell's offense -- also led him to committing early and remaining locked in.
"Every visit I took, which was a ton, we'd build our relationship more and more. Over time, I realized that coach Norvell is an unbelievable person. I realized coach Norvell and the entire staff are family people. Me and my family felt like that was a big thing..." Kromenhoek said. "Coach Norvell is a mastermind and his offensive playbook is awesome. Just being able to be in the room and learn some of the terminology and all of the routes is definitely something I'm looking forward to be able to do."
Kromenhoek even got the opportunity to build bonds with the current and former members of FSU's quarterback room as such a long-time commit. How these players treated him before he even signed with the Seminoles confirmed that everything FSU was telling him about his family culture was authentic.
"The guys in the quarterback room are unbelievable. Even before I signed, just being committed here, they were always super cool, bringing me into the locker room and being around the team," Kromenhoek said. "Outside of that, texting me about my games. They'd look at my scores and see what my stats were and text me about it, which I thought was really, really cool. It just speaks volumes about this quarterback group."
Especially with the addition of Oregon State quarterback transfer DJ Uiagalelei, Kromenhoek knows there isn't much of a path to immediate playing time for him with the Seminoles.
That being said, don't misinterpret Kromenhoek's understanding of the situation he's walking into as him saying he's going to take it easy.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
He sees this offseason as a chance to build more knowledge of the FSU playbook, improve his chemistry with his teammates, learn from the older quarterbacks on the roster and add some weight, with the goal of going from his current listed weight of 205 pounds to 215 pounds by the upcoming season.
"In my mind, I'm going to go out there and compete every day, give everyone a run for their money," Kromenhoek said. "I just want to be a sponge. DJ, he's been everywhere and had a very long career. Just be a sponge around him, soak everything up as well as Brock (Glenn) and the other quarterbacks. Learn anything I can from them, learn the plays, learn how they do things, definitely becoming a sponge, but on that practice field and in the weight room, I'm coming to work every day to compete. That's really my goal."
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