This probably isn't how Luke Kromenhoek imagined his first season at Florida State playing out.
A longtime FSU commit and top-100 recruit in the 2024 class out of Savannah, Ga., the true freshman quarterback arrived on campus in January as the third-string quarterback.
Oregon State transfer DJ Uiagalelei was expected to be the starter with redshirt freshman Brock Glenn as the backup if anything were to happen to the starter.
But then again, FSU's 2024 season hasn't gone how anyone imagined.
Uiagalelei struggled and then suffered an injury to his throwing hand that has sidelined him. Glenn was inserted but also struggled to generate much consistent success with the offensive players around him struggling.
Because of this, Kromenhoek has come off the bench in each of the last three games and now appears unlikely to redshirt in his first season with the Seminoles. If he plays in two of FSU's final three games, he'll enter 2025 as a sophomore.
"Whatever is best for the team," Kromenhoek said this week when asked if he has a preference about redshirting or not. "Whatever the coaches feel is necessary is fine by me."
Just like Glenn before him, Kromenhoek's introduction onto the field hasn't been a magic fix-all for the struggling FSU offense. In his first three games, he's completed 39.3% of his passes for 116 yards with no touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Much of these struggles has been about the players around him. FSU has struggled to generate much of a run game this season, the quarterbacks have pretty frequently been under fire from the opposing pass-rush and the receivers have struggled to create separation and also struggled with drops.
Kromenhoek would have thrown a touchdown pass before an interception, but a beautiful deep ball in the end zone to Kentron Poitier was dropped in his debut three weeks ago at Duke.
Even though he hasn't yet found extended success on the field, Kromenhoek feels he has learned quite a bit from his early playing time as a true freshman.
"It's been awesome for me. Coming from high school and now being able to play a game in college, it was very, very fast. Being able to get out there and adjust to the speed of the game, learn how things operate has been very good for me..." Kromenhoek said Wednesday. "Duke was really, really fast for me. They were throwing a lot of things at us. They knew I was a rookie in there so they were throwing the kitchen at us. It was really, really fast for me, but as it has gone on, I've gotten more comfortable and I've settled down a little bit."
After FSU coach Mike Norvell talked about the strong bond that Glenn and Kromenhoek have and that they each understand how they have been rotationally used over the last three games, each of the quarterbacks confirmed that over the last few days.
"Brock is a great dude. Me and him have become really good friends over these last couple months," Kromenhoek said. "We try to help each other out, but we also have a friendship outside of football. We'll go eat all the time, we'll go play golf. Our friendship has grown a good bit."
Kromenhoek has also benefitted from learning under the tutelage of Uiagalelei. Although he struggled in five games this season, the four games since his injury have proven he was hardly the only problem on FSU's offense. And his 53 games in college football (45 starts) are a valuable asset for someone like Kromenhoek who has been thrown into the deep end of playing ACC football earlier than anticipated.
"DJ has been unbelievable," Kromenhoek said. "Every morning, he's been there coaching us up, helping us, staying late after meetings, giving us tips and reminders. He's been a great help to us young guys."
Even before the results have fully translated into games, Norvell has been encouraged by the progress he's seen from the freshman.
"He's a very, very smart young man. I am really pleased with the progression that he's had. Getting the amount of work that he's gotten I think is going to do nothing but accelerate his continued development," Norvell said. "I wouldn't put him on the field unless I believed in how he would perform and what he would do. He's earning that. I'm excited about that continued growth."
Entering what is expected to be a position battle for the 2025 starting job between Glenn and Kromenhoek, the freshman is far more confident from his first few moments of in-game action this season.
"When you first get out there, you're immediately nervous. It's a big stage," Kromenhoek said. "As I've gone on the last couple games, my confidence has grown, I'm starting to settle down, trust the concepts and trust myself. It's been really, really good for me."
That applies not just to Kromenhoek but to a great deal of FSU's 2024 signing class. Perhaps the only positive from how off the rails this season has gone is it has paved a path to playing time for true freshmen considering the need for significant improvement in 2025.
Before Kromenhoek got in, true freshman tight ends Landen Thomas and Amaree Williams caught their first career touchdowns in consecutive weeks. Even though he's missed the last two games due to injury, true freshman running back Kam Davis has FSU's second-most carries this season. True freshman receivers Lawayne McCoy, Elijah Moore and BJ GIbson have each seen their snaps go up the last few weeks with McCoy and Moore each recording their first career catches.
In a stunningly bad season, this is one bright spot for FSU's true freshman quarterback.
"That 2024 class we brought in, I'll still stick by it, I think that's one of the best classes out there. We've got a ton of dudes who are going to be unbelievable players," Kromenhoek said. "For us to get the experience of in-game reps has been unbelievable for us. We've got to take advantage of it and I feel that the future is going to be bright for us."
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