Florida State's Lawrance Toafili Emerging as a Complete Package at Running Back
No. 4 Florida State (7-0, 5-0 ACC) has been on a roll, winning the past 13 games and finding ways to win when the going gets tough. They're coming off a hard-fought top-20 win against the Duke Blue Devils, where the entire team rallied to overcome a double-digit deficit to continue their charge for an ACC Title and beyond.
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To call running back Lawrance Toafili an 'unsung hero' might be an overstatement. If you've been paying attention to the redshirt junior from St. Petersburg, Florida, there hasn't been any shortage of highlights and solid performances.
His 21-yard touchdown catch in last week's 38-20 win over the Blue Devils only scratches the surface of his impact on the program, and people behind the scenes continue to recognize his impact.
"For what Lawrance does, how do you describe him? Playmaker," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said during his Monday press conference. "Whatever you ask him to do. I mean, he was covering punts as a gunner; he's been on our punt pressure team, whatever it takes. Running back, receiver, blocking, protections."
Halfway through the season, Toafili is averaging 7.6 yards per carry and has 250 yards with two scores on the ground and another 142 through the air with a touchdown, which says a lot, splitting reps with a very talented running back room.
"You see the physical development in his body; you know he's been great throughout his career in space and this and that, but you see the total package really starting to emerge," Norvell said.
"Ultimate focus, unselfish, growth because LT has made some big plays here even from young, and now he's being that big older vet guy in the room," offensive coordinator Alex Atkins said of Toafili. "He used to be a guy we only could say, 'hey we gonna line up and do these things' and now he can do it all. Just the growth and development of being a complete running back, he has been the display of that, and that's what I've been proud of."
As part of one of the most explosive offenses over the past few years, multiple playmakers have been walking in and out of the locker room, especially at running back. Jashaun Corbin, Treshaun Ward, Trey Benson, and now Rodney Hill, Toafili has always been constant and reliable with the ball in his hands.
"LT has been the 'Steady Eddy' of this offense, man. He's been a cornerstone of that room because the room has changed, and he's always been constant in it."
When asked about who he molds his game after, Toafili will go back nearly two decades to former FSU running back and Super Bowl Champion Amp Lee.
"If I would have to say, I would probably go way back, Amp Lee, just my style of running," Toafil said after his previous highlight 50-yard score against Syracuse. "I would definitely say that."
Look for Toafili and the rest of the high-powered Seminole offense on Saturday, October 28, when they go on the road to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
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