FSU Football Running Back Lawrance Toafili Leading From The Front During Final Preseason

After the first day of fall camp, redshirt senior Lawrance Toafili spoke to the media and shared his thoughts concerning the 2024 squad.

Dillon Riera

Florida State running back Lawrance Toafili spoke to the media during his availability following the first day of fall camp. He answered questions surrounding his role as a leader in the running back room, transfers that impacted the team, and the squad’s apparent cohesiveness four weeks before toe meets leather against Georgia Tech in Ireland.

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When asked about his “last first day” with the Seminoles, Toafili said he has a new perspective heading into his final preseason.

“I’m always excited to put the pads on. It does get to look different knowing it’s the last ride, so, I’m definitely, really excited,” said the veteran running back.

Speaking on Indiana running back and kick returner transfer, Jaylin Lucas, Toafili mentioned that he’s an “explosive guy” and a “human joystick.” It's clear he's excited about what Lucas brings to the table.

"He just adds another skill set to the offense," Toafili said. "He’s a guy that’s very dangerous in space, he can run through the tackles, catch kicks, [he can] catch the ball in general good, so yeah, he’s definitely the weapon.” With Lucas in the mix, Toafili also stated he loves the versatility of the running back room, including the “big guys” and the “scat backs.”

Furthermore, the redshirt senior relayed his thoughts concerning his job as a leader with Florida State's loss of Trey Benson to the NFL Draft. He believes it's his time to take command of the other guys in the room and he's doing so by leading the pack.

"Most definitely. Being the vet in the room, I got to lead these guys the right way, in the way that we’re supposed to be, and get us in the right direction, and keep pushing everybody," Toafili said. "That’s my goal for sure. I feel like I’m in that room, you know what I mean? Everybody is definitely going to be incorporated but I’m definitely going to push them boys, man.”

Toafili is in the best shape of his college career ahead of his final run with the Seminoles. He's bulked up to 196 pounds, an increase of eight pounds compared to last year. The extra weight is going to be useful as he takes on a heavy workload.

"It's always good to be bigger, you know what I mean? Messing with these big guys," Toafili joked. "I feel great, I'm excited to put this on display for you guys to see. I'm excited about it, that's all I really can say."

"It's definitely going to play a role. It's going to make me run more confident and things like that," Toafili continued.

Finally, Toafili described the locker room’s chemistry despite losing a lot of talent and adding a lot of new names to the roster. He believes his teammates have come together in a “close-knit” fashion relatively quickly.

“I feel like the biggest thing is with this team is the family bond. We're a very close-knit team. And it happened in a very short period of time," Toafili said. "We're just around each other a lot, we really clicked very well and I feel like that's been the biggest thing that I've been excited about. Because you know, when you play for somebody that you love, you just play harder so I feel like that's going to give us that extra edge."

Florida State will need Toafili and the rest of the running back unit to put up some numbers this season if the ’Noles want to establish their identity on the ground in 2024.

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