Last week, news began to surface that Arkansas was looking into Florida State running backs coach David Johnson. The hire became official on Monday morning, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
The Seminoles had a decision to make on Johnson’s future, regardless. His contract, which paid Johnson $600,000 this past season, was set to expire on February 28, 2026.
Instead, Johnson becomes the first assistant coach on the offensive side of the ball to leave Florida State this offseason. He was one of four position coaches – Johnson, John Papuchis, Chris Thomsen, Tony Tokarz – who had been with the Seminoles for all of Norvell’s tenure.
A big reason for the departure is Johnson’s relationship with Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield. The pair worked together under Norvell at Memphis from 2016-17. Silverfield is looking to make a few splash hires during his first season with the Razorbacks.
Under Johnson, former star running back Trey Benson developed into a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Seminoles had a handful of other ballcarriers who put together decent careers at Florida State, including Jashaun Corbin (2020-21), Lawrance Toafili (2020-24), Treshaun Ward (2019-22), and CJ Campbell (2021-23).
The running back rotation didn’t make much sense this past season, but most of those woes can be attributed to offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Redshirt sophomore Samuel Singleton Jr. and true freshman Ousmane Kromah did show promising flashes. They are both eligible to return in 2026.
Johnson also served as recruiting coordinator along with his running back duties. Florida State didn’t land a top-10 class during his time with the program. The Seminoles’ best finish came in 2024 when they signed the No. 11 class in the country. However, six of the 23 prep signees from that class are no longer with the program.
FSU has the No. 14 class in 2026, but that’s primarily due to signing 32 prospects, the largest high school/JUCO haul since Norvell arrived in Tallahassee.
It’s immediately unclear who Florida State plans to target to replace Johnson. A popular name in the past has been Ja’Juan Seider, but he joined Notre Dame ahead of the 2025 season.