After losing a few reserve offensive players to the transfer portal at the end of the regular season, Florida State is losing its first major piece of the offense to the portal.
FSU running back Treshaun Ward officially entered the transfer portal Tuesday, ending what has been a storybook run with the Seminoles.
Ward arrived at FSU as a walk-on in the 2019 class, choosing the Seminoles over a few scholarship offers elsewhere. He was put on scholarship ahead of the 2021 season and was FSU’s second-leading rusher each of the last two seasons.
He had 515 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in 2021, backing up Jashaun Corbin. He entered the 2022 season as the starting running back and held the role until suffering an injury in FSU’s loss at NC State. He missed three games, but returned for the final four games, finishing the season with 628 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
The Plant City, Fla. native leaves the Seminoles with 1,508 all-purpose yards and 13 career touchdowns. The final game of his career saw him amass 81 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Cheez-It Bowl victory over Oklahoma.
“Would like to thank @9mxvi_ for the incredible impact he has made here at FSU and the #NoleFamily,” FSU head coach Mike Norvell tweeted to thank Ward. “From walk-on to a Star, I’m grateful for every moment. Has a wonderful future in front of him and I know he will continue to #WORK #KeepCLIMBing.”
While FSU’s backfield has developed quite a camaraderie through Norvell’s belief in using a running back committee, this move indicates Ward may want a more significant role elsewhere entering his fifth season in college football.
Even without Ward, FSU returns Trey Benson (990 yards this season), Lawrance Toafili (457 yards this season) and will likely introduce promising freshman Rodney Hill (144 yards this season while redshirting) in Ward’s vacated spot.
Ward is the 12th FSU player to enter the transfer portal since the Seminoles’ regular season ended. The vast majority of those have been players who rarely saw the field and were buried down the depth chart.