Luke Kromenhoek wanted to make a statement.

Early signing day was approaching, there were rumors that Georgia - fresh off losing 5-star quarterback commit Dylan Raiola to Nebraska - was going to make a late run at the 4-star long-time QB commit for Florida State football.

So Kromenhoek, who had been committed to the Seminoles since March 26, 2022, sent out a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), telling fans, the world and other schools how committed to FSU he was.

"I just wanted everyone to know that I've been loyal to Florida State, and I wasn't planning on doing anything else," Kromenhoek said at a newcomer press conference Friday of his tweet made on Dec. 16, 2023, with the dictionary definition of 'loyalty.'

"There were some teams coming around towards the end of it, trying to see if I was shaky or not, but I knew in my heart I wanted to be a ‘Nole.' So, that's what I wanted to do. So I just felt like making a statement and letting everyone know that I'm here to stay."

Kromenhoek, who attended Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, is now among the early enrollees at FSU.

While the Seminoles have added DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon State) from the transfer portal and have rising sophomore Brock Glenn returning, Kromenhoek is coming in with the mindset that he will compete for playing time in year one.

“In my mind, I’m going to go out there and compete, give everyone a run for their money,” Kromenhoek said. “But I just want to go be a sponge. DJ has been everywhere, he’s had a very long career, so just be a sponge around him and learn as much as I can from him as well as the other quarterbacks. Just learning anything I can from them.

“But on that practice field, in the weight room, I’m coming to compete every day.”

First offer is from Florida State

Despite never taking a snap at the high school level, Kromenhoek earned an offer from head coach Mike Norvell, then-offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham and quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz on June 18, 2021, after an impressive showing at an FSU camp.

Kromenhoek was the backup to Holden Geriner, who is now at Auburn. His only snaps came on special teams, covering kickoffs.

His father, Jon, was emotional when his son earned the FSU offer.

“I’m probably not supposed to say this, my dad will probably kill me, but I remember him tearing up a little as I got the offer,” Kromenhoek said. “He’s probably not going to be too happy that I said that.”

Kromenhoek committed to the Seminoles that following March. Soon after, offers rolled in from the likes of Ole Miss, Florida, Penn State and Tennessee, proving Norvell's early analysis correct on the signal-caller.

He ended up as a 4-star recruit in the 2024 class, narrowly missing 5-star status from 247Sports Rankings, as the No. 35 overall prospect and the No. 5 QB in the class.

"Offensively you sit there and look, you get one of the top quarterbacks in the country and one of his first offers," Norvell said on Dec. 20 when announcing the signing class.

"It was before he had all the rankings and all the things -- we saw something special in Luke and he's just continued to do all the things that we believe that he would ultimately become -- and I think that he's just getting started on this journey."

'Breath of fresh air' and Orange Bowl practices

After being committed to the Seminoles for over two years, Kromenhoek was finally able to sign with the team officially on Early Signing Day on Dec. 20.

Signing for him meant that the entire process of recruiting was over.

"It was a breath of fresh air, it was definitely a relief," Kromenhoek said of what he felt when he signed his NLI.

"I kind of just wanted it all to be done with. I'm not the type that loves all the photoshoots and all the attention and everything. So for it to just be over and for me to just focus on getting in the weight room and putting weight on and just going to work and it finally being true.

"It was a breath of fresh air."

It did not take long for Kromenhoek to make himself comfortable with the Seminoles. The following week, he began Orange Bowl practices with the team.

While it was just a handful of practices the week of the bowl game, it was something he said he knew could pay off in the long run.

"It was a dream come true just to see and be a part of everything that the team was doing was awesome," Kromenhoek said. "It's something I've always dreamt of is to go to the Orange Bowl or being in the playoffs somewhere.

"Being in one of those big, big games and experiencing that, as a high schooler was out of this world and it's kind of just surreal, but I definitely just soaked it up and tried to make the best out of it."

Competition with running back signee Kam Davis

Kromenhoek, along with 4-star running back Kam Davis have been the longest-standing FSU commits for the 2024 recruiting class. Both are in Tallahassee as early enrollees now.

Davis, who committed to the Seminoles on February 25, 2021, said there's been a competition between the two offensive players who met each other during their freshmen season playing on the same 7 vs. 7 team.

"We were always competing during the recruiting process, trying to see who could get the most recruits to commit," Davis said at his availability Wednesday.

FSU ended up signing 23 members in the class, good for the 10th overall recruiting class in the 247Sports Team Rankings.

There is, however, no breakdown of how many commits each helped land.

But Kromenhoek was ready to declare a winner.

"I definitely think I won," Kromenhoek said with a laugh. "Kam is my roommate, he's an awesome dude, an awesome player and he was also an awesome recruiter for this class. I think me and him were the earliest commits and we felt it was our duty to make this class what it was.

"I feel like we both did a great job, but I think I definitely took over and I definitely think I won the game."

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports), Instagram (tlhnolesports) and YouTube channel (NoleSportsTD).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Luke Kromenhoek wanted to be a 'Nole,' play for FSU football in heart