NEW-LOOK 'NOLES: Florida State Lands Abdirizak Ibrahim & Ahmed Ibrahim From Transfer Portal

The Florida State men just got a whole lot better.

Earlier this week, both Abdirizak Ibrahim (formerly of New Mexico) and Ahmed Ibrahim (currently of Boise State) announced that they will be transferring to Florida State next fall. Abdirizak Ibrahim will be a graduate transfer while Ahmed Ibrahim will be a standard transfer.

According to TFRRS, Ahmed Ibrahim is expected to have two years of cross country eligibility remaining and two years of indoor track eligibility remaining. He will have multiple seasons of eligibility for outdoor track. As for Abdirizak Ibrahim, he is expected to have one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition, per TFRRS.

In the matter of just one day, the Seminoles suddenly seem to have a very different, and significantly improved, distance program.

Abdirizak Ibrahim, the former New Mexico runner, is a multi-time All-American with a wide-range of competitive personal bests. The former Lobo ace has run times of 3:41 (1500), 3:57 (mile), 7:48 (3k) and 13:32 (5k). He has also earned a 3:56 mile conversion as recently as this past winter.

On the grass, Abdirizak Ibrahim has emerged as a top talent at the NCAA XC Championships, finishing 35th (spring 2021), 33rd (fall 2021) and 84th (fall 2022) in his last three appearances on that stage.

Simply put, this is a guy who can be, at his best, a legitimate, national-caliber low-stick.

We then come to Ahmed Ibrahim, the Mountain West Conference long distance talent who has been riding the line of being an excellent secondary cross country scorer and a true low-stick option.

During the 2023 indoor track season, the current (and soon-to-be former) Boise State runner ran 7:56 for 3000 meters and 13:48 for 5000 meters. He was two-time scorer at the Mountain West Indoor Championships this past winter.

During the 2022 cross country season, his top results included a 15th place finish at the West Regional XC Championships and a 17th place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational. For perspective, he would have been the top scorer for Montana State and Cal Poly at that latter Notre Dame-hosted meet.

With both of these distance talents set to venture to Tallahassee next fall, the outlook for Florida State's 2023 cross country season has taken a dramatic turn for the better.

Last fall, the 'Noles were listed at TSR #23 in our D1 men's preseason top-25 team rankings. However, a series of underwhelming results ultimately led to a 4th place finish at the South Regional XC Championships, a total of 61 points behind 3rd place Alabama.

And with top scorer Fearghal Curtin set to be out of eligibility, FSU desperately needed to find greater firepower for the upcoming cross country season.

But now, we have no choice but to look at the Seminoles is an entirely new light.

Both Abdirizak Ibrahim and Ahmed Ibrahim can not only make up for the lost scoring Curtin, but together, they can even offer a little bit more overall value.

We should also note that Cooper Schroeder, a 2022 transfer from Kansas State, is set to return following a 14th place finish at the 2022 South Regional XC Championships. And with the rise of current freshman David Mullarkey, a guy who was redshirted last fall and ran 13:37 (5k) earlier this spring, the Seminoles seem to have a concrete group of four men that they can rally and build around.

Sure, Florida State needs more scoring help and general improvements from the backend of their lineup as we venture into the fall of 2023. But now, with both Ibrahim and Ibrahim set to join this roster (it's unclear if there's any relation), the Seminoles look like they could reach the expectations that we set for them last year.