Across the 2025 Florida State roster, there’s a general feeling of needing to prove it on the field after how miserable the 2024 season went.
But that may apply to no position group more than FSU’s wide receiver room.
All last offseason, we heard about the potential of that room. The week of FSU’s 2024 opener in Dublin, Alabama transfer Malik Benson said, “Saturday, the world is going to see. I can’t wait.”
The world saw alright. Just not remotely in the way Benson or anyone else in the FSU program
imagined.
By the time the dust settled on the season, Ja’Khi Douglas was the only FSU wideout who surpassed 311 receiving yards or had more than two touchdown catches. Freshman tight end Landen Thomas was fifth on the team with 173 receiving yards, with fellow freshman tight end Amaree Williams being one of just three Seminoles with multiple touchdown catches.
FSU’s high-potential receiver room built on speed flamed out. The team finished the 2024 season with 2,164 receiving yards, the fewest by an FSU team since 1986, when football was a decidedly different, less pass-centric game.
While the players will still have to prove it on the field, there are more realistic reasons for optimism about FSU’s wide receiver room entering the 2025 season.
That starts with new receivers coach Tim Harris Jr., who has been impressed with his players while continuing to push for greater consistency.
“I think we’ve got a good pool of guys that have got really good athleticism. They come to work every day,” Harris said this week. “But just the consistency of the offense, being able to run like we want it to run, being able to block on the perimeter, making plays on a consistent basis when they get those opportunities, that’s really what we’re looking for from those those guys. All of them have shown their flashes, and I’m excited how that competition is kind of playing itself out right now.“
Additionally, FSU’s three transfer receiver additions arrived on campus with more proven production
USC transfer Duce Robinson, a 6-foot-6 weapon who has been working as a punt returner at practice, gives FSU the large, contested-catch target it was badly missing last season. The former five-star prospect had 747 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches over two seasons with the Trojans.
“Super high ceiling. He has goals, and we have goals right along with him of what he can be…” Harris said of Robinson. “He’s very proactive in how he is trying to develop as a receiver. We’ve just been super impressed with him from the moment he stepped in this building. He gives all of himself into being the very best that he can be. You’ve seen it in his game. You know from spring football to right now, and you watch him practice, you know he’s developing that dominant mentality.
“He’s seeing as the days go that if he’s playing at the top of his game, he can give guys a lot of problems. So we’re super excited about where Duce is. Super excited about where he can go. But I think he’s got a really good chance to do some great things.”
Tennessee transfer Squirrel White has been a big-play receiver out of the slot throughout his career, racking up 1,665 yards and six touchdowns over three seasons in Knoxville. While Mike Norvell said he’s been a bit limited this week, it doesn’t sound like a long-term thing.
“We’re feeling very confident that he will be available, but he’ll probably be limited here this next week,” Norvell said on Aug. 16.
UNC transfer Gavin Blackwell also hit the ground running in his return to practice last weekend after missing some time with an injury.
“I expect him to be available for the start of the season,” Harris said of Blackwell. “I think the biggest thing with him is he’s an experienced guy. He’s been in college a while, picked up different systems throughout his time. So you see that experience when he’s out there. Like (Saturday), you wouldn’t have known that he missed some time.”
Perhaps the most promising thing in FSU’s wide receiver room is the continued emergence of true freshman Jayvan Boggs. A late addition to the Seminoles’ 2025 class who flipped from UCF to follow Harris and former UCF head coach Gus Malzahn to Tallahassee, Boggs continues to be named among the Seminoles’ top receivers this preseason.
After a scrimmage this month, Malzahn included Boggs in his list of the top three FSU wideouts at the moment along with Robinson and White.
“He’s a guy that is playing at a high level for a true freshman,” Malzahn said of Boggs.
The case can be made both ways about whether it’s a good or bad thing for FSU’s wide receiver room that a freshman wideout like Boggs, who was recently named a preseason true-freshman All-American by On3, could be in line for a starting role right away.
The pessimist could dwell on the possibility that Boggs immediately making a strong case for a starting role doesn’t speak well of the other players in the room who might not be rising to the occasion.
But the more you hear about Boggs from everyone, including Houston DB transfer Jerry Wilson, who said of Boggs, “If you watch him, he’s going to be something serious,” the more you start to think that his instant role says more about what Boggs is doing than what others aren’t doing.
“Super advanced. I think the biggest thing with him is the maturity. He really handles his business. Guys will come up here and talk about him, they (say), ‘Oh, he’s a pro’. I think he’s that. The mindset of him. You saw it in his recruitment, though, so it’s not a surprise to any of us. He was the same way in recruiting,” Harris said of Boggs. “He’s a kid that you could talk to, and you know, he was very serious about what he wanted to get out of his experience in college. He comes into the building every day, and that’s exactly what you see. When he’s on the practice field, very detailed.
“You watch his growth from spring football to right now, I think the biggest jump that he’s made is his ability to play without the ball, and not just when he’s engaged in blocking, but you are watching a young kid understand what it’s about to chase the ball when it’s away from him, trying to cut people off. But his ball skills, when you just talk about him, us being able to get the ball, his ball skills are some of the best that that I’ve seen and you’ve seen that on a consistent basis. So that’s the biggest thing. He’s not just a freshman kid that a flash a time or two. You’re seeing him show up every single day, and that’s why I think everybody in this program is excited about (him).”
Harris said he expects FSU to utilize five or six receivers in its regular rotation. That means there will be opportunities for others, even if Boggs has risen up to claim a spot as a true freshman.
Again, I get they’ll have to prove it on the field for you to believe. That’s even the case for me a good bit after how badly I (and everyone else) was burned last season.
But there are undeniably tangible reasons for more confidence about FSU’s wide receiver unit going into 2025 than there was a year ago.
