5-star WR Hykeem Williams commits to Florida State

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Stranahan wide receiver Hykeem Williams kept coming back to Florida State.

The Seminoles weren’t the leader for most of his recruitment, but head coach Mike Norvell and Co. made him their top priority at receiver this cycle. Over the summer, the momentum began shifting away from Texas A&M and toward the Seminoles. Williams came to campus at the end of July, and then traveled to New Orleans to watch FSU’s last-second win over LSU late last month.

All of that work came to a head on Friday, when Williams announced for the Seminoles over Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Georgia and a handful of other programs.

“It was a tough decision for me,” he told On3. “It was more of a gut feeling than anything else. It is about how I feel inside more than anything. Along the way, I have had three teams on top at different times. I have felt good about Florida State for a couple of months. I just needed to take the visits, see everything that I could, and make sure I was ready.”

Privately, Williams said, he started favoring the home-state school a few months ago.

“I started leaning towards them about two months ago, so it is nice to let it out,” he added. “The feeling I got gave me that feeling over the summer. Visits, phone calls, schemes, and relationships all played into my decision. I just had to go with FSU because that is where I felt most at home.”

Relationship with Mike Norvell was key for Hykeem Williams

Williams built up strong relationships with each of the coaching staffs at his final schools. But the attention and effort of Florida State’s entire staff, but especially Norvell, showed him something he hadn’t quite felt anywhere else.

“I always feel good at Florida State. The people make Florida State a good place. Coach Mike Norvell, Coach Dugans, and Coach Atkins have put a lot of time into recruiting me. They have gotten to know me, and they want me to come in and be a star for them. Me and Coach Norvell have a great relationship.

… It is not about football all the time with him and we like each other a lot. How they have played this season is a real plus for them. The team is buying in, they are playing together, and the team has really shown a lot of positives this season. Having my former teammate (Omar Graham) there is nice, too. I have asked questions to him, gotten his thoughts, and he has always been honest with me. It was good to have him there.”

Williams, the No. 20 overall prospect in the 2023 cycle, joins a Florida State class that now ranks No. 15 nationally in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings.