Mike Norvell explains how Destyn Hill earned a starting role as a true freshman

All eyes will be on No. 8 Florida State‘s season-opening matchup against No. 5 LSU on Sunday night.

Releasing the depth chart earlier this week, Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell has selected true freshman Destyn Hill to be a starting wide receiver. It may sound surprising to start someone at a skill position with no college experience, but Norvell feels confident in his decision.

“He has kind of showcased it all. He’s explosive. He’s smart. He’s done really good things with the ball in his hands,” Norvell said leading up to Sunday’s season opener. “He’s definitely a very willing blocker, something that we pride ourselves here with our receivers. He’s a good route runner. There’s still going to be a lot of things he’s going to figure out along the way. He is a true freshman.

“Coming in, he’s put himself in a position competing to start for us here early. I think that just his mindset, his approach, all things. He’s been productive. At the end of the day, you have to go out there and you have to produce with that ability. Definitely proud of him for the work he’s put in. He’s going to help this football team this year. 

FSU originally recruited Hill to their 2021 recruiting class. A nearly three-year delay in his arrival was caused by undisclosed personal reasons, but he’s taken to the team very well out of the gates. It says a lot that he stood out enough to where Norvell has been forced to take notice and is willing to put his trust in a true freshman.

Coming out of high school Hill was a four-star recruit when he signed with Florida State out of Edna Karr High School in 2021, per the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 112 player in the class and No. 18 overall wide receiver.

During his preps career, Hill caught 54 passes for over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns during his breakout 2019 junior season. In 2020, he followed that up with 38 catches — 15 of which went into the end zone.

Still, it’s been 34 months since Hill’s last football game. There will be a learning curve as he adjusts to the college game, but Norvell is expecting him to carry his weight within the starting unit in 2023 beginning with Sunday’s big-time matchup.