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Mike Norvell shares how Florida State kept five-star Hykeem Williams committed

On3 imageby:Sam Gillenwater•12/22/22•

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Tim Verghese | On3

Five-star wide receiver Hykeem Williams was the crown jewel of the recruiting class that signed with Florida State yesterday. Williams was the highest-rated player in the No. 20 class in the On3 Consensus Team Rankings and, as such, appeared primed to potentially be pulled elsewhere.

However, Williams put pen to paper on National Signing Day yesterday and joined Mike Norvell’s program. If nothing else, Norvell credited his staff’s relationship with the high-quality person that Williams is as the thing that helped Florida State seal the deal.

“When you get to know the young man and you get to know the spirit, the joy, the relationships? That’s what puts him into a whole other hemisphere. He is just such a quality, quality person,” said Norvell. “We talk all the time about fit. And the biggest, strongest, fastest, best fit for Florida State is Hykeem Williams.”

Williams is the No. 30 player overall in the 2023 On3 Consensus Rankings. He also finished as the No. 5 WR and No. 8 player out of the state of Florida.

On his signing day, Williams wasn’t bashful about other teams still recruiting him either. It turns out that, at the 11th hour, Deion Sanders was still in contact with him and making a case to get him to commit to Colorado instead. Still, he made sure his intentions were unquestionable based on his response leading up to officially becoming a Seminole.

In the end, Norvell continued to praise the person Williams is as much as the player he is. His behavior, both on and off the field, is what has Norvell truly excited to get him out of Stranahan High School in Fort Lauderdale and over to Tallahassee next season.

“It was pretty special. And even today you get to watch his signing ceremony and he goes back to his middle school because of the impact that those relationships and all those people (have)? Not many 18-year-olds think in that grand of a thought process. But he does” Norvell said. “He cares about people and he’s just so excited about being a Seminole. I’m really looking forward to coaching that one.”