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Dugans ‘excited’ by first spring for freshman WRs Vandrevius Jacobs, Hykeem Williams

Dugans ‘excited’ by first spring for freshman WRs Vandrevius Jacobs, Hykeem Williams

Ron Dugans and Florida State’s other coaches watched Vandrevius Jacobs play numerous times in person.

They saw him make plays in high school practices and games. They watched him compete in an intense high school playoff contest. They even were on the field right next to him during camps on the Florida State campus.

And it was through some of those extensive evaluations that the Seminoles identified Jacobs as a top target before many other college programs, extended an early offer and landed his signature this past December.

Yet even Dugans admits that the freshman wide receiver, who enrolled in January, has been even more dynamic than the Seminoles expected during spring drills.

“He’s a little faster than what I thought,” said Dugans, Florida State’s fifth-year receivers coach. “He’s a little bit faster, he’s gotten a little bit stronger, he’s put more weight on a little quicker than what I thought. He’s got the ball skills.”

Jacobs was one of three wide receivers in Florida State’s 2023 signing class, along with Hykeem Williams and Goldie Lawrence. The first two enrolled early, while Lawrence is expected to arrive this summer.

While Williams was the highest-rated of the three coming out of high school, Jacobs has seemingly enjoyed an easier transition to the college game. And even though the Fort Pierce product still has some areas to work on, there is no denying how impressive he has been this spring.

“‘Dre started out early making plays, especially in one-on-ones,” Dugans said. “Just got to get more of the details and the fundamentals stuff down with him. But he’s done an unbelievable job to come in, compete, make strides to get better and be a better football player.”

It hasn’t been a perfect spring, of course; in Tuesday’s practice, Jacobs uncharacteristically dropped a couple of passes. But Dugans said he believes that likely was a result of fatigue setting in after a rigorous month of college practices.

“When you get tired, you start relying on body catching, and not relying on the hands that you have,” Dugans said.

Freshman WR Hykeem Williams has improved throughout the spring. (Gene Williams/Warchant)

Williams didn’t get off to quite as fast of a start to the spring, but he has shown substantial improvement in recent practices.

Having checked in at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Williams seemed to struggle with his conditioning early in the month-plus of workouts. And Dugans confirmed on Thursday that the freshman still can stand to lose a few pounds.

But perhaps the biggest thing the Fort Lauderdale product needs to improve on is the details of his footwork and route-running, because he no longer has the great size advantage that he enjoyed against defensive backs in high school.

“On this level, even if they’re not as big, they’re still strong,” Dugans said of opposing cornerbacks. “And they’re probably stronger than he is coming out of high school. So you can’t just use that body like you did before. Now, you’ve got to rely on the technique and fundamentals a lot more than you did in high school.

“That’s something that he’s steadily improving daily.”

The improvement was on display this week, as Florida State prepared for Saturday’s spring showcase inside Doak Campbell Stadium (4 p.m., ACC Network Extra). Williams made several nice receptions in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills in practices Tuesday and Thursday.

“You’ve seen spurts of what he can be, what he can become,” Dugans said. “He’s making some plays for us as well. Left some plays on the field also. We’ve just got to get him to understand the intensity and the way we practice here at Florida State. That’s with any typical young guy that comes in, getting adjusted to how we practice here.”

Saturday will offer the first opportunity for Jacobs, Williams and several other early enrollees to show what they can do in front of fans inside Doak.

“I’m excited about both of those guys’ progress and what they can become,” Dugans said.

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.

The post Dugans ‘excited’ by first spring for freshman WRs Vandrevius Jacobs, Hykeem Williams appeared first on On3.

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