FSU Football: How good can Keyshawn Helton be in 2018?

FSU football is young as a wide receiver group and will count on some true freshmen to make plays in 2018. Will Keyshawn Helton be one of them?

We talked bout the potential production of the freshman wide receivers earlier this week. One of the receivers that’s been standing out according to coaches and players is Keyshawn Helton.

Helton was a three-star receiver who committed late in the process during the 2018 recruiting cycle and the lowest rating player in that class.

He was part of five receivers that came last year, but wasn’t an early enrollee and didn’t get to Tallahassee until this summer.

That’s what makes what folk are saying all the more impressive. Coach Willie Taggart was asked about why Helton’s name keeps coming up when the media asks how the wide receivers are progressing during Sunday’s media conference.

His answer said a lot about the young man and why they felt compelled to take him in the 2018 recruiting class even though he wasn’t a highly decorated player.

"No, I was actually out in Pensacola recruiting at another school, and the coach at that school was like, “Coach, I’m telling you, you need to go by and just see this kid. This kid, he’s one of the best receivers we’ve played against this year.” He just kept raving on the kid. Before I left, he was like, “Coach, I probably just need to show you.” He pulled up the film and I watched the film and I said, you know what, I need to go by and see this young man. Sure enough, went by and met him and spent time with the principle and she raved about him, his character. He was awesome in the classroom and then I found out he was Derrick Brooks’ nephew and was like, okay. You kind of see it in the way he plays, too. Another kid that plays the game the way you’re supposed to play the game. But he also had a little attitude about himself. He had something to prove, and I loved that about the young man. That hasn’t changed since he’s been here. He’s been on a mission since day one and he’s out to prove himself. He’s doing a darned good job of proving himself."

Thoughts

I always try to caution readers and myself when it comes to extremely young players getting incredible hype during practice.

We’ve seen it time and time again with the old regime. There would be a player that would get rave reviews in practice, only to disappear once the actual lights came on during game. I won’t mention any names, but you probably know who they are.

The good thing is Helton is the type of player that can excel in Taggart’s offense because his offense is designed for big plays. The other promising factor is this staff seem willing to avoid trying to fit square pegs into round holes as we discussed a couple of weeks ago.

If there’s a hole in the defense they can exploit, this staff will look to make it happen instead of relying so heavily on a quarterback to make the right reads on every play.

FSU football has players talented enough they should be able to win 50/50 balls against less talented players. If there are opposing defenses with linebackers that lack coverage skills, we should see players like Helton and D.J. Mathews and Tre’Shaun Harrison thrive in space.

That’s the beauty of being flexible with your offense, and young players like Keyshawn Helton very well could make some impact plays this season.