FSU football: Can Ja’Khi Douglas be a sleeper to emerge in 2022?

FSU football will need its offense to show some semblance of life in Mike Norvell’s third year with the Noles.

The offense took a decent step forward in 2021 when Jordan Travis was healthy, averaging around 30 points per game in his starts.

However, the passing game had limitations and is something that needs to take the next step.

One bright spot late last season was Ja’Khi Douglas. Douglas had a solid first game against Notre Dame and disappeared until the last three games of the season as the coaching staff had him at running back and wide receiver before deciding on moving him to the latter for good late in the year.

The move to have him at running back always puzzled me, but the production we saw from Douglas in the last three games coincided with the emergence of Jordan Travis as more of a passer.

We discussed the potential of the passing game with Jordan Travis here when looking back at the final three games.

What I didn’t realize is a good portion of that production went to Ja’Khi Dougas. Douglas played in all 12 games with three starts and 14 receptions for 255 yards with one touchdown.

However, 10 of those 14 receptions and 174 of those receiving yards came in those final three games. That’s a three game average of three receptions and 58 yards for a 17.8 yards per reception average.

The highlight shows those receptions, and Douglas has shown consistent ability to be a vertical threat when matched up against safeties while also finding holes in zone coverage.

Douglas was one of the most consistent performers at spring practice, and looks like he may continue the momentum from the last part of the 2021 season. If that’s the case, I look for the FSU offense to be better than last year.