An eye-opening loss to the transfer portal has arrived for the Florida State Seminoles. On Thursday afternoon, the news broke that wide receiver Hykeem Williams has decided to leave town after only two seasons with the team.
Williams signed with the Seminoles and Mike Norvell as a member of the 2023 class, but he's now set to enter the portal. This is a disappointing update for so many reasons. At the top of the list has to be that Williams is the lone 5-star Florida State signee during the Norvell era, but he never even came close to living up to the hype:
BREAKING: Florida State WR Hykeem Williams plans to enter the Transfer Portal, he tells @on3sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 17, 2025
The 6’3 215 WR was ranked as the No. 4 WR in the ‘23 Class (per On3 Industry)
2 years of eligibility lefthttps://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/Bu33hUIiqj
Former 5-star Florida State WR signee Hykeem Williams will transfer
Coming out of high school, the Seminoles were able to win a massive recruiting battle to land Williams. The 6-3 receiver picked up 35 offers, choosing Florida State over Pitt, Georgia, Alabama and many others.
He was ranked five stars, the No. 3 WR in the country, the No. 8 player from Florida and No. 30 prospect nationally according to the 247Sports Composite. Williams being an in-state playmaker from Fort Lauderdale made his signing even more exciting.
However, things just never worked out for him on campus. During the 2023 season, Williams posted five receptions for 80 yards and one touchdown in eight games played. Then this past season, his numbers improved a bit, but still not good enough: 16 receptions for 187 yards and a TD.
Williams dealt with injuries during his two campaigns with FSU, while he was also dealing with another injury during spring camp. Now, he's looking to be a playmaker elsewhere, but fans are not happy with Norvell over the lack of development during Williams' time with the program.
This indeed was such an exciting addition for Florida State in 2023, but again, things didn't go to plan. With Florida State coming off a 2-10 season, the hope was that the offseason would be filled with nothing but good news, but if anything, people are being reminded of how much work there's left to do for Norvell and Co.
Prioritizing some big names in the portal will help get some people off Norvell's back, but for now, a good amount of FSU supporters are going to be left wondering what could have been for Williams. It's a brutal finish for a once-promising Florida State career.