When he was a senior at Haines City High School, Derwin James' prep coach said he expected him to be walking across a stage in a few years to shake hands with the NFL commissioner.
On Thursday night, that vision became reality.
James, who was a high school legend years before enrolling at Florida State, was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers with the 17th overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.
The star safety became the 11th former FSU defensive back drafted in the first round and the 44th former Florida State player overall.
"It's exciting -- to add a dynamic player like that to our defense," Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said on the team's official website. "He can do a lot of different things for us, whether it's play back, play forward. He can play the run, he can play the pass."
Telesco described James as a "dynamic" playmaker: "We had a great meeting with him at the Combine. He just has a little bit of an 'it' factor to him. He loves to play the game. And I think he's gonna fit right in with our guys."
* Check out the Warchant staff picks for FSU players in the NFL Draft
While James said Thursday night that he was excited about being a Charger, he could not have been pleased about falling to No. 17.
Many draft pundits predicted James would be a top-10 selection. He ended up being the third defensive back -- and second safety -- to go off the board.
"We did not expect him to be there at our pick," Telesco said. "So we were, suffice to say, very excited to bring him in."
Anthony Lynn, who is entering his second season as the Chargers' head coach, said the team plans to use him in a variety of roles.
"This guy has a skill set where he can do multiple things," Lynn said. "There's a lot of versatility. We can use him as a linebacker. We can use him as a strong safety, a free safety. We can rush him off the edge. He's a good tackler in space and an outstanding coverage guy."
James finished his junior season at Florida State with 84 tackles (second most on the team), 5 1/2 tackles for loss and two interceptions.
For his career -- which was essentially two seasons because he missed virtually all of his sophomore year with a knee injury -- James finished with 186 tackles. He had 15 for loss and three interceptions.
James became the second defensive back off the 2015 defense to be drafted in the first round, joining Jacksonville's Jalen Ramsey. And he also became the eighth Jimbo Fisher recruit to be drafted in the first round while he was the head coach at Florida State.
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