Ron Dugans pushing for consistency from FSU's talented, unproven WR room
It's certainly fair to call Florida State's wide receiver room this offseason a bit of a melting pot.
There are players like Darion Williamson, Kentron Poitier and Ja'Khi Douglas who have been a part of the program for Mike Norvell's entire tenure. There are second-year players looking to break through. There are three freshmen additions with a fourth on the way this summer. And last, but certainly not least, there are a pair of SEC transfer additions to the room in Alabama transfer Malik Benson and LSU transfer Jalen Brown.
That many different pathways to the FSU roster with so much playing time up for grabs and so little established at wide receiver could easily lead to unrest in the position room.
So far this offseason, though, it's been the opposite.
"It's really special..." Benson said when asked earlier this spring about having so many guys in FSU's wide receiver unit. "Having so many different guys from different backgrounds, it teaches you a lot of things from other people. It's really good to have that many people in one room to mesh with each other."
For a position group that has to replace so much off last year's team (Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson combined for 1,275 yards and 13 touchdown catches last season), there's a lot to like about the high potential and varied skill-set in FSU's wide receiver room this offseason. There are certainly more receivers capable of breaking out than there are likely spots in FSU's wide receiver rotation this fall.
And yet, much of that is potential that still has to be realized. No member of FSU's wide receiver room has ever amassed 300-plus yards in a season at the collegiate level and only two (Poitier and Douglas) have ever surpassed 250 receiving yards in a college season.
That lack of experience has showed up at times through the first few spring practices along with the remarkable potential. It has FSU wide receivers coach Ron Dugans pushing his guys hard to find better consistency this time of year before fall camp gets underway in July.
"You see guys working and you see flashes of different guys making plays. But we've got to finish the plays, though. A couple of drops and also just being consistent," Dugans said of his position group. "We're doing some good things, putting some good things on film, a lot of coachable moments. We've just got to be consistent, work to get consistent. Finishing plays, whether it's blocks on the perimeter or contested football catches."
While the consistency needs work, the effort is not lacking, a likely factor of how many viable options FSU's wide receiver room has.
"I like the way these guys are working. They did a really good job (Tuesday) as far as the work and you see competition," Dugans added. "I enjoy seeing those guys embracing the challenge and also pushing each other, encouraging and pushing each other. I really like that and think the guys are coming together."
While consistency needs improvement, the raw talent has been clear. And it doesn't take long to see one area where the 2024 FSU wide receiver unit will be better than last year's group.
"I think our receiver group can definitely run," Norvell said after Thursday's first preseason scrimmage.
Benson and Brown, in particular, both bring some major speed to FSU's wide receiver room. In his first FSU scrimmage Thursday, Benson apparently had a touchdown catch that flashed his athleticism, turning a relatively short catch into a much bigger play with his speed.
The mentality that the Alabama transfer has brought to FSU for his final season of eligibility may be impressing Dugans even more than his remarkable athletic ability.
"He's done a good job. The kid plays fast, he tries hard, he tries to motivate his teammates, if something needs to be fixed, he tries to fix it," Dugans said of Benson. "He's in there getting extra meeting time, not only with myself but with the (graduate assistants). He's a kid that wants to be a really good football player. You see that. If he drops a pass, he's on the jugs machine. Just trying to clean up the little things that we he didn't do so well maybe at practice."
Another early spring standout has been freshman wideout Lawayne McCoy. He's looked like a natural playmaker on the practice field and a fluid route-runner. Like many others, however, Dugans wants to see more consistency.
"He's done a good job. He's one of the ones that you've got to get him to be consistent..." Dugans said of McCoy. "He's starting to get that now. I ask him a question, he spits it back at me with the correct answer. He's starting to come along. I've just got to get it in his DNA so he can play faster...
"I was just reminding Lawayne, 'I like what you're doing but you've got to stick with the fundamentals, technique.' These guys are putting some good things on film. They've just got to clean up some little things."
That last part is certainly a theme of sorts for this year's FSU wide receiver room. Unrefined talent that has about five more months before it needs to be game ready.
That makes these next 10 spring practices and then the three months of offseason training that follow as important for the FSU wide receivers as any position group on the roster.
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