Stranahan five-star recruit Hykeem Williams chooses Florida State over Miami, Texas A&M
There were cheers. There were tears. There were even sparks.
Hykeem Williams, a five-star wide receiver recruit from Stranahan High in Fort Lauderdale, walked into his high school’s gym Friday afternoon with an entrance worthy of a WWE superstar or an MMA fighter.
With a microphone in hand, he walked through smoke - with music playing on the gym’s loudspeakers - down a path between two rows of his teammates who lined up near a stage where he announced to everyone which college he intends to sign with come December.
After hyping up the crowd, a few more theatrics involving caps from six schools placed inside revolving glass containers, Williams told everyone he plans to go to Tallahassee as he committed to Florida State.
“This is an amazing feeling and I’m overjoyed,” Williams said. “I just feel like I’m in a good spot.”
Williams, an accomplished two-sport star who caught 40 passes for 750 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, chose the Seminoles over Miami, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Georgia and Alabama, who were the finalists among his numerous FBS-school offers.
If Williams sticks to his pledge and signs with FSU in December, he’d become the first five-star recruit to do so since 2017.
“I just made sure I viewed all my choices and looked at everything. At the beginning, I was lost…going through a lot,” Williams said. “Then it just hit me. When it all boiled down to it, it was about where I felt comfortable and that was with Florida State.”
Williams initially flung the FSU cap away from the stage.
He’d later pick up the Miami Hurricanes cap and talked about the respect he had for how they treated him in the recruiting process and then carefully handed the cap to one of his coaches, saying he would not throw that one.
Then, Williams said, “Enough playing around.”
At which point, former FSU wide receiver greats Peter Warrick and Marvin “Snoop” Minnis joined him on stage with the former handing him an FSU jersey with his name and the No. 1 on it.
As soon as Williams said he was choosing FSU, the Seminoles war chant blared on the speakers and sparks shot up into the air from each end of the stage.
Warrick and Minnis were joined at the ceremony by former Dolphins quarterback and UCF great Daunte Culpepper, whose son also attends Stranahan.
“It was an honor to be here. Seeing him say he wanted to go to Florida State gave me chills, and took me back to my signing day,” Warrick said. “I’m happy for him and proud of him.”
Throughout the ceremony though, Williams had the most important person in his life at his side, his mother, Donna.
While sitting at a couch on the stage with his mother by his side, Williams couldn’t hold back the tears when he thanked his mother for being there for him even in the most difficult of times. Williams lost his father at an early age.
“If I tell you what we went through you wouldn’t believe it,” Williams said. “It’s just been me and her my whole life. From where we came from to where we are right now, it’s crazy..”
Williams said he knew Tallahassee was his choice for the past two months.
Williams attended FSU’s 24-23 victory over LSU in New Orleans three weeks ago and last weekend attended Texas A&M’s 17-9 victory over Miami at College Station, Tex.
He said he plans to attend one of the next two Seminoles’ home games and still plans to attend a Texas A&M game later this season.
In addition to his football exploits, Williams helped the Mighty Dragons’ basketball team win its third state title in four seasons last year. Williams was named both the Miami Herald’s Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year and Overall Athlete of the Year for Classes 7A-5A.
Williams was the first from Stranahan to win Athlete of the Year honors since Greg Troupe in 1976.
Williams is the first All-American to come out of Stranahan since former University of Miami standout and Denver Broncos defensive tackle Rubin Carter in 1971.
This story was originally published September 23, 2022 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Stranahan five-star recruit Hykeem Williams chooses Florida State over Miami, Texas A&M."
