A two-sport star, wide receiver Hykeem Williams’ five-star status is rare at Stranahan

Hykeem Williams had already torn up junior varsity for Stranahan and Travis Harden knew the wide receiver’s ceiling was nearly limitless. He knew Williams had a chance to transform the Mighty Dragons, to bring them the sort of attention they hadn’t drawn since 1970s and to push them into a national spotlight.

“I told him,” the coach said, “if he continued to do the things that he was doing now and took it to another level, he’d be the reason that Nick Saban would visit Stranahan High School.”

Harden was right. Williams is now a five-star wide receiver — the No. 1 prospect in South Florida for the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports composite rankings — and holds more than 30 scholarship offers from basically every meaningful program across the country.

He’s the Mighty Dragons’ first All-American since Rubin Carter back in the early 1970s — the defensive lineman went on to be an All-American for the Miami Hurricanes, play a decade in the NFL and coach the FCS Florida A&M Rattlers — and probably the biggest reason Stranahan was part of the Broward County High School Football National Showcase last month.

“I just knew looking at him, by looking at his stature, looking at his potential growth that he can make from a physical standpoint,” Harden said, “he was going to be a special young man.”

Quickly, he blossomed. After his sophomore season, Williams landed his first offer from Miami on New Year’s Day of 2021 and was up to two dozen by the end of the month. As a junior, he exploded for 40 catches, 750 yards and 11 touchdowns to prove there was something to all the potential everyone saw in him.

Now, he’s set to make his college choice Sept. 23 and the Florida State Seminoles, Pittsburgh Panthers, Georgia Bulldogs and Texas A&M Aggies are all among the top contenders vying for his commitment.

Those early days in his recruitment, though, were stunning. Williams was always a basketball player first and foremost — he was a first-team All-Broward selection by the Miami Herald earlier this year after helping the Mighty Dragons win a third state title in four years — and mostly decided to play football as a freshman because a bunch of his friends were.

In one of his first games, Williams ran a slant over the middle, spun out of a tackle and dashed 80 yards to the end zone for a touchdown. It took a little while for Williams, now 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, to get used to the hitting, but he became a JV star as soon as he did. In five games, Williams scored 11 touchdowns.

Williams stepped up to varsity as a sophomore and showed coaches college coaches enough to get them interested. The Hurricanes were the first team to call, Williams recalled, and he was mostly just confused.

“The conversation built up to it and I was like, ‘Wait, why am I talking to you?’” Williams said. “They’re like, ‘We want to offer you.’”

Within a week, the Ole Miss Rebels, LSU Tigers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Florida State had all jumped in, too, and the steady stream never really slowed.

“It just took off,” Williams said. “It was out of nowhere. .... No one talked to me — not one college.”

The biggest thrill, he said, has been the chance to travel from Fort Lauderdale, and he took official visits to Pittsburgh and Georgia in the summer, plus an unofficial visit to Texas A&M. He’d also like to get back up to Tallahassee and down to Miami Gardens again before he commits. He then plans to graduate early and early enroll.

It’ll mean he’ll miss out on one staple of high school: There won’t be basketball this year for Williams, who averaged a double-double last season for Stranahan and draws some of his rugged physicality from the sport.

It could also be an appeal for whatever college gets him. For the first time in his life, Williams will turn his full attention to football. The ceiling might be even higher.

“You make time what you want to make time for,” Williams said. “In basketball season, it’s basketball. In football season, it’s football. Once one season ends, you just go on to the next sport.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 8:00 AM.