Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are tasked with replacing the best wide receiver in college football before the 2025 season starts, and it appears they might have taken a step closer to making it happen on Tuesday.
Florida State transfer wide receiver Hakeem Williams, a former five-star prospect with elite measurables, has committed to Colorado after two seasons in Tallahassee.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Williams appeared in 17 contests with eight starts for the Seminoles over the past two seasons. During that time, he recorded 21 catches for 267 yards and two touchdowns.
While he’s yet to live up to the hype surrounding him come out of high school, there are still three years for Williams to realize his potential. If he does, we could witness one of the next great wideouts in college football.
Anyone who’s spent time watching football over the past 20 years knows just how special a talent Julio Jones was.
A two-time All-Pro selection in 2015 and 2016, and a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Jones caught 914 passes for 13,703 yards and 66 touchdowns during his 13-year NFL career. Before that, he was terrorizing SEC defenses at Alabama, earning All-SEC honors in each of his three seasons in Tuscaloosa.
So, anytime a player draws comparisons to a player of Jones’ stature, ears perk up. That was the case for 2023 five-star prospect Hykeem Williams.
Coming out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Williams was the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 24 overall player in the class of 2023, and drew a direct comparison to Julio Jones from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivans back in 2022.
“A freaky athlete,” Ivans said of Williams in his evaluation. “…Day 1 and Day 2 of the NFL Draft potential.”
While it’s highly unlikely that Williams is the next coming of Julio Jones, he’s still a highly-coveted transfer that should push for immediate reps with the Buffs. With his combination of size and speed, this will definitely be a name to file away before next season gets going.
