Following a 37-31 victory over Oklahoma State to open the season, the wide receiver position looked to be a real point of concern for top-ranked Florida State. Senior Rashad Greene finished with a career-high 203 yards and a touchdown on 11 catches in the victory, but received little help from the receivers around him.
That night, Greene accounted for 11 of the 16 receptions by Florida State receivers. Kermit Whitfield and Christian Green were the only other Seminole receivers to catch a pass that August 30th night in Dallas, but the two combined for just five catches and none in the second half.
Not in the lineup that evening for the Seminoles, was sophomore Jesus “Bobo” Wilson. Wilson was suspended for the season-opener in Dallas after being charged with grand theft during the offseason for stealing a scooter.
After just three receptions for 23 yards as a freshman in 2013, Wilson entered his sophomore season largely as an afterthought among Florida State receivers.
While Florida State was losing two of its top three leading receivers in Kenny Shaw and BCS hero Kelvin Benjamin, it was returning its leading receiver from each of the past three seasons in Rashad Greene. Greene was joined at receiver by a pair of fellow seniors in Jarred “Scooter” Haggins and Christian Green and a trio of highly-touted freshman in Ermon Lane, Travis Rudolph and Ja’Vonn Harrison.
Speedster Kermit Whitfield was seen as the wild card for Florida State while 6’4″ Isaiah Jones was expected to replace Benjamin as a popular red zone target. Much of that was not to be.
Jones was ruled academically ineligible prior to the season. The freshman trio that many thought could be major contributors right away proved to not yet be ready. Whitfield was still adjusting to his new role as a slot receiver while neither Green nor Haggins asserted himself as the team’s second receiver.
After serving a one-game suspension for his offseason incident, Wilson made his 2014 debut in Florida State’s home opener against The Citadel. That night, Wilson finished with three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown and has since brought much-needed stability to the wideout position.
At just 5’9″ and 180 pounds, Wilson doesn’t have the look of a complete wide receiver. While Rashad Greene has continued to shine as one of the nation’s best receivers, Wilson has become a dependable target for a FSU offense that looked as though it was going to rely too heavily on Greene early on.
Wilson followed his career performance against The Citadel with an even better game against Clemson. Wilson recorded four catches for 56 yards in a 23-17 overtime victory for the Seminoles.
In Florida State’s first real road game on Saturday, Wilson made his presence felt. In a 56-41 come-from-behind victory over N.C. State, Wilson finished with six catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
Wilson’s speed was never underestimated, but through the early parts of 2014, the sophomore from Miami is shaping to be a solid route-runner.
Wilson hasn’t been able to beat opponents on the deep ball yet, but his ability to run after the catch has made him the perfect compliment to the always dependable Greene. Having Wilson as a reliable number two also keeps quarterback Jameis Winston from having to try to force passes to Greene as he did early and often in the season-opener.
Wilson’s three touchdown receptions is tied with Greene for the team-lead and his emergence has not only brought dependability to the position for Florida State, but it’s allowed the Seminoles to be more patient with the freshman trio of Lane, Rudolph and Harrison.
Though an unlikely source, Wilson is filling a much-needed void as far as depth at wide receiver is concerned. Since returning from suspension, Wilson is proving to be a dependable pass-catcher with a nose for the end zone. While Greene has played like an All-American all season long, Wilson has brought stability to the receiver position and has the record-setting Florida State offense looking quite potent once again.
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