Florida State defender names true freshman wide receiver as spring standout

Florida State's first four practices of the spring have offered newcomers an opportunity to begin making a name for themselves. The Seminoles brought in a talented 2025 signing class and there's excitement for what the haul could be for the present and future of the program.

Perhaps one of the more underrated additions for FSU was flipping four-star wide receiver Jayvan Boggs from UCF during the Early Signing Period. Boggs had been pledged to the Knights but ultimately decided to follow Gus Malzahn and Tim Harris Jr. to Tallahassee.

Boggs ended up delivering one of the most impressive single-season performances in Florida high school history as a senior. That's why it's not a surprise that his transition to the college level is going quite well so far.

Redshirt junior defensive back Earl Little Jr. had plenty of praise for the true freshman while discussing the battle against Florida State's wide receivers. Boggs is standing out to the veteran defender.

"I just want to point out one person that I like - Boggs - I like him a lot," Little Jr. said on Tuesday. "Like I said, everybody is making their plays but he stands out to me. I like him a lot. He's strong at the top of his routes, he knows how to create separation, and he likes to talk a lot of trash too so I like that about his game."

Last fall, Boggs led Cocoa High School to a third consecutive state championship after catching 99 passes for 2,133 yards and 21 touchdowns. He set the single-game state record for receiving yards (378) in the playoff semifinals and finished just 26 yards short of the single-season state record. Over his four seasons at the prep level, Boggs totaled 234 receptions for 4,363 yards and a whopping 50 touchdowns.

Little Jr. went on to say that the level of competition has been elevated throughout the entire team. It's an aspect that he believes the Seminoles lacked in 2024.

"All the guys. We just out there competing. I ain't going to lie, everybody's out there just chirping. We're getting after it," Little Jr. said. "I feel like that's something we really didn't have last year. Everybody has a competitive edge whether that's defensive line, offensive line, quarterbacks out there chirping. Everybody's out there chirping. We're just out there having fun competing against each other at the highest level."

So what has sparked the change early in spring practice? Little Jr. credits the bond between the team that has been brewing since the beginning of the new year.

"I feel like it's just the brotherhood that we have here, that we teach," Little Jr. said. "All the new transfers came in, we had that one team meeting, everybody got clicking, everybody got to introduce themselves. After that, we got clicking. In the weight room, we're all play-fighting. When it's time to work, we're definitely working."

"As far as the locker room, we get around, we play with each other in the locker room whether that's after practice, before practice, just talking what we're going to do, how we're going to attack the day. I feel like that's going to be key to our success this year," Little Jr. continued.

Florida State returns to practice on Thursday evening.

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