Derwin James isn’t the only starter Florida State will be missing when they take on Clemson in a huge ACC Atlantic matchup.
Thursday night, Jimbo Fisher confirmed that Bobo Wilson has officially been ruled out of Saturday’s game because of a foot injury. The wide receiver suffered the injury in the Week 7 win over Wake Forest.
As FSU was on a bye last weekend, this will be the first game the senior has missed because of the injury.
As the school noted, Wilson being sidelined will open up the opportunity for additional playing time for a trio of sophomore receivers: Nyqwan Murray, Da’Vante Phillips and Auden Tate.
“You’re talking about a guy who’s played a lot of games, played a lot of ball, done a lot of things, and played in a lot of big-time environments and atmospheres,” Fisher said of Wilson in quotes distributed by the team. “That all sounds good on paper.
“Now, do I think [these younger receivers] can go out there and play? Yes. Do I think they can be really good players? Yes. Have they practiced well? Yes. [Tate] has done more in games so far, but they have a chance to be really good players. I’m hoping they go out there and play.”
Tate leads the Seminoles with four touchdown receptions, and he’s done that with just eight receptions. Murray has five catches for 46 yards this season, Phillips four for 33.
Wilson, who is 10th in school history with 133 catches, is currently second on the team with 30 receptions for 390 yards in 2016. His 26 career starts are the most of any current Seminole offensive player.
Offense won’t be the only place where Wilson’s loss is felt as he is fourth in the nation heading into Week 9 with a 17.2 yards average on nine punt returns. One of those punts he returned 89 yards for a touchdown in the Week 2 win over Charleston Southern, the third-longest in school history and the program’s first of any length since 2012.