BREAKING: Both Of Florida State's Star Wide Receivers To Return Against Miami Hurricanes

The Seminoles will have their full arsenal of weapons in a crucial game against the Hurricanes.

Florida State has already clinched a spot in the ACC Championship for the first time since 2014 and the program is on the path to the playoffs if the wins keep rolling in. With that being said, FSU's matchup against Miami is a crucial game every year no matter what the records are coming into the contest.

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The Seminoles and Hurricanes have both been dealing with injuries to key players leading up to the game. Wide receiver Johnny Wilson has missed three of the last five games while fellow wide receiver Keon Coleman was sidelined against Pittsburgh due to an undisclosed injury. The effect was obvious as the offense was limited to a season-low 24 points despite putting up over 500 yards.

On the other side, there are question marks surrounding the availability of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. The veteran signal-caller has been playing through multiple injuries throughout the season and was clearly at less than 100% during Miami's 20-6 defeat to North Carolina State.

Wilson and Coleman have apparently made enough progress to return to the field against the Hurricanes. According to a program spokesperson, both of Florida State's star wide receivers are expected to suit up for the highly-anticipated rivalry affair.

That adds up with the updates that head coach Mike Norvell provided to begin game week. He was optimistic that the Seminoles would be able to get a couple of their beat-up wide receivers back into action.

"I do, and what that means, we'll see. As we go through the week, we'll get a great perspective of where guys are but it was [beat up]," Norvell said earlier this week. "Kentron [Poitier], he battled last week. Deuce [Spann], obviously didn't play, so Rodney took over some of the things in the kickoff return game. It was a real challenge last week."

"But yes, I do see us being in a much better spot," Norvell continued. "Coming out of last night's practice, we had a lot more participation in it, guys being able to get out there and work so we'll see where the week goes."

Wilson has been beaten up ever since he was injured in the third quarter of the win over Virginia Tech at the beginning of October. He ended up sitting out the next week against Syracuse but returned to action in the win over Duke. Once again, Wilson was banged up in the third quarter and seemed to be woozy as he was escorted to the sideline. 

The exact nature of the ailment was never disclosed but it kept Wilson out against Wake Forest and Pittsburgh. On the season, he's Florida State's second-leading receiver with 25 catches for 415 yards with two touchdowns.

Coleman was forced to step up in the win over the Demon Deacons a few weeks ago with Wilson dealing with an injury. He ended up catching seven passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns while also returning three punts for 24 yards. At some point in the contest, Coleman ended up getting banged up enough to force him to miss his first game of the season against the Panthers.

It will be a massive boost for Florida State's offense to be back closer to full strength as quarterback Jordan Travis will have an array of deadly targets to throw to in his final opportunity to dominate the Hurricanes. Coleman leads the Seminoles in receiving with 38 catches for 348 yards and an ACC-leading nine touchdown catches.

Florida State and Miami are scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.


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Dustin Lewis
DUSTIN LEWIS

Lewis joined NoleGameday in 2016 and is currently in the role of Editor-In-Chief. A graduate of Florida State, Lewis contributes to football, recruiting, and basketball coverage. Connect with Dustin on Twitter at @DustinLewisNG.