TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Ron Dugans, a four-year letterman and 1999 national champion at Florida State, will be retained as FSU’s wide receivers coach, head coach Mike Norvell announced Friday.
“I’m excited to announce that I will be retaining Ron Dugans as our wide receivers coach here at Florida State University,” Norvell said. “Ron is a true Seminole, a man who represents the Florida State football family with class, character and an incredible sense of pride for our university. The development of our wide receivers over the last year and the relationships that have been built gives us a tremendous foundation to build upon moving forward. Coach Dugans will be an asset on the field as well as one of the top recruiters in the country due to the relationships he has established over the years. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work side by side with Coach Dugans and his family as we elevate Florida State football back to the top.”
In his first season back in Tallahassee, Dugans’ group has helped the Seminoles rank 19th in the nation in completion percentage, their highest ranking since 2014. The receivers are led by All-ACC performer Tamorrion Terry, who ended the regular season with 1,023 yards and eight touchdowns on 51 catches. He is averaging 20.06 yards per reception, which ranks second in the ACC and fifth in the NCAA among receivers with at least 50 receptions. The redshirt sophomore further established himself as a big-play threat, as his average of 53.75 yards per touchdown reception leads the nation among receivers with at least eight touchdowns and his five touchdowns of 60-plus yards are the second-highest total in the NCAA since 2010.
Dugans has six receivers with at least 15 catches this season, including two who have missed significant time due to injury. Junior D.J. Matthews has 36 grabs for 355 yards and three touchdowns, while sophomore Keyshawn Helton caught 17 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns before a season-ending injury in the sixth game of the season and redshirt sophomore Ontaria Wilson, who missed the final five games of the regular season due to injury, has 20 catches for 227 yards and one touchdown.
“I’m happy for the opportunity to continue serving my alma mater,” Dugans said. “Tallahassee is home, and being able to invest in this community means a lot to me and my family. I am excited to join Coach Norvell and our tremendous student-athletes as we work to put Florida State back among the nation’s elite.”
Dugans returned to Florida State after three years as wide receivers coach at Miami. In his first two seasons there he also served as passing game coordinator before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator for the 2018 season. Prior to his time in Coral Gables, he coached wide receivers at South Florida in 2014 and 2015 following four years as Louisville’s wide receivers coach. Dugans began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at FSU in 2005 and 2006, after which he was a coaching assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL and then served as wide receivers coach at Georgia Southern for three seasons.
In 2018, Dugans co-coordinated an offense that converted at least 45 percent of its third-down conversions in seven games after only reaching that benchmark twice the year before. In 2017, he helped direct the Hurricanes to a 10-win season that culminated with an appearance in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Braxton Berrios had career-high totals with 52 receptions, 634 yards and nine touchdowns while earning All-ACC recognition, the Jim Tatum Award as the ACC’s top student-athlete and being a finalist for the Campbell Trophy. In Dugans’ first season at Miami, he guided Ahmmon Richards to Freshman All-America and All-ACC honors after breaking UM’s freshman receiving record with 934 yards. Senior Stacy Coley also was named All-ACC after becoming only the eighth Hurricane to accumulate 2,000 career receiving yards behind a career-high 754 yards in 2016.
Dugans’ receivers broke USF’s single-season touchdown record in both of his seasons at South Florida. In 2014, Andre Davis set the Bulls’ record with seven receiving scores despite missing four games due to injury. The following year, Dugans tutored Rodney Adams to a career-high 822 yards and a school-record nine receiving touchdowns as USF finished 8-5 and played in the Miami Beach Bowl.
Dugans helped lead a program revitalization in his four seasons at Louisville. The Cardinals were 23-3 over the 2012 and 2013 seasons, including 11-2 with a victory over Florida in the Sugar Bowl in 2012 and a 12-1 mark in 2013 that culminated with a win over Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl. He guided wide receiver DeVante Parker to first-team All-AAC honors in 2013 as the junior caught 55 passes for 885 yards and 12 touchdowns. Parker, who was also a 2012 first-team All-BIG EAST selection after posting 10 touchdown receptions, caught 28 touchdowns in his first three seasons. Three Cardinal receivers caught 40 or more passes in 2013, including senior Damian Copeland who had a career-best 58 receptions for 780 yards for his second straight 50-catch season.
Prior to his time at Louisville, Dugans coached the receivers at Georgia Southern. Under Dugans’ guidance, Raja Andrews broke numerous single-season school records in 2008, including 64 receptions, 873 yards and five 100-yard receiving games, while finishing the year ranked 15th nationally in receptions per game and 20th in receiving yards. Dugans started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at FSU, working in the strength and conditioning program in 2005 before working with the offense in 2006. He also served as a coaching assistant in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2007.
Dugans was a wide receiver at FSU from 1995-99, playing his first two seasons before taking a medical redshirt in 1997. He returned to start in 1998 and 1999, helping the Seminoles reach the BCS National Championship Game in both seasons. He caught six passes for 135 yards in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl against Tennessee and grabbed five receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns in the 2000 Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech that gave FSU its second national championship and completed the first wire-to-wire season as the Associated Press’ No. 1-ranked team. In his career, he made 105 receptions for 1,520 yards and seven touchdowns. He was selected by Cincinnati in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft and played professionally for four seasons, compiling 89 catches for 797 yards and three touchdowns in 46 games.
A Tallahassee native, Dugans was a three-sport standout at Florida A&M University Developmental Research School. He played football, rushing for 730 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 75 tackles and seven interceptions on defense as a senior, in addition to participating in basketball and track and field.
Dugans and his wife, Yasheka, have four children, Yasmin, Y’Allana, Yanni and Ron, Jr.
Ron Dugans Coaching History
2019- Florida State Wide Receivers Coach
2018 Miami co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach
2016-17 Miami Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach
2014-15 South Florida Wide Receivers Coach
2010-13 Louisville Wide Receivers Coach
2007-09 Georgia Southern Wide Receivers Coach
2007 Cincinnati Bengals Offensive Assistant
2005-06 Florida State Graduate Assistant
