Every summer day that goes by, Antonio Dickey Jr. thinks about what his future holds after high school football.
So, the rising senior cornerback and free safety has jumped at opportunities to increase his chances of landing his first offer once he completes his final football season at Florida High School.
“I’ve been going to multiple camps getting my reps in,” Dickey told the Tallahassee Democrat. “Talking to multiple coaches and seeing where I can go in the future.”
The Tallahassee Democrat’s All-Big Bend Second Teamer competed at Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. Florida A&M Prospect Camp in June, then went across the railroad tracks to attend Mike Norvell’s Individual Camp at Florida State the next day.
Both camps were in Dickey’s backyard, Tallahassee.
“Since it’s so close to home, if I can, I’d stay home,” Dickey said of the importance of participating in the FAMU and FSU camps. “I’m a homebody and love to be around family.”
Regional neighbors, NCAA Division II powerhouse Valdosta State and new Division I Football Championship Subdivision member West Florida, have also evaluated Dickey at their camps.
At his 5-foot-7, 165-pound frame, coaches are telling the college football hopeful to be assertive and aggressive to help even the playing field against wide receivers with bigger statures.
“Since I’m such a small DB, I have to be more physical than taller DBs,” Dickey said of feedback from coaches.
Small in size, but a big-time producer for the Florida High Seminoles.
Dickey collected 81 tackles, 65 solo, five tackles for loss, and six pass deflections in his junior year, the 2025 season.
He’s been sending that film to college scouts and garnering interest from Division I and Division II programs. Schools that stand out to him are Dartmouth and East Tennessee State, both in the FCS.
“Just trying to see who’s talking the most to me,” Dickey said.
Senior year will be critical for Dickey.
Personally, he wants to make the All-Big Bend First Team and raise his grade point average from 4.0 to 4.2 to secure his first college football scholarship offer. Dickey is also an All-Big Bend track athlete for the Seminoles, earning an honorable mention nod for his 2026 season.
Behind longtime head coach Jarrod Hickman, the Florida High football returns from a 5-7 season and an appearance in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 2A state playoffs second round, where they fell to eventual championship runner-up Bolles High School of Jacksonville.
The Seminoles lost key players like All-Big Bend first-team wide receiver Jaylan Lurry, now a freshman at FAMU. But they return quarterback Jayme Miller, a sophomore sensation in 2025 and an All-Big Bend second-teamer.
The team is currently in summer workouts in preparation for fall’s kickoff.
“We’re trying to go to state this year,” Dickey said.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida High DB Antonio Dickey Jr. working overtime for first offer
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
