TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Travis Rudolph sensed Notre Dame’s Matthias Farley before he even whipped his head around to turn toward the end zone. Farley had the angle until Rudolph gave him the okey-doke and high-stepped into the end zone to tie the game.

Florida State needed to match scores again in the third quarter, and this time it was Jesus Wilson who was called upon. He cut across the middle, but when he turned his head to locate the pass from Jameis Winston he saw the ball was placed well behind him with the Irish’s Max Redfield eyeing an easy interception. So Wilson contorted his body and made what he considers one of the best catches of his career. Florida State scored on the next play.

The Seminoles’ young receivers are emerging, and it is coming at the perfect time for No. 2 Florida State.

“I’m so proud of the young guys,” Winston said. You can’t be prouder than [when] a young guy just [steps] up in the clutch.”

All offseason, Florida State was peppered with questions on whether it had legitimate options in the passing game outside of receiver Rashad Greene and tight end Nick O'Leary. The Seminoles were littered with highly ranked receivers, but all played sparingly or not at all. The three blue-chip recruits had promising talent, which doesn’t always yield promising results.

Restlessness among anxious Seminoles fans began setting in after Greene was the only receiver counted upon in Week 1. It wasn’t until the end of September against NC State when fears were assuaged.

Now seven games into the season, the receiving corps has the makings of a unit that could soon be considered one of the team’s greatest strengths, and it is due in part to Rudolph, a freshman, and Wilson, a sophomore. They’ll be counted on heavily going forward, and the passing game will be tested Thursday when the undefeated Seminoles play Louisville’s top-ranked defense.

“I’ve grown a lot,” Wilson said. “I’m more relaxed on the field. I’ve got a chemistry with Jameis.”

Both Rudolph and Wilson’s growth was stunted early in the season for different reasons. Wilson was initially charged with a felony for stealing a student’s scooter and missed the opener after he pleaded down to two misdemeanors.

Rudolph underwent offseason foot surgery and was hampered throughout camp, and FSU coach Jimbo Fisher felt that injury weighed on Rudolph mentally just as much as it did physically.

But now he’s 100 percent healthy, and his best game of his young career was against Notre Dame when he caught six passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

“He has the ability to stick his foot in the ground and run full speed and run the whole route tree, and he’s very strong,” Fisher said. “He’s also explosive as a runner. He’s got route-running skills and the guys with [speed] don’t always have route-running skills and he’s got a combination of both.”

Talking with media members after he caught 11 passes for 203 yards, Greene was frustrated. He felt the passing game needed to be ironed out, and it began with finding a few complements at receiver. The steady progress from the rest of the receiving corps has been clear to see, but Fisher said he still saw Notre Dame bracketing defenders around Greene and O’Leary.

“You can call [plays] all you want and design [but] people will take things away, so when you go back to your outlets, those guys have to perform,” Fisher said. “And that’s why I’m so happy. [Wilson] and [Rudolph] are doing a great job right now.”