Florida State freshman kicker Dustin Hopkins is hitting the mark of late.

In the last five games, he's made 8 of 10 field-goal attempts. (One of those misses was a 58-yarder at the end of the first half against Clemson.) In his first five games, he was 6 of 10.

“The beginning of the year, things just weren’t clicking for some reason,’’ he said.

He studied film from the opener, when he was 2 of 2, including a 52-yarder, against Miami, and recognized that his plant foot was a bit deep and he changed that. The biggest difference, however, might be more mental than physical. He appears more confident.

“It’s the guys around me,’’ he said. “When you’re doing well, it’s easy for people to show you support and shake your hand, but when you’re going through a rough time, it’s hard to be a friend, I guess. But the team, even when I wasn’t performing well, was always behind me. The coaches were behind me. And (long snapper) Zack (Aronson) and (holder) Shawn (Powell) were a heck of a support system.’’