Jven Williams: ‘Penn State is where I wanted to be’

When you know, you know. And Jven Williams knows: He wants to play football for Penn State.

“Each time I visited I almost committed when I was leaving,” the Wyomissing offensive lineman said Saturday. “I knew Penn State is where I wanted to be.”

Williams, a 6-4, 305-pound junior, face-timed Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein Saturday morning to commit. They went, according to Williams, “ballistic” when they heard.

“They were very excited,” he said.

Two weeks ago, when he announced his top seven choices, Williams said he planned to spend the spring and early summer visiting schools to make his decision. The recruiting process, however, began to wear on him and he decided this week to make his announcement.

“I just wanted to pull the trigger,” he said. “I knew I wanted to go there. It was just time for me to commit.

“The recruiting process . . . I felt it was time for me to speed up things. I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time, and I don’t want to waste my own time.”

Major college coaches have continued to deluge the All-State lineman with offers even after he announced his top seven.

In the days since Oklahoma and Southern Cal have offered. Other coaches have visited him at school.

He said one day recently five coaches came to meet him.

“For a teenager, it gets tense,” he said of the recruiting process. “I was missing a lot of class. It’s a little bit of a relief to have my decision made. There are still schools trying to contact me, but I’m 100 percent locked down.”

Williams is rated the No. 1 junior lineman in Pennsylvania by 247sports.com, which lists him as the No. 2 junior prospect in the state and No. 97 nationally.

He rose to prominence quickly last fall, receiving seven offers within the span of a week in mid September after releasing his initial highlight film.

College coaches like him because of his ability to pull and lead a sweep, to get down-field, and because he has a relatively lean frame that can take on more weight.

Williams’ commitment follows on the heels of three other Berks football players: Gov. Mifflin’s Nick Singleton, Exeter’s Joey Schlaffer and Berks Catholic’s Trace Brown. Singleton, a running back who will graduate in June, is already attending Penn State. Schlaffer, a junior tight end, committed last fall. Brown, a senior, has accepted a preferred walk-on offer.

Williams did not grow up as a Penn State fan; in fact he admitted last fall he wasn’t much of a college football fan. However, the school did have an advantage because of its geography and reputation.

“There’s one thing they have that no one else can give me, and that’s top-tier football, great academics and me being able to go back home (on a weekend). I want to give back to my community. I felt like staying home is something I felt very comfortable doing.

“I’m from eastern Pennsylvania, so that’s kind of like the dream school everyone wants to go to,” he said. “They could go 0-10, and the fans will still love Penn State. That’s an amazing thing. So, the support is there.”

Williams said he’s not concerned by back-to-back disappointing seasons by the Nittany Lions. He has faith in the coaching staff and is impressed by the strong recruiting classes Franklin has assembled recently.

“The coaches know what they’re doing, they get guys to the (National Football) League,” he said. “My ultimate goal is to make it to the NFL, but at the end of the day I have to have a B Plan. Having a degree from Penn State and being from Reading Pennsylvania, it makes my opportunities almost endless because of the support Pennsylvania gives Penn State.”

Williams’ initial final list included Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh and Rutgers, along with Penn State.

Williams was named Offensive Lineman of the Year in Section 2 of Berks Football League, earned first-team All-Berks in Class 3A honors and was the inaugural MikeDragoSports.com Diamond Credit Union Lineman of the Year.

He helped the Spartans go 15-1, win their third straight District 3 Class 3A champion and reach the PIAA Class 3A championship game.

Williams said that Singleton and Schlaffer reached out to him during the recruiting process, encouraging him to pick Penn State.

“Penn State’s going to be really good in a few years, especially with guys like Nick Singleton and (quarterback) Drew Allar,” he said. “It’s also cool to see guys in my county (go to Penn State). I’ll be able to relate to those guys, and they’ll be able to relate to me.”