Jven Williams explains why these seven schools made his final list
For Jven Williams it all comes down to the people.
| Jven Williams’ finalists |
| Illinois |
| Maryland |
| Michigan State |
| Ole Miss |
| Penn State |
| Pittsburgh |
| Rutgers |
The Wyomissing offensive lineman has spoken to and met a lot of college football coaches over the past several months. His interactions with them determined who made his list of seven finalists, which he announced Saturday on Twitter.
“You’re gonna see the same faces every day (when you’re playing in college),” the junior said. “I want to make sure they’re great people, they have the same interests as me.”
Williams has trimmed his potential college choices to seven: Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Rutgers.
He said his recruitment remains open and he may add or subtract schools from the current list. Oregon, LSU and Oklahoma, he said, are recruiting him “pretty heavily” and will be considered.
He plans to continue taking unofficial visits over the next few months, including one to Michigan, which isn’t currently on his list of finalists. He wants to narrow that list to five by the spring, then begin taking official visits to each in June. He’ll make his choice soon after.
“These are the (schools) I felt showed me the most love and most contact and recruited me the best,” said the 6-4, 305-pound Williams, who earned All-State Class 3A honors last season in helping the Spartans reach the PIAA championship game. “You could pick a top 13, 14, any number you want.”
Williams has received nearly two dozen major college offers. The first came Sept. 21 from Pittsburgh; the most recent came from Houston Jan. 11.
He said he’ll base his decisions going forward on finding a winning program that he believes can help him reach his potential, which he believes is pro football.
“Of course, I want to make it to the NFL, so I feel the best coach that can show me the way, that’ll be huge in my decision,” he said. “The interaction and the contact we have, that’s a relationship thing. The stronger the relationship and the bond is, the easier my decision is to go there.”
Williams said school location isn’t a factor; he’d consider Oregon or schools on the West Coast. School colors don’t matter, either.
“(In) eastern Pennsylvania, everyone’s a Penn State fan,” he said, “but I didn’t really grow up any kind of (college) fan. I’m a Giants fan, that’s my football team.”
Five of his final seven schools play in the Big Ten; Pittsburgh plays in the ACC and Ole Miss in the SEC. Williams said conference affiliation won’t play a “huge role” in his decision.
“The SEC is the most competitive,” he said, “but the Big 10, they’re ground-and-pound offense and the (NFL) always drafts great linemen there.”
Williams has made at least two unofficial visits to Penn State, Sept. 25 and Dec. 12. Last week he made an unofficial visit to Pittsburgh.
| Williams’ offers | ||
| Pittsburgh | Boston College | Illinois |
| Temple | Michigan | Virginia Tech |
| Maryland | Penn State | West Virginia |
| Rutgers | Boston College | Ole Miss |
| Tennessee | Connecticut | Kentucky |
| South Carolina | Michigan State | Delaware State |
| Miami | Washington | Houston |
He is rated the No. 1 lineman in Pennsylvania by 247sports.com, which lists him as the No. 2 junior prospect in the state and No. 97 nationally. The top-rated recruit in the state is Laurel Highlands wide receiver Rodney Gallagher.
Rivals.com has Williams ranked No. 3 in the state, behind Gallagher and Brashear linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson. He’s ranked as the No. 15 junior lineman in the county and 148th overall.
A few days after Williams received his first offer, he was offered by Illinois, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Penn State within the space of a week.
He got his first Southeastern Conference offer Oct. 7 from Ole Miss; the next day conference rival Tennessee offered. Within weeks Kentucky and South Carolina followed suit.
Coaches love the way someone Williams’ size moves and continues to make blocks downfield.
“He’s pretty impressive coming around the corner,” said Spartans head coach Bob Wolfrum. “He can move. Sometimes the big guys have trouble making contact out in the open like that, but he doesn’t. Any time you have a big guy that can do the normal (blocking) things but can also pull and get down field, that’s impressive.”
Williams was named Offensive Lineman of the Year in Section 2 of Berks Football League, earned first-team All-Berks honors and was the inaugural MikeDragoSports.com Diamond Credit Union Lineman of the Year.
Williams helped the Spartans go 15-1 and win their third straight District 3 Class 3A champion. They averaged 310 rushing yards and 41.9 points.
“The Pottsville game (Sept. 3), he was pretty impressive,” Wolfrum said of Wyomissing’s second game. “He was impressive in all three of those games (on the September video). People saw how big he was and that he can run. When you’re that big, you’ve got a shot.”
