The latest West Coast recruit to get an offer from the SEC is Serra HS 2014 linebacker Dwight Williams. The U.S. Army All-American Bowl game nominee has offers from several top BSC programs. You can now throw Tennessee into the fold.
"I talked to coach Thigpen who came in from Auburn. He left Auburn and then offered me when he got to Tennessee," Dwight told CLA Sports today.
Williams' current offers include: UCLA, Cal, Nebraska, Oregon State, Arizona State, Boise State, Texas Tech, Washington and Washington State.
The recruiting process, in this case, was initiated by Williams himself.
Dwight Williams: Official Junior Highlights
"I hit up the Coach (Thigpen) on Facebook and he told me to call him, so I called him and he offered," he stated. "I've got a friend up there, B. Moore (Byron Moore, Narbonne HS), he plays corner. I just looked into it and the campus seemed pretty interesting."
Colleges and universities are rarely short on talent. The talent pool of future collegiate athletes is on the rise and it's becoming more difficult to stand out in the eyes of schools.
A differentiating factor in the recruitment of a student-athlete usually comes down to how a school analyzes the ambition and desire of that particular recruit to play at the next level, or for their school, specifically.
"It's better to reach out to them if they haven't reached out to you yet. It shows that you're really enthusiastic about their school and that you're looking into their program," says Williams.
"They wanted to know if I was really interested. I told him that I'm open to all programs right now and I've got family in the South. I can go anywhere really. I'm looking into all schools," he said.
Today, it's nearly impossible for future college level athletes to remain under the radar. Social media allows fans, students and alumni from NCAA schools to interact with high school recruits on a level that may seem alarming to some, considering the fact that many of these student-athletes aren't even able to legally drive a vehicle.
"They show you a lot of love and they try to do their part in trying to recruit you. It's cool to have those fans hit you up and show you some love," Williams said. "The fans say all kinds of stuff. They tell you to commit, 'we have pretty women' or 'the food is great here.' They send you video clips, it's crazy."
This process is also a double-edged sword. More often than not, recruits receive an inordinate amount of negative backlash from the same fans, students and alumni if they do not decide to attend that particular college or university.
The next time you get news of a 4 or 5-star recruit decommiting from a school, find his or her Twitter profile or simply search Twitter to unveil the hate messages.
For experienced student-athletes like Dwight Williams, this is all part of the game.
"You can only choose one school and you have to make a decision for you. They're (fans) going to get angry. That's just life, and that's how it's going to be," he says.
The Serra HS linebacker is also aware of the tactics used by those on social media to influence a recruit's decision.
"You're young and they can say all kinds of stuff to you and try to persuade you. You have to try not to listen to it and just focus," he advises.
He's also appreciative of the recognition and attention that he gets from fans online. As he says, "I enjoy the social media part of it, getting a lot of love and people knowing you everywhere you go."
Williams is well aware that he can only choose one school to play for at the next level.
"That's going to be the hardest part.. calling a coach back after building a relationship with them and telling them that you're not going to their school," he states.
Soon enough, Dwight Williams is going to bring his style of play to college and he will undoubtedly help to strengthen his teams' defense with unmatched athleticism, leadership and knowledge of the game.
Although he holds offers from many schools across the country, Williams continues to reach out to those programs that he feels will be a match.
"Georgia for sure, I'm going to reach out to them… Florida State. Alabama is supposed to be coming up to the school next week," Williams told CLA today.
"I talked to Coach (Bobby) Williams and he said he was going to come down to see me. They've got a commit in Bakersfield (CA) and he said he might as well check me out too. They want me to come to their camp in the summer. With the West Coast, usually, they really don't think we're serious about going out there, but I'm open," he said.
Williams plays alongside another one of the nation's top class of 2014 football recruits, Adoree' Jackson. The two U.S. Army All-American Bowl game selections are coming off of a CIF State Championship season and are both proven winners.
"We feel that we want to go to the same college. We joke around sometimes," says Williams.
Dwight clearly stated that he and Jackson are not a "package deal," but the two would definitely enjoy playing together at the NCAA level.
This year, Serra Head Coach Scott Altenberg coached the running backs at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and there's a chance that he may get the nod for next year's game. Stay-tuned.
