American Heritage’s James Williams, with ‘so much pride in my heart,’ ready to play for UM
The emotions hit James Williams shortly after he sat down.
He looked at his grandmother, Ira Williams, and watched her eyes tear up as he said a line he had hoped to say for years.
“I’m James Williams,” he said, “and I’m signing with the University of Miami.”
Williams, wearing an orange UM polo and a green hat with Sebastian the Ibis on the front, highlighted the quartet of Plantation American Heritage seniors who finalized their college football decisions on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.
Wide receiver Oronde Gadsden II is also heading to the ACC after signing with the Syracuse Orange. Kicker Christopher Maron is heading to Brown, while his twin brother Connor is going to Trinity College, a liberal arts school in Connecticut.
“Go on and be great,” American Heritage coach Pat Surtain said told the four. “Find yourself in college. I know y’all are going to represent us real well.”
‘One of the best’
Williams is the top ranked safety in the Class of 2021, the second-ranked player in Broward (behind St. Thomas Aquinas defensive end Dallas Turner, who is heading to Alabama), the No. 4 player in state and No. 13 nationally per the 247 sports composite ranking. Williams is the highest ranked player from a national ranking perspective to sign with the Hurricanes out of Broward County.
Including Williams and Turner, 11 Broward County prospects since 2000 have ranked among the top-15 nationally in their signing class. Three — Turner, Pat Surtain II (2018) and Calvin Ridley (2015) — signed with Alabama. Three more — Tarvarus McFadden (2015), Lamarcus Joyner (2010) and Bryant McFadden (2000) — signed with Florida State. Tyson Campbell (Georgia, 2018), Nick Bosa (Ohio State, 2016), Patrick Peterson (LSU, 2008) and Sam Young (Notre Dame, 2006) round out the group.
“One of the best football players I’ve ever seen in high school,” Surtain said of the 6-5, 218-pound Williams.
Williams, who transferred back to Heritage for his senior year after playing at Davie Western as a junior, has 64 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, four fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one blocked punt heading into Friday’s Class 5A state championship game against Tallahassee Rickards at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium.
“When I first stepped back on the Heritage campus, I said I was winning a state championship,” Williams said. “Now, I’m here fighting. This is my last game. I’ve got to come back with it. I’m not leaving without it.”
His next game after that will be with the college he dreamed of playing for since he was a kid.
“It’s a dream come true,” Williams said. “There’s so much pride in my heart right now. I’m going to show it out on the field.”
The rest of American Heritage’s signees
While Williams was the headliner, he wasn’t the only American Heritage player to sign his letter of intent on Wednesday.
Gadsden II, a three-star prospect, caught 36 passes for 605 yards and 12 touchdowns over the past two seasons. That includes a team-high six touchdowns this season heading into the state championship. His name might sound familiar to South Florida sports fans. Gadsden II is the son of former NFL receiver Oronde Gadsden, who spent six years with the Miami Dolphins from 1998-2003.
Christopher Maron, one of South Florida’s top kickers, is 10 for 15 on field-goal attempts this year with a long of 46 yards. He also hit on 29 of his 30 PAT attempts. Connor Maron, a strong safety, has 11 tackles and a sack.
Elsewhere around Broward County
American Heritage’s four players represent just a small blip on the radar from Broward County this year.
Broward has 14 of Florida’s top 100 prospects for the 2021 recruiting cycle — 16 if you include offensive lineman/Clemson signee Marcus Tate and cornerback/Wisconsin signee Ricardo Hallman, who both finished their high school careers at Miami Gardens’ TRU Prep after Fort Lauderdale University School opted not to field a football team this year.
The rest of the county’s signings on Wednesday include:
▪ Seven players from Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. Turner headlines the group as the No. 2 player in the state and eighth-ranked player nationally. Turner’s signing with Alabama marks the fourth time in five years the Crimson Tide has signed Broward County’s top player.
Aquinas’ other players to sign: Four-star defensive end Tyreak Sapp to UF, four-star wide receiver Bralon Brown to Ole Miss, wide receiver Quincy Skinner Jr. to Vanderbilt, defensive end RJ Sorensen to Louisville, cornerback Tyson Russell to Vanderbilt and defensive end Allan Baugh to Colorado.
▪ Three players from Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons: Four-star wide receiver Troy Stellato, the No. 26 player in the state, is going to Clemson. Defensive end Jah-Mal Williams is going to Cincinnati, while offensive lineman Anthony Earle signed with FAU.
▪ Four Broward seniors in addition to Williams who signed with the Hurricanes: Plantation four-star wide receiver Jacolby George, Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna four-star running back Thad Franklin, Parkland Stoneman Douglas four-star offensive lineman Michael McLaughlin and Chaminade-Madonna defensive tackle Allan Haye.
▪ Two who signed with FIU: Hallandale linebacker Gaethan Bernadel and Stranahan offensive tackle Kareem Harden.
▪ Monarch four-star wide receiver Jaden Alexis, who signed with Texas.
▪ McArthur cornerback Kevin Knowles and outside linebacker Isaiah Finnie, who respectively signed with Florida State and Marshall.
▪ Quarterback Nick Vattiato and running back Max Balthazar, both part of the U School-to-TRU Prep group, respectively signed with Middle Tennessee State and Coastal Carolina.
▪ Fort Lauderdale wide receiver Jahmal Edrine, who signed with FAU.
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 7:54 PM.
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