Miami commit James Williams aims to deny doubters and ‘make the crib great’
.JPG "James Williams, from Western High School, attends High School Football Media Day at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Saturday, August 3, 2019.")
Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna’s game plan was no secret to James Williams and Plantation American Heritage on Friday. Chaminade-Madonna was going to give the ball to Thad Franklin — a lot — and let the star running back set the tone in the meeting between Broward County powers.
Williams, American Heritage’s versatile five-star athlete and safety, had a feeling he would be asked to play a very specific role at Vince Zappone Field. Even though he prefers to play the role of a deep ballhawking safety, Williams figured he could best help the Patriots by playing at the line of scrimmage.
“Today was the time to show everybody,” the 6-foot-5, 218-pound senior told the Miami Herald on Friday.
Williams, who has orally committed to the Miami Hurricanes since July, definitely did. Williams racked up eight tackles, including four for a loss, and a sack in American Heritage’s 7-3 win in Hollywood. Three of those tackles for loss came against Franklin, a fellow Miami commit, and the Patriots held the four-star running back to less than 100 yards for just the second time in 11 games — the only other time was in a 52-point win for the Lions when Franklin ran for 55 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries.
Even after the game, Williams said he prefers to play a more traditional safety role, but he was also happy to prove he can use massive frame to be a Swiss Army knife for coach Patrick Surtain.
“He told me I needed to be in the box, so I was in the box,” Williams said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
It also serves to justify the five-star status he holds in the 247Sports.com composite rankings. He’s the Hurricanes’ highest-ranked commit since former offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson largely because of his unusual combination of skills and traits. He’s built like an edge rusher and runs a wide receiver or cornerback. As a safety, he has the physical gifts to blow up plays over the middle, and the instincts and mentality to hunt for interceptions.
Williams hopes and expects to play safety once he gets to Coral Gables, but it’s impossible to ignore how perfect a fit he seems to be at striker.
Wherever Williams winds up, Miami is happy to have him as the face of its Class of 2021. The defensive back said he doesn’t talk to other schools anymore. After he visited the Georgia Bulldogs shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an ongoing recruiting dead period, Williams thought over his options and committed to his hometown team earlier this summer.
With the dead period now extending through at least the end of 2020, Williams won’t be able to take any official visits before he signs his national letter of intent in December, and he’s not concerned about it.
“I want to be home. I want to put on for my city. Y’all seen what I posted. I want to rep my city — always rep my city,” Williams said. “All the places I had in mind, I visited already, so I already knew where my mind was set. I committed, did all that — done.”
Williams takes pride in his commitment and the way it has served as a turning point for the No. 12 Hurricanes in the 2021 recruiting cycle. Four players have orally committed to Miami since Williams pledged, including a second five-star prospect. The Hurricanes’ 2021 recruiting class now stands at 22 players, meaning Miami will likely only take two or three more commitments before signing day.
“It was great because once I committed you saw everybody committed,” Williams said. “I started a wave. Miami’s back. That’s all I’ve got to say. They’re back.”
His work hasn’t done as a recruiter, though.
Williams said his last remaining priority target is Jake Garcia, a four-star quarterback from Valdosta, Georgia. Williams met Garcia, who is currently committed to the USC Trojans, when the two were on campus simultaneously for a camp last summer, and they connected over their shared love of football and their similar experiences as heavily recruited prospects.
Now Williams texts Garcia every other day, he said. For the first time in years, the Hurricanes have a commit with Williams’ sort of sway on the trail.
“We wanted to come together as one,” Williams said. “I’ve been telling him, preaching that. I’ve been telling him since lord knows when. Ever since the day I committed, I’ve been texting his phone. ‘Make the crib great. Make the crib great.’ That’s all that’s been on my mind.”
