West Rusks Williams commits to SMU
NEW LONDON (TX)— The word is out now.
After committing to Southern Methodist over the telephone, West Rusk's Braylon Williams quietly went about his business despite close to 10 friends being in the adjacent room.
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"A lot of kids go in there and run their mouth and he didn't want to do that," said West Rusk coach John Frazier.
"He didn't tell anybody and those were his friends. He's just not like that," he said.
In giving a verbal commitment to the Mustangs, Williams wraps up a recruiting process which saw him receive offers from Stephen F. Austin State University and Northwestern (La.) State.
He also garnered interest from Texas Christian, Arkansas, Minnesota, Baylor, TCU and Texas A&M.
"I really was looking for Baylor and TCU to make offers, but SMU was the first to offer," Williams said. "It feels good to get it out of the way. One of my goals was to get it out of the way before the season started."
He had received only three offers because most schools were waiting to see how his season would go. Despite being a senior, Williams is just 16 and won't turn 17 until after two-a-days begin in August.
"A lot of schools — Baylor, TCU, Arkansas — said they wanted to watch the first three or four games because they're scared that he's only 16," Frazier said.
"SMU was one of the few that said 'we don't care, we know he's going to grow a lot more than what he is,'" he added.
Williams becomes the first Raiders' player since Jake Jackson in 1996 (Rice) to receive a scholarship offer from a Division I school. Jackson eventually signed with the Owls.
Williams is a 3-star recruit and his commitment is the ninth received by the Mustangs from next year's graduating class.
Commitments are non-binding and national signing day is Feb. 4, 2009.
Williams said that SMU being close to home was a big factor in his decision. Plus, he has several family members that live in the Dallas area.
"It feels good to stay close," he said. "I like the small-school atmosphere. The campus is more compact and not spread out all over the place."
Williams plays defensive end and tight end for the Raiders, who will return 17 seniors and 14 starters off last season's 6-4 team.
He had seven catches for 239 yards a year ago. Four of his grabs were for touchdowns. On defense, Williams accounted for 83 tackles and four sacks.
Along with football, Williams also plays basketball and baseball.
He was named to the 19-2A all-district first-team as both a tight end and defensive end this past season. He also earned a spot on the all-district basketball squad.
"His work-ethic is unmatchable," Frazier said. "His character and his work-ethic is where he stands out over everybody else."