Illinois get 5Star QB Commit?

[DkeCat]

Trudging up an old thread because I found some results at a Nike Regional camp that I found VERY interesting, especially in light of my own comments above.

These are Williams' results from the Nike Canton Regional in May 2018. CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS (annoyingly, Nike now posts as embedded PDFs such that you cannot search for names; for reference, Williams' composite score was 98.10 and that's how it's sorted):

Height: 5-9.5
Weight: 170
40: 4.78
SS: 4.25
VJ: 30.6

That's... not good. Not good at all. While it could very well have just been a "bad 40" kind of day for him, there were plenty of other kids who ran in the 4.5-4.6 range. And, even if that's the case, he's even smaller than I thought. Kid could get crushed playing P5 QB, especially in Rod Smith's system that is very heavy on QB runs.

In fact, pretty much all of the high-profile Trinity Catholic kids have turned in pretty poor combine performances:

WR Marcus Washington (uncommitted offers from Ohio State, Florida State, Georgia, etc.)
CLICK HERE for Nashville event (84.15 for sorting purposes)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 193
40: 4.79
SS: 4.39
VJ: 30.6

WR Bryce Childress (committed to Illinois, offers from Kentucky, Louisville, and Nebraska, among others)
CLICK HERE for Nashville event (no full score, sorted alphabetically about halfway down)
Height: 5-7.5
Weight: 168
40: [None reported]
SS: 4.65
VJ: 26.9

LB Shammond Cooper (offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, etc.) was also at the Nashville event, but only did height/weight/vert for some reason. 6-2 195 31.4.

RB Alfonzo Andrews (offers from Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, etc.) did height/weight/vert at 5-8 181 22.6.

Starting to wonder if these kids look better on tape than they are because of playing poor competition, plus being overhyped by Patterson.

Very interesting find, though the film seems to show a quicker kid. Maybe just one of those guys that run faster than everyone else in pads.

FWIW - a pretty knowledgeable Illini fan (oxymoron I know) said that Williams is a very respected kid in the area, and they are willing to potentially waste a qb spot to get him committed ( that is indeed what it took) for the amount of news it generated around stl among the high schools (and the ensuing recruiting lift). Personally, my first reaction is that is bizarre, but I do also think Williams will be a good wr, numbers be damned. Just feel bad for the inevitable position change, hope they weren’t selling him on something else.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Very interesting find, though the film seems to show a quicker kid. Maybe just one of those guys that run faster than everyone else in pads.

FWIW - a pretty knowledgeable Illini fan (oxymoron I know) said that Williams is a very respected kid in the area, and they are willing to potentially waste a qb spot to get him committed ( that is indeed what it took) for the amount of news it generated around stl among the high schools (and the ensuing recruiting lift). Personally, my first reaction is that is bizarre, but I do also think Williams will be a good wr, numbers be damned. Just feel bad for the inevitable position change, hope they weren’t selling him on something else.

But he's 5-9.5, 170... that's a full inch and a half shorter and 40 pounds lighter than Dan Persa, who always looked on the small side himself. He might get legitimately broken if, for instance, he gets squared up by Paddy Fischer (6032 245), especially if his quickness is closer to his combine performance than his tape.

 

[DkeCat]

But he's 5-9.5, 170... that's a full inch and a half shorter and 40 pounds lighter than Dan Persa, who always looked on the small side himself. He might get legitimately broken if, for instance, he gets squared up by Paddy Fischer (6032 245), especially if his quickness is closer to his combine performance than his tape.

Dude - I can’t agree more. Think it also says something about how much Illinois cares about their players. Ghosts of beckman?

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Dude - I can’t agree more. Think it also says something about how much Illinois cares about their players. Ghosts of beckman?

The Fighting Lovie’s have had absolutely nothing at QB. Despite his size, he may get the job by default.

I would have liked to have landed this guy, but at slot WR not QB.