Cal Football: Damonic Williams Changes His Mind Again - Will Sign with Bears
The final countdown to signing day has been a wild one for Cal football.
Who knows what might happen next.
But on Tuesday evening, perhaps 12 hours after three-star defensive lineman prospect Damonic Williams de-committed from Cal, he apparently changed his mind. Again.
So it appears the 6-foot-1, 314-pounder from Bishop Alemany High in Mission Hills, California, once more intends to sign with the Bears on Wednesday.
Below is 247Sports' recruiting expert Greg Biggins' tweet announcing the flip:
Biggins spoke with Williams, who said he held a meeting with his family on Tuesday night.
"We had a good family meeting and I decided to go with my gut and stick with Cal," Williams said. "I'm going to sign with Cal tomorrow, Cal is home for me and where I feel I belong.
"You can't beat that degree from Cal and I love the coaching staff. I like the defense, they play multiple fronts, 3-4 and 4-3 depending on who they're playing. It has been a crazy 48 hours for me, I'm pretty exhausted right now but I'm excited and going to go out and celebrate with my family now."
Here's Biggins' evaluation of Williams' potential:
"He then went out and had a dominant senior year with the pads on and was named his League's Lineman of the Year earlier this week. He's a powerful kid and his initial punch is as good as you'll see.
"He looked much quicker from a year, more athletic and able to play with a more consistent motor. He has a prototype frame to play just about anywhere in the interior defensive line in college and we could see him line up as a traditional nose guard or three-tech."
Williams' back-and-forth maneuver boosts the Cal class back to 12 recruits.
He is important because the Bears are trying to build depth on the interior of their defensive line, a position that has featured a lot of uncertainty in recent seasons.
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Here is our story from earlier today when it appeared Williams was headed to TCU to play for former Cal coach Sonny Dykes:
In the very fluid college football recruiting universe, Cal has suffered a fifth de-commitment from its 2022 class, which be formalized on Wednesday when prospects are free to sign letters of intent.
Damonic Williams, a 6-foot-1, 314-pound, three-star interior defensive lineman, changed his plans on the eve of signing day, dropping the Bears’ current class size to 11 prospects.
To be sure, that won’t be the final number on Wednesday. Cal added two players — a wide receiver and a running back — in recent days, and more additions are sure to come.
In his announcement on social media, Williams wrote:
“First I would like to say thank you to my mom for being supportive through this whole process. After much prayer and communication with my family and mentors it has been decided that I do what’s in my best interest and decommit from Cal. I would like to thank the amazing Cal fan base, the coaching staff, coach Wilcox, coach Browning, Coach Benji and Coach Schrider. I wish the Cal staff the best.”
The first player to commit in this class, Williams now is expected to sign with TCU, led by former Cal coach Sonny Dykes. He is a three-star prospect from Bishop Alemany High in Mission Hills, California.
Here’s our story from back in January when Williams opted for the Bears.
Cal still has three defensive linemen/outside linebackers in its class, but none have the girth to play in the middle, where the Bears have been eager to growth their depth.
Cover photo of former Cal defensive line recruiting commit Damonic Williams
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
