2024 DB Brayshon Williams Talks Florida Gators Offer, Future Visit Plans

It’s not often that you see a high school coach give a public endorsement of a coach at the next level by name, but Lake Gibson head coach Keith Barfield did exactly that shortly after Billy Napier was hired by the Florida Gators.

Lake Gibson High School has seen quite a bit of success in recent years sending multiple prospects to Division 1 schools, some that are even Power 5 programs. They don't appear to be slowing down, either.

The prospect that most people will know from the powerhouse Braves program is the number one corner in the country for the 2023 class, Cormani McClain, and rightly so.

However, there is another prospect that is garnering national interest as well, a 2024 prospect by the name of Brayshon Williams.

Williams joins McClain in the secondary for Lake Gibson and has really seen his recruitment explode over the last few months with offers from Georgia, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Texas A&m among others. The Gators entered the mix this week by extending an offer to Williams while he was on campus Thursday.

Williams was able to speak with a few coaches while being on campus leading up to the offer and with him being a defensive back, it only makes sense who delivered the news to the future Under Armour All-American.

But another familiar name was involved as well.

“Coach [Jamar] Chaney and [cornerback coach Corey] Raymond [offered me]. I don’t really know [exactly what position] to be honest with you but it’s either safety or corner,” told AllGators via a phone interview on Friday.

Williams was able to speak a little more in-depth with the Florida coaches, and specifically Raymond after receiving the offer to find out what exactly they like about his game and what ultimately led to the offer,

As a result, he was able to let us in on a little bit of what he thinks about the Florida CB coach, along with what the program likes about him overall.

“They like that I’m a dog, and [coach Raymond] likes that I’m physical and he said all he recruits [are] dogs,” Williams said. “Just how down to earth he is and how he’s like a father figure to people,” he said of Raymond.

With this being Williams’ first trip to Gainesville, he was able to see a lot of new things, meet with coaches and players for the first time and really take in what he described as a home-like environment.

“The energy that everybody gives off, the players being so friendly [treating me] like I’m one of the players. The coaches are really cool up there. Their vibe is amazing and it’s just like that home vibe like I have in Lakeland right now.”

The Lakeland area is no stranger to Gainesville, sending a number of players to the school in the past including five current Gators that are from the city itself. Williams was able to talk to several of those players as well as a newer player that he says is one of his favorite players.

“I got to speak with Kamari Wilson, which is one of my favorite players at Florida right now. I got to speak to [Fenley] Dook Graham and [Demarkcus] Bowman as well, people I’m familiar with.”

When asked if the Lakeland connection on Florida’s roster and familiarity with players from his area Williams said it definitely helps the Gators, “Yes sir, it makes a big impact.”

It is still very early in the recruiting process for Williams who now holds 20 offers from schools across the country, but after making the trip to Gainesville he said he has the Gators near the top of his recruitment and plans to get back up to Florida soon, along with a few other visits.

“I’ve only been to three schools as of right now, but Florida is really towards the top because of the vibe and the home feeling I got. I didn’t get that at the other schools. They really gave me a good vibe and I’m really feeling it,” he said.

Williams was on his way to Alabama during the phone interview on Friday and will be back in Gainesville on March 18, while he plans to visit Oklahoma on March 26.

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