The Background to Miami's Recruitment of Tyler Williams
The Miami Hurricanes 2023 recruiting class has two wide receiver commitments – Nathaniel “Ray Ray” Joseph and Robby Washington. Both are dynamic playmakers that can play in the slot and potentially be field-side receivers as well. What Miami does not possess is the big-bodied receiver that plays to the boundary.
There’s been an emphasis to recruit Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Stranahan wide receiver Hykeem Williams. He is far from a slam dunk to end up at Miami, however, and could actually be considered a Texas A&M lean depending on the recruiting chatter one believes.
There is another big receiver that Miami could eventually sign with Jurrion Dickey from East Palo Alto (Calif.) Menlo-Atherton. He's been a target of not only the Miami staff, but UM quarterback commitment and close friend Jaden Rashada as well. He's currently committed to Oregon so it's up in the air as to what will happen with him.
So, where can the Hurricanes turn to in an effort to complement Joseph and Washington?
Tyler Williams is a long and lean receiver with the speed to get deep.
That answer is on campus this weekend for the Hurricanes. At 6-foot-4 and roughly 200 pounds, Tyler Williams provides top of the board athleticism and natural hand-eye coordination to be a dominant receiver.
Playing for Lakeland (Fla.) High School, where he scored 11 touchdowns in 2021, Williams is also a part of one of the Sunshine State’s best prep programs. The Dreadnaughts are a perennial power with several college players coming out of there in recent seasons, and 2022 will be no exception. Even with that talent, Williams is a stalwart among a roster full of college football prospects.
That’s why his offer list is tremendous. Miami, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Texas A&M, Alabama, South Carolina, Notre Dame, and Baylor show a national appeal for the former quarterback turned wide receiver.
Yes, Williams was once behind center. That was the case throughout the 2021 fall camp, in fact. Once Williams did not win the quarterback job for Lakeland, he was given a shot to play wide receiver.
Just like that, the quarterback turned receiver, and also a hooper that averaged 27 points per game last season, was a big-time football recruit. He went one to score double digits in touchdowns despite not going through a full offseason of learning the position. That’s when those offers began to funnel into the Lakeland star’s Twitter inbox.
Sometimes Williams has been so overwhelmed with messages that he just goes through and answers each one on a certain day of the week. With that in mind, Miami was one of Williams’ original favorites, but something changed until recently.
Miami wide receiver coach Bryan McClendon returned to his alma mater, Georgia, to coach the same position with the Bulldogs. He had built a relationship with Williams. Once he left, Miami’s position with Williams fell off.
That’s recently changed as offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, among other members of the staff, has fought to get the Hurricanes back into the race to sign the talented Lakeland receiver.
Williams canceled his official visit with Ole Miss and he just took an unofficial visit to Miami for the Bethune-Cookman game. He’s been communicating with the Miami staff on a regular basis and could take an official visit to Miami later this fall.
He would help complete a wide receiver class and provide that big-play receiver at the boundary position. Miami would do quite well to land the Lakeland standout.
He's slated to announce his decision on Sep. 27, but with his visit to watch the Hurricanes and the possibility of him taking an official at some point, Miami is definitely in the race regardless of when Williams declares his college choice.
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