Coveted Edge Rusher Solomon Williams Locks in Oregon Official Visit
Oregon's 2024 recruiting class is getting tight on space following the commitment of Brayden Platt earlier this week.
That said, one of the players that remains high on the recruiting big board for Dan Lanning and company is Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day EDGE Solomon Williams.
The four-star standout has more than 40 reported scholarship offers and will take an official visit to Oregon this fall, according to a reporter from John Garcia Jr. of Rivals.
Garcia reports that Williams will make a highly-anticipated return trip to Oregon for his official visit on September 23 when the Ducks are scheduled to play in their Pac-12 opener against Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes.
Williams is listed at 6'3", 250 pounds and is rated a four-star (0.9058) recruit by the 247Sports Composite. The same system ranks him the No. 294 player nationally, the No. 21 edge rusher and the No. 42 recruit in the talent-rich state of Florida.
READ MORE: 2024 Oregon target picks up new recruiting prediction
The standout trench talent is working from a top seven of Oregon, Alabama, UCF, Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State and Clemson and has yet to announce a decision date.
Oregon has one edge rusher commitment in the 2024 class in Yuma (Ariz.) Catholic product Jaxson Jones, who has been tearing up the competition in the Grand Canyon State to start off his senior season.
The Ducks missed out on numerous 2024 edge targets including Elijah Rushing (Arizona commit), Colin Simmons (Texas commit) and Jordan Ross (Tennessee commit) over the summer when they all announced commitments to other schools.
Torres' Take
This is a great development for Oregon on the recruiting trail. Like I mentioned, Oregon hasn't exactly knocked the ball out of the park recruiting edge rushers this cycle, and Williams is their top remaining target at the position.
Florida is never an easy state to recruit given the distance factor, but there's clearly strong mutual interest if he's going to be taking an official visit. Furthermore, you figure the Ducks have to think they have at least a decent chance at pulling this one off if they're going to use an official visit--of which they only have so many in a given cycle.
TORRES' TAKE: What's next for Oregon recruiting after landing 2024 LB Brayden Platt
Oregon has some juice on their side recruiting the Sunshine State of late, signing Lakeland (Fla.) offensive lineman Gernorris Wilson in the 2023 class and landing verbal commitments from five-star Tampa (Fla.) Bay Tech wide receiver Dallas Wilson and 2025 three-star Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie interior offensive lineman Chavez 'Sandman' Thompson in the 2025 class.
The Ducks may be considered a long-shot on the surface, but I expect Dan Lanning and company to really turn up the heat between now and this visit. We've seen how one visit can sway recruitments in the past, and Oregon is certainly hoping that will be the case with Williams.
If the defense can have a big day against Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, more specifically if Jordan Burch can be a big part of that, that could give Williams something to think about and make a cross-country commitment more realistic.