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Tracking the College Gridiron Stars of the Future

Football Recruiting Report Sunday, August 17, 2003 By Sammy Batten Staff Writer for The Fayetteville Observer

Florida lineman swayed by trusted Pirate friend

©2003 Bonesville.net

Mike Williams has never set foot on the East Carolina University campus. But that didn't stop the Orlando, Fla., offensive lineman from making ECU his college of choice over a host of other suitors.

Williams, a 6-foot-3, 285-pounder, made the decision on June 30 after listening all summer to former Boone High School teammate Ryan Dougherty rave about attending school in Greenville and playing for the Pirates. Dougherty is making a strong challenge to become the starting punter as an ECU redshirt freshman.

Central Florida had also offered Williams a scholarship and national powers such as Auburn, Florida and Miami were expressing serious interest. But Dougherty's comments were too passionate to ignore.

"We have always been good friends and Ryan just loves it up there,'' Williams said. "That's all he talked about this summer when he was home. He kept telling me how great it is up there, and how cool the coaches and players are. I pretty much didn't want to go to college in Florida, so this works out good for me. I trust Ryan's judgement.''

Williams, who was recruited by ECU defensive coordinator Jerry Odom, is the second high school senior to make a verbal commitment to the Pirates. He joins Charlotte quarterback Antonio Miller as the first two members of the recruiting Class of 2004.

Hard work is what earned Williams the scholarship offer from ECU, according to Boone High coach Phil Ziglar.

Williams never played football prior to his freshman year at Boone. "My parents wouldn't let me play,'' said Williams, who instead grew up participating in ice hockey. "I know, it's weird to be playing hockey in Florida,'' he added, "but it's pretty popular down here.''

Standing 6-1 and weighing 220 pounds at the time, Williams began his football career as a tight end and defensive tackle. The initial results weren't all that promising.

"Honestly, I was terrible,'' Williams said. "I didn't know the game of football yet. But I learned that first year I had to get stronger to be any good at football. I was determined to play varsity the next year. I even told my mom I didn't want to play on the JVs. So all I did was lift (weights) my whole freshman year.''

The hard work paid off as Williams earned the starting nod at left offensive tackle as a sophomore. He also displayed versatility by playing three games at offensive guard. Williams spent all last season playing guard and clearing holes for Boone running back Greg Fields, who will play at Princeton in 2003.

Ziglar plans to use Williams in a variety of ways this season.

"He'll be going both ways this year,'' Ziglar said. "In the spring, we started using him at defensive tackle and he adapted pretty well. In fact, they (East Carolina coaches) have told me they may take a look at him there. He'll also play center and guard (on offense).

"The biggest problem most people had with Mike was his height. Everyone these days wants their offensive linemen to be 6-5 or 6-6. Personally, I've always liked the stocky kids who can run and fly around the field. To me, that two inches between a 6-2 or 6-3 and 6-5 won't make that much of a difference.

"But Mike can do it all at 6-3,'' he said. "We used him at guard last season and basically flopped him over to whatever side of the formation we were going to run to. We let you know we're coming after you.''

Williams is open to playing any position at ECU.

"I love to play defense and I do pretty well at defensive tackle,'' Williams said. "But they'll probably want me to play center.''

Even though Williams realizes the ECU veterans will have an edge, he'll arrive in Greenville next fall focused on playing as a true freshman.

"I know the other guys will have more experience, but I don't know why I couldn't go there and play early,'' Williams said. "I'm definitely shooting for that. It wouldn't be a big deal to me if I red-shirted, but I'm not going up there to sit on the bench.''

Williams expects to make his first visit to Greenville sometime in September for a home football game. But he probably won't take his official visit to ECU until after the regular season, so he can spend more time with the coaching staff.

It's a trip Williams is anxious to make, especially after he was informed that some of the best barbeque around can be found in the Greenville area.

"I like it even more now,'' he said.

Williams is one of four Floridians who have acknowledged receiving scholarship offers from East Carolina so far. The others are quarterback Blake Field from Tallahassee, linebacker Lamar Myles of Eagle Lake and cornerback Dennis Kennedy from Fort Lauderdale.

Field, a 6-2, 185-pounder, has thrown for more than 3,300 yards in his prep career at North Florida Christian. The Pirates were the first school to offer, but he's also considering Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt.

The 6-0, 196-pound Myles produced 125 tackles and two sacks as a junior at Lake Region High School. Auburn, ECU, Louisville and South Florida have all offered scholarships.

Kennedy, a 5-11, 180-pounder from Stranahan High, is one of the most sought-after prospects in the region. Defending national champion Ohio State heads the list of offers Kennedy has received. The list also includes the Pirates, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.

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02/23/2007 02:35:46 PM