A decision from highly coveted Houston graduate transfer offensive tackle Jarrid Williams could be coming for the Miami football program early this week according to Andrew Ivins of Inside the U.
The
program could hear early this week from Houston graduate transfer offensive tackle
about a decision where he will suit up next in college
according to Andrew Ivins of Inside the U
. The Hurricanes are thought to be vying with arch-rival Florida State for Williams.
reported earlier this month that Williams was considering Baylor, Ole Miss and USC in addition to the Miami football program and FSU. Williams played for Baylor associate head coach Joey McGuire at Cedar Hill High School outside of Dallas. Williams’ offensive line coach at Houston in 2018, Randy Clements is now at Mississippi under first-year Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin. Miami needs to add experience to their offensive line and Williams has played in the spread offense with the Cougars. The Hurricanes have a connection for Williams in former Houston quarterback
who Miami added as a graduate transfer in January. Baylor has a connection with McGuire and Mississippi has Clements. It is not known if FSU has a connection to Williams.
At 6’7 305, Williams is a presence on the offensive line. Only a two-star signee with Houston coming out of high school,
worked his way up the depth chart with the Cougars starting 19 out of the 28 games he played in four years. Williams started the first four games of last season, like King, before a season-ending ankle injury. The injury was the same one that ended former Alabama and current Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagaovailoa’s last college season. Williams spoke to Navarro.
"“I’m taking virtual visits and stuff like that, and I’m trying to talk to coaches more and get insight on stuff. That’s really all I can do. A few have had a director(s) of recruiting show me the campus(es) and different stuff like that. I’ve talked to a few strength and conditioning coaches. I’ve talked to every head coach at every place. I’ve talked to a lot of people.”"
Transfering to any of the schools interested in Williams would theoretically provide him with a chance to compete against tougher competition at a Power Five school. Williams elaborated with Navarro about what will go into his decision, how often he speaks to King and his relationship with new Miami OL coach Garin Justice.
"“I made a pie chart (Friday [May 16] ) to break things down. I never thought I’d do that. I was there for a good minute. When I got stumped, I just stopped. I’m gonna get back to it and then figure everything out I made a pie chart (Friday) to break things down. I’m taking virtual visits and stuff like that, and I’m trying to talk to coaches more and get insight on stuff. That’s really all I can do. A few have had a director of recruiting show me the campus and different stuff like that. I’ve talked to a few strength and conditioning coaches. I’ve talked to every head coach at every place. I’ve talked to a lot of people. Coach Justice seemed real. He was real honest with me when we first talked about the whole situation. A lot of people could just sell you a lot of what you want to hear. That wasn’t the case at all with Miami. So I definitely respect him for that. We just talked about football and where I could possibly end up as far as like playing, coming in and earning my spot. He just said I can come in, have a little bit more experience since I’d be an older guy. I could help out the team. I’ve seen what (new Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee at) SMU could do in one year with that system…It completely changed their program. (What Williams believes he needs to work on) My punch isn’t bad, but my feet need to get better for sure. My kicks — it’s basically me getting my outside knee square. “We (Williams and King) talk time to time….We talked a little bit about (me going to Miami with him). It doesn’t bother me because we’re cool. I think he wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t do it.”"
Williams has a few decisions to make about which school will be the best fit for him. Which coaching staff does he have the best relationship with? Which staff and situation will provide him the best opportunity for him to get drafted into the NFL after one season and which system will he fit into best. Williams has already proven he fits well into the spread offense that Lashlee will run. It differs a bit from the spread run with Houston, but both utilize the same principals. Williams has been meticulous gathering information and putting together a plan about which school he will decide to go to.
If Miami is the destination although Navarro mentioned the Miami football staff have told him he will have to compete for a job, it’s tough to imagine that Williams would not beat out the primarily inexperienced offensive linemen that Miami has. Only
and
have more than Williams’ 19 starts.