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2020 DeLand (FL) ATH Avantae Williams decommitted from Miami on Tuesday night.
The 6-0, 170-pounder is a 4-star ranked #80 overall nationally, the #5 ATH, and #13 in the Sunshine State on 247Sports. Williams is a 4-star with no overall ranking on Rivals. His decommitment does not change Miami’s #1 ranked 2020 class on 247Sports. Rivals has not yet ranked the team classes for 2020.
The Background
A top 100 talent such as Williams parting ways with Miami is never good and there’s really no way to sugarcoat that. However, this is just another in a long line of way too early commitments ending with way too early decommitments. You can’t have coaches stop recruiting freshman and sophomores in high school because it’s just so necessary these days to build those relationships as early as possible, but you can’t help but wonder if the game wouldn’t be better served limiting the timeline on commitments until at least a prospect’s junior season.
Williams’ decision was made all the more confusing in that, unlike other recent decommit Leonard Manuel, Williams hasn’t been making visits to other schools. In fact, he’s only been to Miami this spring, for the Canes’ spring game last month. Williams had been committed to UM since February 2017, 3 years before his Signing Day. He pulled the trigger for the Canes just one hour after his cousin, Lorenzo Lingard, made his pledge to Miami and the two planned to play together in college. With Lingard now on campus in Coral Gables, it’s just another reason this decision is a head-scratcher.
Williams had a rough season on the field for his sophomore season, getting little playing time after transferring to a loaded IMG Academy roster. While taking a backseat at IMG as an underclassman is nothing to be ashamed of, it was certainly counter-productive to Williams’ development and he is now back at DeLand for his junior year. His recruiting ranking stock also suffered a bit, as Williams went from a near 5-star player to the back-end of the top 100 in 2020.
As of now, we expect the Canes to continue recruiting Williams to Miami, but recommits are rare in recruiting.
Future of the Class
Williams’ decommitment brings the total class numbers down to 7. While Williams could end up at many positions at the next level, most had him ticketed to play safety in college. His departure leaves Miami empty-handed on the last line of defense in Category20.
It’s possible the Canes may have seen this coming, as they just sent out 2 offers to safeties just last week; that’d be to teammates Jaiden Francois and Keshawn Washington of South Dade (FL). While Washington could eventually grow into a linebacker, the Canes are in a very good spot with Francois for the time being.
A lot depends on how many safeties the Canes end up taking in 2019, but you can also expect traction to pick up with other 2020 offerees IMG Academy (FL) 4-star Lejond Cavazos and Marietta (GA) 3-star Rashad Torrence. Cavazos already has offers from top teams all around the nation and is a longshot at this point, but Torrence is worth keeping an eye on; he’s teammates at Marietta with current Category20 member 4-star WR Jermaine Burton.
As for a wildcard at the position, look no further than Xavier Restrepo from St. Thomas Aquinas (FL). The two-way athlete has lit up the camp scene this spring mainly at WR, but his tape screams impact safety in college. Restrepo is keeping things open for now, but the Canes were his childhood favorite and will be tough to beat here.
The 6-0, 170-pounder is a 4-star ranked #80 overall nationally, the #5 ATH, and #13 in the Sunshine State on 247Sports. Williams is a 4-star with no overall ranking on Rivals. His decommitment does not change Miami’s #1 ranked 2020 class on 247Sports. Rivals has not yet ranked the team classes for 2020.
The Background
A top 100 talent such as Williams parting ways with Miami is never good and there’s really no way to sugarcoat that. However, this is just another in a long line of way too early commitments ending with way too early decommitments. You can’t have coaches stop recruiting freshman and sophomores in high school because it’s just so necessary these days to build those relationships as early as possible, but you can’t help but wonder if the game wouldn’t be better served limiting the timeline on commitments until at least a prospect’s junior season.
Williams’ decision was made all the more confusing in that, unlike other recent decommit Leonard Manuel, Williams hasn’t been making visits to other schools. In fact, he’s only been to Miami this spring, for the Canes’ spring game last month. Williams had been committed to UM since February 2017, 3 years before his Signing Day. He pulled the trigger for the Canes just one hour after his cousin, Lorenzo Lingard, made his pledge to Miami and the two planned to play together in college. With Lingard now on campus in Coral Gables, it’s just another reason this decision is a head-scratcher.
Williams had a rough season on the field for his sophomore season, getting little playing time after transferring to a loaded IMG Academy roster. While taking a backseat at IMG as an underclassman is nothing to be ashamed of, it was certainly counter-productive to Williams’ development and he is now back at DeLand for his junior year. His recruiting ranking stock also suffered a bit, as Williams went from a near 5-star player to the back-end of the top 100 in 2020.
As of now, we expect the Canes to continue recruiting Williams to Miami, but recommits are rare in recruiting.
Future of the Class
Williams’ decommitment brings the total class numbers down to 7. While Williams could end up at many positions at the next level, most had him ticketed to play safety in college. His departure leaves Miami empty-handed on the last line of defense in Category20.
It’s possible the Canes may have seen this coming, as they just sent out 2 offers to safeties just last week; that’d be to teammates Jaiden Francois and Keshawn Washington of South Dade (FL). While Washington could eventually grow into a linebacker, the Canes are in a very good spot with Francois for the time being.
A lot depends on how many safeties the Canes end up taking in 2019, but you can also expect traction to pick up with other 2020 offerees IMG Academy (FL) 4-star Lejond Cavazos and Marietta (GA) 3-star Rashad Torrence. Cavazos already has offers from top teams all around the nation and is a longshot at this point, but Torrence is worth keeping an eye on; he’s teammates at Marietta with current Category20 member 4-star WR Jermaine Burton.
As for a wildcard at the position, look no further than Xavier Restrepo from St. Thomas Aquinas (FL). The two-way athlete has lit up the camp scene this spring mainly at WR, but his tape screams impact safety in college. Restrepo is keeping things open for now, but the Canes were his childhood favorite and will be tough to beat here.
