ASU’s coaching experience resonates with Four-star LB “Scooby” Williams
Coming into high school, Jeremiah Williams didn’t quite grasp the whole concept of recruiting. Not because of its intricacies or timetables or rules, but, rather, because he just thought kids just went and played football wherever they pleased.
After his freshman season at Ramsey High in Birmingham, Ala., his hometown school, UAB, tendered him his first offer.
“I was like, ‘What is this,’” Williams says now with a laugh. “They had to tell me. And I hadn’t even posted it on Twitter and then one of the upper-classmen, a senior who committed to UAB, he told me I was supposed to post it.”
Quickly, Williams was forced to become inundated with the college football recruiting world. Since that UAB offer more than two years ago, the four-star outside linebacker and top-200 2021 prospect has racked up another 30 offers.
His latest came from Arizona State last Friday. He made contact with ASU co-defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce over Twitter, who then soon brought head coach Herm Edwards in for an NFL tag-teamed call that culminated with an offer by the Sun Devils.
“They know what it takes to get to the next level, so they can develop me faster,” Williams said of the ASU coaches.
Williams’ announcement of an ASU offer was met tweets from various ASU coaches of the cartoon character, Scooby-Doo, a popular tactic coaches around the country -- including former ASU and current Oklahoma assistant coach Jamar Cain used to catch Williams’ eye. The four-star linebacker said he got the nickname, “Scooby” after he dominated a senior during a one-on-one drill. His teammates hyped him up, calling him a “dawg.” Eventually, that evolved to “Scooby,” and it’s stuck since.
On the field, “Scooby” imitates his namesake in at least one way. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder is everywhere. He loves watching pass-rushers Jadeveon Clowney and T.J. Watt, but his best comp may be Arizona Cardinals’ linebacker Isaiah Simmons, a versatile athlete who can excel on all three levels of the defense.
“The more positions you play, the more value you bring to a team,” Williams said. “I pick up on things real fast … I know my limits, and this (Playing D-Line, linebacker, and safety) is not all I can do.”
Arizona State would love for Williams to bring that to Tempe. Currently, though, that may be an uphill battle.
Before the Sun Devils’ offer, Williams posted his Top-4 and included Auburn, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Florida. That, of course, can change, and Williams admitted he’s still exploring all of all his options. He also had an optimistic perspective on the Pac-12 and Big 10 postponing their seasons, saying he wasn’t looking into that. Furthermore, when it came to ASU’s proximity to home, he said he wasn’t apprehensive of leaving the state.
Thing is, Williams doesn’t live alone.
“My mom is terrified for me to leave Birmingham,” he joked. “She wants me to go to Auburn. She grew up an Auburn fan.”
Williams laughs because throughout the process, while he’s sorting out the pros and cons of each program and doing his sue diligence research-wise, his mom has been blunt on her wishes.
Regardless, even without having the ability to take an official visit, Williams is trying to find the school that best fits him, the one he’d go to even if he didn’t play football.”
“The first thing is always going to be academics. If I’m not playing football, that degree is going to take me further than playing football,” Williams said. “Then a good relationship with the coach. If I was not playing football today, would my coaches still have my back? And if I was not playing football, would I still want to go to that college? That’s it.”
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