Top100 TE Riley Williams makes his decision - harchi90

Top100 TE Riley Williams makes his decision

late last month, Riley Williams announced he was going to play his senior season at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.

On Friday, Williams announced that he would also play his college football in the Sunshine State.

Moments ago, the No. 4 tight end in the country announced his commitment to Miami.

The Oregon native’s choice to commit to the Hurricanes was largely based on relationships.

Playing his first three years at Portland (Ore.) Central Catholic, he was the top recruit in the state of Oregon and one of his earliest offers came from Mario Cristobal.

At that time, Cristobal was the head coach at Oregon and Williams’ older brother walked on and played for Cristobal.

When Cristobal left for his alma mater in December, he never stopped recruiting Williams.

And that paid off on Friday.

“One of the biggest reasons I picked Miami was because of the relationships I built and already had with the coaching staff and the way they made me feel like I was a part of the family,” said Williams.

He took official visits to Alabama and Ohio State, his other two finalists, but it was the final visit he took, to Miami, that sealed the deal.

“After my official visit, it just made me feel at home,” said Williams.

So Williams let Cristobal and tight ends coach Stephen Field know he was in.

“I told coach Cristobal and coach Field and they were both super hyped,” said Williams. “Coach Cristobal was jumping up and down.”

And those two coaches were key in his decision.

“The coaches played a huge role,” said Williams. “I was just so familiar with coach Cristobal and a few other coaches from them being a part of the Oregon staff previous to Miami.”

Williams said his family was thrilled with his choice.

“My family was proud of me and they knew it was a great decision,” said Williams.

Williams said he’s not worried at all about the distance and looks forward to the move.

“The distance from home was never a problem in my decision,” said Williams. “I see it as a chance to grow and mature on my own far from home.”

Now he’s trying to recruit another Northwest prospect who also made the move to IMG.

“I’m definitely going to try to recruit Jayden Wayne” said Williams. “He’s transferring to IMG with me so I’m going to be in his ear about Miami as much as possible.”

And with his decision made, Williams is relieved to be done with the process.

“It’s a huge relief,” said Williams. “I’m ultimately just blessed to be in this position. It feels great.”

Williams is a four-star in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings, checking in as the No. 4 tight end nationally in both the composite and by 247Sports.

He has been selected to play in the 2023 Under Armor All-America Game in Orlando and the 2023 Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu.

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