Tag: Donte Williams

Coveted in-state 4-star Oklahoma target announces commitment date

Gentry Williams, long time Sooners recruit announces date for commitment.

Highly rated four-star cornerback Gentry Williams is ready to wrap it up. The in-state star took to Twitter to announce he’ll be committing at Booker T. Washington High School on October 18th. In a post that included a graphic, four teams are in the last race for Williams’ commitment: Oklahoma, USC, Missouri, and Florida.

The Sooners have recruited this young man since he was a freshman in high school. It’s been a long journey for them but they can confidently say they put in the work to be in a position to keep the talented in-state star home.

Williams was recruited as an athlete by colleges for his first couple of years in high school. After time passed and it became increasingly clear he was zeroing in on playing defense in college, he began to be listed as a cornerback and recruited by schools to play as a cornerback. Williams has great size, athleticism, and speed to play corner. He’s far from raw but he’s still in theory a developmental cornerback. However, due to his athleticism and size that you can’t teach, he’s a must-have for this Sooners defense.

Oklahoma cornerbacks coach Roy Manning has been at the front of the recruitment for Williams with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch following right behind. The duo looks to land the highest-rated cornerback commit of their time in Norman. It’s also important to note that Williams has a strong relationship with current Sooners starting safety and captain, Pat Fields. Both have grown up in Tulsa and know each other very well.

According to the crystal ball predictions on 247 sports, the predictions lean 80 percent in favor of Oklahoma and 20 percent in favor of USC. The contrast wasn’t always like this as USC was thought of as the biggest threat to lure him away from home due to his close bond with USC cornerback and interim head in Donte Williams. Upheaval within the program following the midseason firing of Clay Helton and uncertainty of where Williams may be next year has likely opened a rift in the closeness between the two allowing Oklahoma to feel a bit more confident in their chances.

The Sooners had the last visit as Williams had his official visit for the Nebraska game. The initial returns from the visit were good as Rivals forecasts and crystal ball predictions started trending in Oklahoma’s favor days after. Steve Wiltfong, 247’s superstar football recruiting lead has a pick for Oklahoma with a confidence level of 8/10.

Gentry Williams’ Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 37 1 3
Rivals 4 67 1 8
ESPN 4 63 2 3
247 Composite 4 21 1 8

Vitals

Hometown Tulsa, Oklahoma
Projected Position CB
Height 6’0
Weight 175

Recruitment

  • Offered on April 29th, 2019
  • The official visit took place September 17th, 2021

Offers

  • Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma State
  • Florida
  • USC
  • LSU
  • Missouri
  • Arkansas
  • Nebraska
  • Baylor
  • Michigan
  • Georgia

Crystal Ball

Film

Check out Gentry Williams work over at HUDL.

Twitter

 

USC has recent history of interim coaches at Notre Dame Stadium

What do you make of this trend?

Clay Helton’s time as USC coach officially is a thing of the past as he was fired Monday. Donte Williams will serve as interim coach until a proper replacement is named. USC athletic director Mike Bohn indicated in his released statement that the process will take a few months. That means when the Trojans travel to play at Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 16, a recent program trend will be revived as pointed out by Twitter user #BuckMetrics:

It’s true. Helton’s first road game against Notre Dame came in 2015 when he still had the interim tag. In fact, it was his first game in the role with the Trojans having just dismissed Steve Sarkisian. In 2013, Ed Orgeron was in his second game as interim coach after the firing of Lane Kiffin.

The common denominator with these games is the Irish won both of them, so it will be up to Williams to buck this trend of interim coaches losing at Notre Dame Stadium. Not even coaches without the interim tag have had much success in South Bend. The Trojans haven’t won there since 2011. Ending that skid might be the defining moment of the season the way things are going in Los Angeles.