Tag: Taz Williams

While he hasn’t been to campus yet for his official visit, things have been trending well for Michigan football with one of its top targets.

2025 Red Oak (Tx.) four-star wide receiver Taz Williams Jr. fits the mold of what the Wolverines are looking for at the position and is set to visit Ann Arbor in just a few short weeks, on June 21. Also planning to visit Penn State and Texas A&M before that, it appears that he’ll have his decision made as to where he’ll commit in short order.

Williams is set to announce his school of choice just a few weeks after his slate of visits concludes with July 13 being the date he’ll make his commitment.

BREAKING: CO/25 4 ⭐️ WR Taz Williams Jr ( @Taz_1x ) will announced his commitment to one of these 4️⃣ schools July 13th!
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Taz is a 6’0 ( 180 LBS ) WR out of Red Oak, TX. He ranks 135 NATL. and is a top 25 WR in the class of 2025
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Lets him know where’s home?! 🤔⬇️ pic.twitter.com/lzNyR8UdAZ

— Steezo (@SteezoDsgn) June 4, 2024

According to his graphic, Williams is also considering SMU among his final contenders.

As for what he likes about Michigan football, Williams told WolverinesWire last week that the maize and blue see him as a redux of Roman Wilson.

“They see me as an outside-inside guy that can do it all,” Williams said. “It’s basically how they used Roman. That’s how I’d describe it, how they used Roman.  They used him outside-inside, they get him the ball, they try to get playmakers the ball. So they told me they’d get me the ball in different ways so I won’t get schemed by the defense – it will be easier. To get to the next level in the league, it makes you more marketable being able to play multiple positions – to play inside-outside, outside-in.”

As of current, there are no 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions indicating where he’ll end up but we did put him in our best-guess list of the 2025 class for Michigan football.

The Michigan football offense may be run-heavy, but it certainly still needs pass catchers to make the thing go. And the Wolverines have their eye on one player who fits the mold of receivers they’ve had over the past few years.

The pitch to 2025 Red Oak (Tx.) four-star wideout Taz Williams Jr. is that he would look a lot like Roman Wilson if he were to don the winged helmet. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound receiver is interested in finding out more about what the new-look maize and blue offense will be like when he comes to Ann Arbor for his June 21 official visit.

But he’s already got a strong interest in Michigan and he’s looking to build upon his pre-existing relationships there.

“It’s a lot of things. The head coach – the head coaching change. The offensive coach becoming the head coach now,” Williams told WolverinesWire. “I have a great relationship with the coaches and the new O.C. It’s crazy because me and him are from Pittsburgh, PA, so I just thought that was cool and that’s a good connection right there already. It’s increased my relationship with them. To have someone with the same hometown as me, that’s real.

“And I like the offense, also. The offensive coach – Coach (Kirk Campbell).”

In terms of being like Roman Wilson, what does that look like? How has Michigan pitched him?

According to Williams, he’s intrigued, because he knows that if the pitch becomes reality, it will certainly propel him to the professional ranks once his college career is done.

“They see me as an outside-inside guy that can do it all,” Williams said. “It’s basically how they used Roman. That’s how I’d describe it, how they used Roman.  They used him outside-inside, they get him the ball, they try to get playmakers the ball. So they told me they’d get me the ball in different ways so I won’t get schemed by the defense – it will be easier. To get to the next level in the league, it makes you more marketable being able to play multiple positions – to play inside-outside, outside-in.”

Williams did have official visits set up to Ohio State on May 31 and Alabama on June 14, according to 247Sports, but he says those are off the books. He’s only going to visit Texas A&M on June 6 and Penn State on June 14.

Ideally, he’ll make a commitment to his school of choice in late summer. But what is his criteria for his next school?

Primarily, he is steadfast in his choice of major, but also wants to make sure he fits the scheme offensively as well as has a good campus life once he arrives.

“I want to major in business and real estate development – I want to make sure I’m in a great area with that. And great connections with the real estate people,” Williams said. “Real estate, that’s real big and that connection is right there. Obviously, like I said before, how I fit in the offense. I want to be used in a great way and I want to be used in different ways, also. Just how campus life is, to be honest. Campus life and how I’d actually be as an actual student on campus as a student-athlete.”

Williams is rated the highest by Rivals, which has him listed as the No. 127 player in the country, regardless of position. There, he’s also the No. 23 wide receiver and No. 21 player in the state of Texas.

Here is what he had to say about his impending visits to Texas A&M and Penn State.

Texas A&M

“Coach Wig and I have a great relationship already, since he was at Alabama. I really like the offense that Coach Klein and – he’s a great O.C. to be playing (for). Especially my position. Coach Elko, he has an open door policy, and I like that about the head coach. That’s something that’s on my list that I want from a head coach.”

Penn State

“Like I said about Michigan, I fit into the offense. They just got a new O.C., he was at Kansas. And he’s a great O.C., too. He be dialing it up, airing it out. So just seeing where I fit in his scheme, his offense.”

Michigan recruiting has been quiet of late, especially for a team that just won the national title game.

Of course, having to replace your head coach and half of the position coaches doesn’t help, but it has been about three months since the last commitment. In addition, Michigan lost its top-ranked commit in the days following the national title game.

However, the Wolverines seem to have gained some momentum on the trail in recent days with a pair of targets trending their way. First, On3’s director of recruiting Chad Simmons put in a prediction for Michigan to land four-star receiver Taz Williams Jr. on Monday morning. Then 247Sports national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu put in a 247Sports crystal ball in favor of the Wolverines for four-star cornerback Dawayne Galloway later that day. Whew.

This article will focus on Taz Williams Jr., but you can read more about Galloway here.

Williams plays at Red Oak High School in Red Oak, Texas, and is listed at 6 feet and 181 pounds on the On3 website. He holds an industry ranking grade of 89.92, which makes him the 283rd highest-rated player in the country and the 39th highest receiver. Williams is reporting offers from powerhouses Ohio State, Texas,  LSU, Alabama and Georgia.

Michigan already has a highly sought quarterback committed in the 2025 class: Carter Smith. However, the Wolverines need to surround him with weapons. Michigan’s only other offensive commit is Eli Owens, but he projects more as a blocking tight end or fullback. A commitment from Williams Jr. would be huge. Dipping into the state of Texas for a highly recruited pass catcher is no easy task, and it would mark the first big win of the cycle for Ron Bellamy.

Michigan is expected to take three or four receivers in the 2024 class given the depth chart and recent transfer of Karmello English.