Tennessee’s new coaching staff puts a high value on finding players with versatility. Athletes like Alontae Taylor, Bryce Thompson, and Greg Emerson are highly regarded by Jeremy Pruitt and his Vol staff. And on Wednesday, Tennessee’s coaches sent out an offer to another such type of athlete in the 2019 class.
Cameron Williams is an athlete who plays on both sides of the ball for Bakersfield High School over in Bakersfield, California. And he picked up an offer from Tennessee this week.
Excited to say that I have received another offer from the University of Tennessee #GoVols pic.twitter.com/W2NMxVgC55
— C-Breezy? (@Camwilliam6) June 28, 2018
Williams is rated as a four-star and the No. 307 overall player and No. 27 athlete in the 2019 class according to 247Sports. The composite rankings have him as a high three-star and the No. 380 overall prospect in the 2019 cycle. He adds the offer from the Vols to offers he already held from USC, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, Oklahoma, and Florida among others.
The 6-foot, 200-pound athlete had committed to Oregon back in April of this year, but he recently decommitted from the Ducks earlier this month. Florida offered him just a couple days later, and he took an official visit to Washington last weekend.
Williams plays both offense and defense for Bakersfield, but he’s being recruited primarily as a defensive back by college coaches. He played quarterback on offense in certain packages, but he primarily played as a safety and cornerback on defense. And that’s where he’s being looked at by Tennessee’s coaches as well.
The versatile athlete has great anticipation, awareness, and speed. He’s good at reading quarterbacks and following passes in the defensive backfield, and he makes good breaks on passes. He’s also more than capable defending against the run. Williams is just as good defending against the pass as he is against the run, and that’s hard to find in high school defensive backs. He’s a well-rounded player who could play either corner or safety in college.
In 25 career games in high school, Williams has totaled 39 tackles, three tackles for loss, three interceptions, eight passes defended, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a fumble return for a touchdown according to MaxPreps. On offense, he’s completed 53.2 percent of his 173 career pass attempts for 2,175 yards, 20 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while adding 520 yards on the ground and three scores on 118 carries.
Pulling Williams away from the west coast won’t be easy. He was already committed to Oregon briefly, and USC has been a big player for his services already. But the Vols’ coaching staff will keep an eye on him and will likely try to get him to visit sometime so they can see him in person.
