Peach Bowl Preview: Pittsburgh Vs. Michigan State
Four-star Justin Williams committed and plans to sign with Tennessee on Wednesday as the Vols beat out Auburn in a long battle for the Peach State running back.
Williams originally committed to West Virginia in July but started having second thoughts after Tennessee and Auburn offered this fall.
The 6-foot, 200-pound back took three unofficial visits to Auburn this fall before taking an official visit the week of the SEC Championship. The Vols didn’t get Williams on campus as much as Auburn, but the Dallas, Georgia native still frequently found himself in Knoxville.
Williams took unofficial visits back-to-back weeks in November for the Georgia and South Alabama games before officially visiting last weekend. Getting Williams on campus the last weekend before the early signing period allowed Vols’ running back coach Jerry Mack and head coach Josh Heupel to put their best foot forward and seal the commitment.
Williams ranks as the nation’s 22nd best player and 17th best running back according to the On3 consensus rankings, and is a near consensus four-star, ranking as a blue-chip on all major recruiting sites besides 247sports.
The talented running back is a high school track star and now ranks as the fourth highest rated Tennessee commit according to the On3 consensus rankings.
Adding the East Paulding High School standout is just the latest success Heupel and his staff have had in the state of Georgia. The Vols have five commits from the Peach State according four of its five highest rated commits.
Tennessee returns solid running back depth including Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright. However, there is an opportunity for Williams to work himself into the running back rotation as a freshman.
Williams will enroll at Tennessee shortly and plans to go through bowl practices with the team, according to Volquest.com’s Brent Hubbs.
