Running back Dexter Williams (5-11, 195, Orlando, FL Orange High School) shocked most people in the recruiting world when he committed to Miami in April.
Despite being committed to Miami, Williams continues speaking with Florida regularly and made the trip up from Orlando to Gainesville to attend Friday Night Lights with his teammate — and Gator commit — Jalen Julius. Williams didn’t participate in on-field drills and didn’t really treat the trip like a true recruiting trip but he enjoyed his time in Gainesville.
“Right now, just come up here and have a good time,” he said of his focus for the visit. “Just get a good feel of things because there’s not really much they can show me because I’ve been up here so much. I’m coming up here to be with my brother Jalen and just to have a good time.”
Will Muschamp and the Florida coaching staff hasn’t turned down the heat on Williams since his commitment to Miami, if anything; they’ve even been in contact with him more.
“I talk to [Brian White] and Coach Muschamp the most,” Williams said. “They’re basically saying, ‘keep your eyes on Florida, last year was a fluke. Don’t worry about what happened last year, it’s about this year and what the class of 2015 can do in the following years.’”
Williams does plan to keep his eyes on Florida. After a difficult season in 2013, Williams wans to see what the new offense will look like with Kurt Roper and he says that what Florida shows him on the field will be an important factor for him moving forward. “It’s something after the season because I want to get a chance to watch their season go and just to see how things go for them,” he said.
Williams recruitment is still open, according to him, and he plans on getting back up to Gainesville for a game this season as well as making his way to Southern California, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Louisville.
The Gators coaching staff has some help recruiting this talented Orlando running back. His father and brother are both huge Gator fans and it’s something he hears about every day.
“Yeah, I’m listening to him because he’s not just the only one; it’s my dad also,” he said. “My dad, he’s just a big Gator fan, every day I hear about the Gators. It’s just something that runs in our blood.”
The coaching staff hopes that orange and blue running in the Williams family’s blood eventually lands them a flip and a running back commit with it.