Trevor Williams, WR, Calvert Hall College (MD)
Yesterday, Adam introduced Da'Quan Davis to you guys, and to anyone who read that post, this one is going to sound eerily familiar. Don't worry, it's not deja vu, it's just another incoming freshman from potential Penn State pipeline Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, Maryland.
"It’s like we can’t get rid of each other," Davis said with a laugh. "We both got out of the West Virginia situation and it just so happened that Penn State was on both of us heavy. It was like fate."
Then again, the similarities between Williams and Davis don't end there. Like his past and future teammate, Williams was originally a West Virginia commitment before jumping ship and ending up in Bill O'Brien's first recruiting class. Also like Davis, Williams was an All-Metro player in his senior season--but on the opposite side of the ball. Davis was brought in to provide much needed depth in the secondary, while Williams joins a crowded group at the wide receiver position.
At least, that's the conventional wisdom. Though the 6'2, 190-pound Williams did play both ways in high school, starting at both wideout and free safety for Calvert Hall, it was at the former position where he truly stood out, catching 99 passes for 1,180 yards and 15 touchdowns for the 11-1 conference champions.
Despite racking up the numbers, Williams struggled to draw interest from more than the local schools. Until Penn State joined the fray late, West Virginia was the only BCS conference school to offer him a scholarship, and Toledo was the only other FBS-level school in the running--alongside 1-AA schools like Morgan State, Bryant, and VMI.
Williams was graded a 3-star recruit on all three recruiting services, though Scout saw his future at the safety position (although, oddly enough, his profile reads: "An excellent high school receiver with great jumping ability and good timing in attacking the football."). If he wants to see early playing time, that might just be where Williams ends up--especially since the staff is in such need of warm bodies at the position.
In the words of Lee Corso--not so fast my friend. It was an unwillingness to play defense at the next level that led to his decommitment from West Virginia--Williams wants to play wide receiver in college, and likely committed to Penn State on that condition.
"I thought I was going to West Virginia to play offense," Williams said, "and I think something had changed around and there was some talk about free safety. I didn’t trust the whole situation once some of the coaches left and then my receiver coach was switching to cornerback, so I reopened my recruitment."
But hey, Penn State has had plenty of success with less heralded receivers in the past, and O'Brien and crew must certainly think they have a diamond in the rough with Williams.
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