Scouting Report: K.J. Williams
This week's scouting report is on Bethlehem (PA) Liberty wide receiver K.J. Williams, who has a Michigan offer and almost committed on his visit to Ann Arbor a couple weeks ago. With the recent commitment of Drake Harris, I would assume that Michigan will try to take two more receivers. Some possibilities include Williams, Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas's Corey Holmes, Scottsdale (AZ) Desert Mountain's Mark Andrews, and Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake's Artavis Scott.
http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2013/04/scouting-report-kj-williams…
1. Artavis Scott
2. Corey Holmes
3. Mark Andrews
4. K.J. Williams
Yes. He's the best of that group, in my opinion.
Any insight into why you have ranked them in that way? I'm assuming a combination of best overall players, but did the fact Drake is 6'4" ish and a deep threat lead to Artavis (6'0", more of a slot/short game players) being number 1?
I think my list (if we were to get the top two guys, Scott and Holmes) would give us a wide array of talents. Harris could be the tall, leaping deep threat; Scott could be the catch-and-run guy and occasionally get a shot deep; and Holmes could be the possession guy with a little bit of deep speed like Roundtree. Andrews is a little bit like Funchess except he wants to play WR, not TE; and Johnson is going to be a possession guy, in my opinion.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:03 AM ^
How about ordering in likelihood of committing, including Ways? Ways, Williams, Scott, Holmes, Andrews?
April 17th, 2013 at 11:11 AM ^
Well, Ways doesn't have an offer, so he'd be at the bottom of the list.
Let's suppose he does have an offer, though:
1. Ways
2. Williams
3. Scott
4. Holmes
5. Andrews
April 17th, 2013 at 11:33 AM ^
If Corey Holmes commits, instead of "Hello: Corey Holmes" can the post just say "Sup, Holmes"?
Thanks Magnus. Where would Mo Ways fall on that list? Seems like the coaches will offer him at some point.
I would probably put Ways above K.J. Johnson on that list.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:02 AM ^
Who is this Johnson kid you keep mentioning? :-)
April 17th, 2013 at 11:11 AM ^
I believe he is referring to Kevin Johnson, previously of the Phoenix Suns. I used to have his basketball cards. I think he's looking to play WR at Michigan. Seems unlikely, but I can't think of another explanation.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:22 AM ^
Ugh. I really am thinking of Kevin Johnson. That's what I think of when I say "KJ" and I've done it a few times now.
April 17th, 2013 at 10:58 AM ^
I'd love to see him in this class. He's a great complement to Harris IMO. We seem to have plenty of big receivers in the fold now, and Scott would give us another dimension talent-wise. I just hope we can pull him out of Florida along with his teammate.
Is it possible that he gets moved to defense (provided he commits)? What you are describing sounds almost like a free safety or even a guy who could grow into an outside linebacker.
I do think that's possible. I'm not convinced that he fits best on offense, although that seems to be what he wants to play.
April 17th, 2013 at 10:02 AM ^
Now this doesn't include his recent 7on7's correct? I've heard he's been tearing those up and has made quite an improvement from his season.
April 17th, 2013 at 10:05 AM ^
7-on-7s aren't real football, and I don't put a lot of stock in them. So no, this doesn't include that type of thing. For example, one issue is that he doesn't run with as much strength as someone his size should, but there's no way to improve that during 7-on-7's.
April 17th, 2013 at 10:03 AM ^
Wasn't this the guy who loved Michigan and really wanted to come here? Seems like things have really slowed down with him. Any idea why that is?
April 17th, 2013 at 10:06 AM ^
Not at all, he's just taking a few more visits
April 17th, 2013 at 10:07 AM ^
I'm not sure the exact reason, but he has expressed an interest in seeing some other schools.
April 17th, 2013 at 10:26 AM ^
With other guys still available on the board like Scott and our numbers so tight, is a Williams committment a good thing? It seems like we still need a speedy deep threat guy and based on your report Williams doesn't sound like that guy. And, it doesn't seem like we got a guy with real top end speed in the past few classes. And, what do you think about McCaffrey? If Williams signs are we done with WRs?
April 17th, 2013 at 11:15 AM ^
I think Michigan will take three, so a Williams commitment wouldn't necessarily end WR recruiting. I think Harris and/or Chesson could be those speed guys, and I think Jones has some ability there, too.
I think McCaffrey is a Drew Dileo-type player, perhaps with a little more speed, though.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:28 AM ^
Yes, it's a good thing. He might not be as elite as some of the guys we're after, but he's still a high level prospect. We already have one elite WR in this class, and although it would be nice to have 2-3 Drake Harrises, you don't turn away the 4-star guy when he wants in. Not to mention that the coaches wouldn't have offered him this early if they didn't want him to commit.
We have speedy deep threat guys. DaMario Jones is that, so is Chesson, both of whom will be frosh this fall, and Jones might RS. You don't have to have Denard speed to be a deep threat, and guys like Darboh and Harris have plenty of speed for that.
People put too much emphasis on someone being a deep threat. We'll throw the ball 20-25 times a game, and maybe 5 of those will be deep balls.
You're probably right there...if the coaches offer this early they either A) want him now regardless, B) plan on taking more than 2 WRs in this class, and/or C) they don't like our chances with the higher rated guys. To clarify, it's not that I don't think we have a speed threat like Chesson or Jones. It's that we don't have a highly rated speed threat. Maybe I'm wrong but Chesson and Jones are very much unproven quantities, and although a high school kid is also unproven his recruting profile suggests he's more likely to be capable than someone with a lower profile, that's all. If Chesson has a good year call me proven wrong. But, I'd feel more comfortalbe if we got a speed guy that was also highly ranked, but maybe that's unrealistic.
I did really like Jones' film. He looked very athletic, pretty fast, and he seemed like he had good ball skills. But, I haven't seen him compete in college yet. Jake Ryan was a lower rated guy and he proved to be our best defender IMO. I'd take a team full of guys like that any day. But, at the same time I still took a "prove it to me first" attitude regarding a 3-star guy where as I assume a top 10 position player will be good until he proves he can't play. Maybe that's a dysfunctional way to look at guys but I can't help it. I know rankings are overrated, but I'm not a coach, so what else can I go by until I see suit up and compete on TV? Thanks for the perspective.
April 17th, 2013 at 10:29 AM ^
" Williams is a good high school athlete but lacking refinement in some areas
that is some real meat there
April 17th, 2013 at 10:52 AM ^
April 17th, 2013 at 11:16 AM ^
I'm all for phone apps if someone wants to design it for free...
April 17th, 2013 at 11:00 AM ^
would he compare to all of the incoming WRs in this class. I know he is ranked higher than any of them, but are there any of them that you think is better than Dukes, Jones, or York?
April 17th, 2013 at 11:19 AM ^
I like Jones pretty well, actually. I think I would take most of the guys on this here 2014 list over several of the guys we got in 2013. Dukes and York don't do a whole lot for me, although I think they can play a role. Last year was supposedly a down year for receivers, and I don't think there were a lot of quality ones across the country.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:04 AM ^
Wow, another day without girlie pics on TTB. If this continues, I may eventually be willing to check the site at my office.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^
Funny, that actually the reason I stopped checking it. Scouting report? Meh. Hot random chick taking a pic of herself in the mirror wearing almost nothing? Now you've got my attention.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
If it makes you feel any better, there will still be Attractive Michigan Girls of the Week on Fridays. So you can check it once a week.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:32 AM ^
Well, fuck. Is there anywhere else on the internet I can find scantilly-clad women? I've been having a hard time with that.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:55 AM ^
The Chive.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:20 AM ^
Yeah, I've stopped with that for the foreseeable future. Too many people having the site blocked, not visiting at work, etc. We'll see how it goes. It was sort of a 50/50 proposition, but we'll see how things go with just the football stuff again.
April 17th, 2013 at 12:36 PM ^
Wise move. There are thousands of sites a person can access for biniki clad models. For free Michigan football sites that have useful information...the list is short. I only check MGoBlog and TTB.
A few times my wife or child would walk up behind me and wonder what in the heck I was reading.
April 17th, 2013 at 10:04 PM ^
But don't you see? That's the beauty of it. You can legitimately claim it's a sports site, and (perhaps not so legitimately) claim you have no interest whatsoever in the bikini babes.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:33 PM ^
You're welcome for giving you a viable excuse to look at girls wearing bikinis.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:18 AM ^
The biggest issue I see is getting in and out of his breaks. He doesn't chop his steps well or show good acceleration out of his cuts. I actually think he demonstrated a good feel for routes, he just doesn't seem to have the quickness and technique to get into and out of his breaks that quickly.
He fits the Borges mold of big, fast enough, and very good ball skills. I have serious concerns about his route-running though--if he can't create separation on those breaks he won't catch many passes.
April 17th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
I'm all for big bodies with speed at WR and our "TE heaven," but a slot plus those seems like a deadly passing game in addition to our MANBALL.
/Patriots
/plus HOKEMANBALL
Do you think he's either as interested (or we're as interested in him) as the others, and where would he fit on your lists?
I would probably place Blacknall ahead of Ways and Johnson on my ever expanding list.
However, I'm often leery of our chances of pulling guys from New Jersey. They seem to like Rutgers, Penn State, Miami, Ohio State, etc. but we haven't had much luck in New Jersey lately.