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Inside College Football
Posted: Tuesday February 08, 2000 02:11 PM
Extra Points The nation's top defensive player, D.J. Williams, couldn't decide where to go By Ivan Maisel
Coaches are usually immune to the annual strains of recruiting hyperbole. They can, however, be carriers. Consider the case of D.J. Williams, a tailback-linebacker for De La Salle High in Concord, Calif., and Parade magazine's national high school player of the year. One college coach compares Williams to Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks; another likens him to New York Giants linebacker Jessie Armstead.
After telling De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur and Miami coach Butch Davis last week that he would sign with the Hurricanes, Williams flinched. His "buyer's remorse," as Ladouceur described it, surprised even Williams's mother, Sherri Gonzales. On the eve of signing day she had given a statement to Student Sports magazine explaining why her son had chosen Miami. Williams's hesitation left Florida State and Cal, his other two finalists, with slim hope for a sudden about-face. Here's why: Williams made 133 tackles, 37 for losses, last season for De La Salle. On the side, Williams rushed for 1,974 yards and 30 touchdowns, although he will concentrate on defense in college. Ladouceur, a man not given to gushing, says, "I've been the head coach for 21 years. I hadn't seen an athlete of his caliber, let alone coached one." On signing day, sprawled on a couch in Ladouceur's office, the 17-year-old pleaded for solitude so he could make his decision. "I have to sit and think this out," Williams said. His Parade trophy sat on a cardboard box. Over the course of an hour Williams never acknowledged the trophy's presence, a refreshing dose of humility in a time of gargantuan egos. "My coach is supposedly the best high school coach ever," Williams said, glancing at Ladouceur, who is 236-14-1 at De La Salle. "If he doesn't walk around with a chip on his shoulder, no way I can walk around telling people how good I am. If you have talent, they'll see it." Williams grew up a Florida State fan. Once recruiting began, however, the Seminoles lost their biggest advantage. Coach Bobby Bowden's ability to charm mamas into sending their blue-chip babies to Tallahassee has made him a living-room legend, but D.J. and his mother decided against home visits and insisted that recruiters meet them at De La Salle. "I feel a recruiter's goal is to come in and be your friend so that it's hard to say no," says D.J. "This makes it more of a business thing and less of a personal thing." Williams became aware of the Hurricanes during his childhood in Pinole, Calif., the hometown of Gino Torretta, who won the 1992 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at Miami. Williams began to take the Hurricanes seriously last fall after watching them play the Seminoles evenly for three quarters before losing 31-21. "When they played the best in the nation, they played different," he says. "You could see the intensity of the game." Williams is drawn to the emotion of the Florida State-Miami rivalry and wants to play on a defense with aggressive linebackers, which both teams have. "On offense you think, You can't stop me," Williams says. "I like the thought of being unstoppable. But you can feel like that on defense, too." Williams expects to announce his choice this week, and there was no reason to believe he would stray from his preference for the Hurricanes. For a few days, however, all he wanted was to be alone.
N.C. State's Big
Catch: Chuck Amato had less than a month to recruit after he was named North Carolina State's new coach, but the former Florida State assistant signed one blue-chipper last week: 53-year-old Norm Chow. The architect of the Brigham Young passing game, who developed quarterbacks Steve Young, Robbie Bosco and Ty Detmer, will leave Provo after 22 seasons to become the Wolfpack's offensive coordinator. "I called him to run some names by him," says Amato. "Norm says, 'I thought you were calling for me.' I said, 'Well, I would've, but there's no way you'd come here.' Norm says, 'Let's talk,' and I dropped the telephone." Chow had been LaVell Edwards's right-hand man for many years, and a decade ago he says he was promised the top job when Edwards retired. "There's a new administration, and I wouldn't try to hold anyone to that," says Chow, who is leaving, in part, because he knows it's unlikely that he would succeed his 68-year-old boss, whom he thinks might retire after next season. Chow took some heat from Cougars fans late last season when the BYU offense fell silent. The team's 21-3 loss to Marshall in the Motor City Bowl marked only the third game since Chow became offensive coordinator in 1985 that the Cougars didn't score a touchdown. The criticism, he says, was not a factor in his decision to leave. "It's just time," he says.
Extra Points: After the Pac-10's worst season in years, you might think the best recruits in California would opt for the conference so they'd have a better chance to play sooner, but the results are inconclusive. Of the 30 players named to the Cal-Hi Sports All-State team, half signed with Pac-10 teams. Seven first-teamers left the West Coast, however, including tailback Albert Hollis of Sacramento (Georgia), and two signed with California schools outside of the Pac-10. Six undecided first-teamers will determine the league's final grade.... Michigan, which has fared well out West in recent years, signed tight end Tyler Ecker of El Dorado Hills, Calif., but struck out with several other top California recruits. The Wolverines also failed in their bid to sign Kwame Harris of Newark, Del., considered the best offensive lineman in the nation. Harris, who chose Stanford, teased Cardinal coach Tyrone Willingham on his home visit, pretending that he didn't favor Stanford. Harris's mother, Cordel, foiled the gag. While Kwame strung Willingham along, she walked into the living room wearing a sweatshirt that said STANFORD MOM.... Wisconsin, after two consecutive Rose Bowl appearances, signed more players from California (six) than from Wisconsin (five). That reinforces what Badgers coach Barry Alvarez said when he took the job 10 years ago: "Our heart and soul will come from Wisconsin, but our hands and feet will come from somewhere else.
Issue date: February 14, 2000
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