“He’s got to know the situations. ''We have to be fair to the prospective student-athlete,'' he said. During that time, Lane was transitioned to tight end from 2005 to 2007 - finishing with 517 yards on 47 receptions. Teammates raved. ‘But then I saw what the other guys were ordering, I was like, `Forget this.’ I called the waiter back and told him to bring me four lobster tails, two steaks and a Shrimp Scampi. This led to a lot of offers as the top OT in the country for the class of 2008. Miami linebacker Jon Beason (2) reacts after making a tackle in 2005 Peach Bowl. He had issues with a dislocated kneecap in 2007, a knee sprain and a torn Achilles tendon in 2008. Young athletes from major metropolitans aren’t the only ones being placed under the recruiting spotlight. He didn’t care. Then he couldn’t get his information in on time for registration. Beason ultimately chose to attend the University of Miami, and his underwhelming diary was forgotten by seemingly everyone—save Walt Villa, the high school sports editor at the Miami Herald. He also looked younger than his 24 years and knew the intricacies of the local scene. I was just thinking, ‘Let me go somewhere else.’ ”. The Volunteers made him a wide receiver as a sophomore and he led the team with 42 receptions and 621 yards. In Wright’s first season, he threw for just 2,403 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. “I just feel so great right now,” Williams said after Broward Circuit Judge Michael Kaplan’s ruling. All the bedroom drawers and closets were opened and emptied. His saga only added to the allegations at Colorado, where reports have surfaced that escorts were provided for recruits. Back at the Herald, Navarro was pleased with the response. “The process is disgusting, only most people have no idea,” says Xavier Lee, the former Florida State quarterback who was recruited alongside Williams. Williams wanted to attend Tennessee—an idea that was quashed when Phillip Fulmer, the Volunteers’ coach, said he had no interest. Within hours of the press conference, the Gainesville Police Department filed three criminal complaints against Williams for incidents that allegedly occurred within a five-hour span during his visit. Willie Williams Quote #1: The girls at the party were much better than the farmer girls we'd see all day around campus. With two years of eligibility, Lewis then completed a transfer to Division I-AA Northern Iowa. But, often, as soon as the player struggles, those same people making promises forget all about you. In the flesh, he was everything that had been advertised. He was neither tall nor black nor sporting a thin mustache. “It was weird because there were some people talking about black history the whole time. But behind a great coach is an even better coach’s wife. The lobster tail was like $49.99. College football fans are learning about talented athletes from small, rural towns who would have otherwise may have, aside from college coaches, gone unnoticed. When we walked into that house, it was like walking into a Publix Bakery — banana pudding, chocolate cake, cheesecake. Paul Dee, the University of Miami's athletic director, said Friday that the university would review Mr. Williams's situation when it had more information. His most recent arrest prior to having the criminal complaints filed against him in Gainesville had taken place on July 11, 2002, for stealing $3,800 in stereo equipment from a Senor Stereo store in Pembroke Pines. After that, we just went back to the hotel to sleep.”. Surely this violated at least, oh, 1,001 rules, no? He struggled at the JUCO level and couldn’t get into the NFL. Would we be Googling his mug shot—the one where he looks not like a million-dollar phenomenon, but a lost soul; hair shaved to the scalp, eyebrows unkempt, eyes artificially reddened from the blinding flash of a heartless strobe? "We don't have that many connections. He got opportunity after opportunity, and did s--- with it all.”, Says Beason: “You want to know the truth? Now, thanks to an act that Frazier rightly calls “stupid,” he was placed under house arrest, forced to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet on his right ankle and remain incarcerated inside the home of an aunt, Adriana Rutledge, in northwest Miami-Dade County. As a freshman, Williams had been involved in a car accident that caused him to skip the entire season (he was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street, spent one month in the hospital and missed 90 days of school), but Florida High School Athletic Association rules did not allow for any sort of redshirting of players. One can’t stop oneself. James Banks had a lot of attention surrounding him as showed to be a dual-threat quarterback out of Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Ind. It appears that things are going very well for him. Coming out of Tallahassee, Fla., Rouse chose to go with a local option and committed to play for Florida State University. "Those instances obviously brought the issue to the forefront," said Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, who serves on the NCAA committee that constructed the new policies. If Willie Williams is not here, we'll have a good program. Austin worked days as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. CORAL GABLES -- All the coddling Willie Williams received on his recruiting trips will seem like a distant memory once he enrolls at Miami. Beginning with his trip to the University of Florida, Williams had branded himself a cancer. If only Willie Williams, 19 years old and assured of a million-dollar future, hadn’t agreed to the recruiting diary, where would he be right now? I swear, she must be related to Betty Crocker or something. His numbers were so impressive at Moorpark High School, he was shopped around to different private schools by his mom and stepdad. Following his year at Pace, Williams participated in the Dade-Broward All-Star Game, an event for high schoolers without remaining eligibility. Fame! Banks had a 42-2 record where he had 3,215 yards and 39 touchdowns in the air and another 1,665 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground. Coming off a season that included him earning two nicknames—“The Killer” and “Da Predator”—Williams had top Division I colleges salivating over his services. It made him look smart. But it might have been Mr. Williams's account of his next visit -- to Auburn University, in southern Alabama -- that ignited the Internet forwarding campaign that led to his sudden fame. As the NCAA continues to test its rules during its first recruiting season since the incidents of last year, the committee remains confident the changes will hold strong. The kid was a high school comet. Williams, who wore No. He could run sideline to sideline in a blur. And, to be honest, Willie didn’t have great instincts.”. But he just didn’t give a s---. “One kid dislocated his shoulder, the other kid broke his arm.”. His ego grew as more top college programs contacted him, including Pete Carroll after USC won the national championship in 2005.