Series:
2020 Oakleaf (FL) DE Chantz Williams officially became a Miami Hurricane this morning. He is signee #17.
The 6-4 240 pounder is currently a consensus 4-star recruit in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Williams is the #77 player nationally, #4 WDE in the country, and the #14 player in the Sunshine State.
Recruiting Story
Williams had been pursued by Miami since his freshman year of high school, as he landed his UM offer back in March of 2017. UM was considered his early leader, but things seemed to change after the Canes’ poor 2018 season and Mark Richt’s retirement. After naming the Canes to his top 5 in February, he eliminated UM in June with a top 3 that did not include Miami. Miami never gave up here though, and DL coach Todd Stroud continued to pursue Williams even harder. Williams decided to give UM another chance and he found he had the best relationship with the Miami staff of any of the schools recruiting him. The move also reunites him for another 4 years with Oakleaf OT teammate Jalen Rivers. Williams chose UM over UGA, Florida, LSU, and Texas A&M.
Evaluation
Williams is also a standout in basketball and he also holds the Oakleaf career rebound and blocked shots record. Williams runs track as well. Williams most recently tested at the Opening Finals earlier this month and recorded a 4.66 40-yard dash, a short shuttle of 4.63, and a vertical leap of 35.9 inches. His SPARQ score of 107.52 was the best among linemen at a star-studded event.
On film, what I like about Williams is that his feet never stop moving. His first step is devastating, and it’s tough for offensive linemen to square-up on him. Williams rushes in with good lean and dips low to propel himself around the edge. He flashes disruptive qualities and is a master at shooting gaps, seemingly always finding a window to knife his way into the backfield. Took the next step in becoming a complete defensive end by making improvements against the run. Impressive ability in backside pursuit to shut down runners. Shows the ability to maintain edge integrity and contain discipline; would like to see him stack and shed blocks more often.
Watching Williams at the Opening Finals in July, he flashed a few times, especially in his reps against Marcus Dumervil, who many felt was the best lineman there. Williams used his speed and hands more effectively on those reps. However, he got manhandled a few times and can struggle if he doesn’t beat his man off the snap. I also thought he wasn’t using his speed to his advantage enough and instead tried to go through a lot of guys with power rushes far too often. Still, this was against the most elite offensive tackles in the country; it’s clear his upside is through the roof and he has the potential to develop into a dynamic pass rusher with some quality coaching.
The Team
At defensive end, Trevon Hill graduates, while Jonathan Garvin has elected to declare for the NFL Draft, meaning two of Miami’s top three options at the spot are gone in 2020. That’s quite alright, as defensive end is one of the deeper positions on the roster; Gregory Rousseau returns as the reigning leader of the ACC in sacks, while UM is confident rotational lineman Scott Patchan will be granted a 6th year of eligibility. Younger and heavily recruited talents like Jaelan Phillips, Jahfari Harvey, and Cam Williams will all be competing to be the next breakout defensive end that UM seems to produce every year.
Redshirt Probability: 4/10
It’s going to be tough for any of the true freshmen to crack the rotation at DE, but if anyone can do it, my money would be on Williams. Although he’s a bit raw at this stage, Williams has tools you just can’t teach, and he might have the highest upside of anyone not named Rousseau on the DE roster. There’s both experience and highly-touted young talent ahead of him, but Williams is enrolling early and is already well on his way to being ready physically. The Canes might decide that they’d rather sit him and aid his development long-term, but his ability might be too much to keep off the field.
The 6-4 240 pounder is currently a consensus 4-star recruit in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Williams is the #77 player nationally, #4 WDE in the country, and the #14 player in the Sunshine State.
Recruiting Story
Williams had been pursued by Miami since his freshman year of high school, as he landed his UM offer back in March of 2017. UM was considered his early leader, but things seemed to change after the Canes’ poor 2018 season and Mark Richt’s retirement. After naming the Canes to his top 5 in February, he eliminated UM in June with a top 3 that did not include Miami. Miami never gave up here though, and DL coach Todd Stroud continued to pursue Williams even harder. Williams decided to give UM another chance and he found he had the best relationship with the Miami staff of any of the schools recruiting him. The move also reunites him for another 4 years with Oakleaf OT teammate Jalen Rivers. Williams chose UM over UGA, Florida, LSU, and Texas A&M.
Evaluation
Williams is also a standout in basketball and he also holds the Oakleaf career rebound and blocked shots record. Williams runs track as well. Williams most recently tested at the Opening Finals earlier this month and recorded a 4.66 40-yard dash, a short shuttle of 4.63, and a vertical leap of 35.9 inches. His SPARQ score of 107.52 was the best among linemen at a star-studded event.
On film, what I like about Williams is that his feet never stop moving. His first step is devastating, and it’s tough for offensive linemen to square-up on him. Williams rushes in with good lean and dips low to propel himself around the edge. He flashes disruptive qualities and is a master at shooting gaps, seemingly always finding a window to knife his way into the backfield. Took the next step in becoming a complete defensive end by making improvements against the run. Impressive ability in backside pursuit to shut down runners. Shows the ability to maintain edge integrity and contain discipline; would like to see him stack and shed blocks more often.
Watching Williams at the Opening Finals in July, he flashed a few times, especially in his reps against Marcus Dumervil, who many felt was the best lineman there. Williams used his speed and hands more effectively on those reps. However, he got manhandled a few times and can struggle if he doesn’t beat his man off the snap. I also thought he wasn’t using his speed to his advantage enough and instead tried to go through a lot of guys with power rushes far too often. Still, this was against the most elite offensive tackles in the country; it’s clear his upside is through the roof and he has the potential to develop into a dynamic pass rusher with some quality coaching.
The Team
At defensive end, Trevon Hill graduates, while Jonathan Garvin has elected to declare for the NFL Draft, meaning two of Miami’s top three options at the spot are gone in 2020. That’s quite alright, as defensive end is one of the deeper positions on the roster; Gregory Rousseau returns as the reigning leader of the ACC in sacks, while UM is confident rotational lineman Scott Patchan will be granted a 6th year of eligibility. Younger and heavily recruited talents like Jaelan Phillips, Jahfari Harvey, and Cam Williams will all be competing to be the next breakout defensive end that UM seems to produce every year.
Redshirt Probability: 4/10
It’s going to be tough for any of the true freshmen to crack the rotation at DE, but if anyone can do it, my money would be on Williams. Although he’s a bit raw at this stage, Williams has tools you just can’t teach, and he might have the highest upside of anyone not named Rousseau on the DE roster. There’s both experience and highly-touted young talent ahead of him, but Williams is enrolling early and is already well on his way to being ready physically. The Canes might decide that they’d rather sit him and aid his development long-term, but his ability might be too much to keep off the field.
