The Life and Times of Willie Williams

For those of you outside the Miami area, you might not have heard of the name Willie Williams. In 2004, at the age of 19, he was one of the most sought after recruits in Florida as the consensus #1 OLB in the nation.

After two years at Miami (including off-field and on-field struggles), Williams began his downward spiral (five colleges in three different divisions, more arrests, and the birth of a daughter, now three years old). He now plays at Union College (NAIA) in Kentucky where expectedly both he and his teammates never would have thought that they would be on the same field together.

During Williams' courting stages (no pun intended) with top-level college football programs such as UMiami, FSU, Auburn, and Florida...DubDub kept a running diary for the Miami Herald. The thing about Williams is that he (despite the 11 juvenile arrests, more arrests as an adult, and numerous other incidents) is a pretty smart (3.0, 1070 SAT) and funny guy, as evidenced by his diary in the Herald back in '04.

(Most of the above info from Deadspin.com)

The diary entries are posted on a Marlins message board from some reason and they are pretty classic (Click here for the Miami diary and here for the Auburn + FSU ones). Here are some excerpts:

FSU Recruiting Visit Excerpt

"Dinner was tight," Williams said. `"We had our own section in the restaurant, but the only thing that bugged me was that I sat all the way in the back -- so I was the last one to get my food. Coach Haggins told us to order as much as we wanted. I ordered a steak and a lobster tail. The lobster tail was like $49.99. I couldn't believe something so little could cost so much. The steak didn't even have a price. The menu said something about market value. I was kind of embarrassed so I didn't order a lot. 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. It was good. I took two boxes back with me to the hotel."

After dinner, Williams met his tour guide -- defensive back Antonio Cromartie. But he quickly urged the coaches to find him a new one.

"That boy was on crutches," Williams said. "I would have had to hop around campus everywhere. Besides, I wanted somebody who played my position to take me around." Cromartie was immediately replaced by linebackers Ernie Sims, Willie Jones of Carol City and A.J. Nicholson as well as defensive lineman Clifton Dickson of Northwestern

* * *

"Coach Bowden was cool, but Ms. Bowden was the bomb," Williams said. ``I swear, she must be related to Betty Crocker or something. When we walked into that house, it was like walking into a Publix Bakery -- banana pudding, chocolate cake, cheese cake. I had one of everything. I didn't want to leave."


Auburn Recruting Trip Excerpt

''We could see [the pilot]and he could see us,'' Williams said. 'One time, the plane starting shaking. So I asked [the pilot] `Is everything OK?' He turned around a gave me the thumbs up and didn't say a word. Then when it happened again, he did the same thing -- thumbs up.I looked at the other guys and was like, `This guy has to be related to Ebert or something."

* * *

''I really wanted to go to Red Lobster for some more lobster and steak, but they told me the wait was two hours. So I got me some babyback ribs, buffalo wings and shrimp,'' Williams said. ``Even though I ordered first, somehow, I was still the last one to get my food. It took them like two hours.''

During the wait, several of the female hosts, nicknamed the ''Tigerettes'', offered him some of their spinach dip.

''You know how it is, those girls are supposed to be there to cheer you up,'' Williams said. ``But I told them, `I ain't no animal, and I ain't going to eat no plant.'

``But they kept pushing it toward me. It was disgusting. I told them, `I'm from Miami. I don't eat that. You farm people are used to it, but not me.''

* * *

Later that night, the recruits were invited to a party on campus with their hosts.

''The girls at the party were much better than the farmer girls we'd see all day around campus,'' Williams said. ``I was kind of worried all Auburn had to offer was those farmer girls that talked funny. But the girls at the party weren't farmer girls at all. I thought they must have bused them in from Miami.''

University of Miami Recruting Trip Excerpt

Williams was surprised when Coker picked him up.

''Coach [Coker] looks like an old guy in his 50s or 60s, but he's real cool,'' Williams said. ``When he talks, he sounds like he's 18 or 20.

'And when I saw he was driving the Escalade, I was like, `Dang, coach got some taste.' ''

Following the campus visit, the recruits boarded a bus with the coaching staff and headed for the Orange Bowl. Williams said he wasn't aware the recruits had a police escort.

''We'd get to a red light and I would hold on because the bus driver would just take it,'' he said. ``Coach Coker looked at me and he was like, `Are you OK, Willie?'

'I was thinking the bus driver was crazy. Coach Coker was like, `Willie, we've got police escorts.' I told him, 'Thank God. I thought the police were trying to pull us over and give us a ticket.' That was pretty funny.''