Former Dutch Fork and Ole Miss basketball star Murphy Holloway has a new role these days, guiding his stepson Dutch Fork WR Antonio Williams thru the twists and turns of the recruiting process. Williams is one of the nation’s top receiver prospects, a 4-star and ranked 22nd nationally among receivers by the 247Sports Composite. Last Friday he visited USC and Sunday he was at Clemson.
Holloway was with Williams for much of the USC trip before leaving for a wedding in New York. Tuesday night on SportsTalk, he shared what he experienced with Williams on the trip.
“South Carolina went good, it was a lot of love,” Holloway said. “We actually got to see the campus. Everybody was real nice and it was family oriented. Antonio enjoyed it. We all enjoyed it. Shane Beamer, Justin Stepp, they were amazing. I was kind of blown away. It was amazing. “We watched the team workout. He’s never seen workouts at that level. Seeing those kind of workouts and being able to see the guys interact, and see how much they feed them he was blown away by stuff like that.”
Holloway said they got a tour of the facilities along with an inside look at the life of a USC football player.
“You walk thru the weight room, and they show you the weight room and they show you the weight stuff, the nutrition and how you are eating,” Holloway said. “You got to take care of your body, and they showed him stuff like that. We actually saw a few of the players because camp was going on. There wasn’t too much being talked about as far as we’re going to put you here, put you there, make you this, make you that. No false premises. Everything was straight up.”
Beamer and Stepp have made it clear to Williams how much he’s wanted for their program. They view him as a centerpiece for the recruiting class and a major part of their rebuilding. Holloway said his son couldn’t help but notice the passion the coaches had for him.
“He appreciated the love a lot,” Holloway said. “He said the love was unreal. That was his first visit. He felt comfortable. And I know he likes Coach Stepp. They are in contact a lot. I think their relationship is great. I know Antonio definitely enjoys them showing as much interest as they do. That’s a big part of recruiting, feeling like you are wanted and feeling like you might be a missing piece to their success. I think he likes it a lot.”
Holloway was not with Williams on the Sunday trip to Clemson, but he got some feedback from him on his time with the Tigers.
“He said it was nice,” Murphy said. “The campus was real nice. The facilities were real nice. It’s Clemson. He didn’t say much about his relationship with the coaches, but he had a good time. You’ve got to look at the two programs as far as wants and needs. Carolina needs some good wide receivers right about now. Clemson has a good amount, and everyone wants to come there. I feel like Carolina is doing a great job pursuing him.”
Murphy passed on the chance to go to USC out of high school, though he did spend a season there sitting out as a transfer before going back to Ole Miss to finish his career. He knows there are advantages for in-state recruits to stay home, and he’s shared his thoughts on that with Williams.
“I let him look at players that are from South Carolina that went to the University of South Carolina. I let him look at players who went to other schools who were from the area and see how well they did,” Holloway said. “You got to school at the University of South Carolina, even if you don’t go pro, I feel like you’ve got a job outside of sports if you do right.”
This weekend Williams plans to visit Georgia and Auburn. Alabama, which has not offered and wants to see him in camp, is a possibility for Sunday, though Holloway said there’s no real sense in going without an offer. And the following weekend will be spent at Ole Miss.
“It’s on him when he wants to make his decision,” Holloway said. “After he takes these visits, he still has his official visits left, and I figure he’ll go see schools that are a little farther away from here. But I’m not sure when he’ll want to make his decision.”
Last season Williams had 51 catches for 837 yards and 8 touchdowns. He amassed 1504 total yards.
Other Notes:
Hale McGranahan of TheBigSpur reported CB Nick Cull (5-11 175) of Donalsonville, GA has set his official visit to USC for this coming weekend. He has been to Florida unofficially, and he was at Ole Miss for an official visit last weekend. He also plans official visits to Miami and Florida.
USC offered DE James Pearce (6-5 220) of Charlotte. Michigan State, Florida State, Arizona State, UCF, Louisville, East Carolina and Missouri are among his offers.
USC offered a PWO to TE Peyton Strickland of New Hampshire who camped last week.
Dillon High prospects made a visit to USC Tuesday.
CB Daylen Everette and DE Jihaad Campbell of IMG Academy, and CB Caleb Coley of Warner Robins, GA made unofficial visits to Clemson Tuesday.
Clemson and USC target 2023 LB Raylen Wilson of Tallahassee was offered by Oregon.
Former Hammond OT Drew Bobo was offered by Auburn where his father Mike is the offensive coordinator.
Chapin OT Chase Sweigart camping at Auburn Wednesday. He has been to Clemson and Georgia.
Greer TE Jaleel Skinner began his official to Florida Tuesday.
