Alabama usually gets its man when offering an in-state prospect. But that’s not always the case. Earlier this week, OL Stafford Willis of Arab, AL, visited Tuscaloosa and was offered by the Crimson Tide. Willis, who is a South Carolina target, could have committed on the spot, but he did not.
“No, sir. It absolutely does not close the door on things at all,” Willis said. “Definitely an exciting offer and a big offer, but they came in a little bit late. And just being honest, I have built great relationships with other schools and other people. I’m just going to have to be cautious on jumping into that. It’s a top school on my list, but I didn’t commit or anything at all because I need to go on that OV and see stuff and compare it to other schools.”
Willis has taken official visits to USC, UCLA, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. After taking this weekend off, he will take an official visit to Alabama on June 19th, replacing Arkansas with the Crimson Tide. He has set June 23rd for his commitment date.
It’s been nearly six weeks since Willis visited South Carolina, so Gamecock offensive line coaches Randy Clements and Jason Smith have had to fill that gap with a lot of phone calls and text messages to keep Willis focused on what he knows about the Gamecocks.
“They’re definitely still excited about me,” Willis said. “I was on a call with Coach Smith yesterday, then about 15 minutes ago, I was talking with Coach Clements. I still love South Carolina. I’m very serious about them. They just released those offensive line coach rankings, and coach Clem was ranked number one. So that’s awesome. It just goes to show the level of development and just how skilled they’re going to be this year. So that’s really exciting.”
With his commitment date now less than two weeks off, Willis is still trying to formulate things in his mind with all five programs still in the hunt.
“My top five right now is pretty even,” he said. ” It’s UVA. Virginia Tech, UCLA, South Carolina, and Alabama, and that’s in no order at all. On these visits, you get to know who the coaches really are and how they act and operate. You get a feel for the people and the culture on these visits, which is incredibly important. The thing that I look for is how coaches interact with their players, how players interact with their coaches, and with each other. How does that culture mesh? And that’s really important because I want to be somewhere where I really like the people, and that’s more important than any logo or facility or anything like that.”
The Gamecocks thus far have two offensive linemen committed for 2027.