Scouting Jarren Williams: Why the Georgia QB can be a program's centerpiece
It's been almost a year since CatsIllustrated.com first scouted Lawrenceville (Ga.) Central Gwinnett quarterback Jarren Williams at a camp at the University of Kentucky.
Many months have elapsed and time isn't the only thing that has changed.
Williams has continued to come into his own as a quarterback. He did through his junior season in his first year at a new school, Central Gwinnett, and since the end of his season things have really heated up with most of the South's top programs offering.
What's behind Williams' surge as a recruit? What's powering the rise of his stock with college coaches and those who follow him most closely? That's what CatsIllustrated.com takes a look at here.
Then and now
Last summer CatsIllustrated.com was enamored with Williams because of a combination of physical traits, football skills and clear leadership intangible qualities. The great build is still there, those skills that impressed before haven't gone away, and his leadership qualities seem innate, so don't expect that to change.
The strong leadership qualities were on display with Central Gwinnett right from the start, when Williams made a point to start building a relationship with his offensive linemen right off the bat. He quickly won over his coaches and teammates.
From the outside it probably didn't look like Williams was quietly laying the foundation for a team-wide transformation. Not after Central Gwinnett's 0-3 (or 1-4) start.
But then, for a variety of reasons but not the least of which was Williams, everything changed. Things started to click. An offense that had scored 40 points over the season's first three weeks started putting up video game numbers.
From the midway point in the season through the second to last game of the year Central Gwinnett posted point totals of 57, 69, 45, 56 and 43. While some of that might have something to do with the level of competition the team faced early and then later, that doesn't tell the whole story. Those who watched Williams the most tell a story of a quarterback who came into his own, and whose rise powered an offense to the kind of transformation that just rarely happens over the course of one season.
So what has changed in Williams?
He's had the kind of athleticism that prompts some scouts to immediately label him a "dual threat," even though he's much more a quarterback who looks to throw as Option A, continues looking to throw as Plan B, and only runs when it's by design or the last, best resort. That's one reason some have compared him to Jameis Winston.
What needed to improve in Williams last year, even as CatsIllustrated.com showered praise on him well before his commitment to Kentucky, were a few things technically in his game as a passer. And to all appearances and according to the word of those who have observed him most, he's shown the right kind of progress.
His footwork and discipline in the pocket is better. His ability to go through his progressions has improved. As his footwork and progressions have improved, so has his accuracy.
All told, Williams went from a 47-percent passer (14 touchdowns, 10 interceptions) as a high school sophomore to a 60-percent passer (26 touchdowns, four interceptions) as a high school junior. His quarterback rating rose from 67.6 to 109.
His carries, even in one more game than the previous year, went down from 104 to 89 -- even as his rushing touchdowns went up (to nine, from three).
Williams is now, more than ever, able to stretch the field and beat a defense over the top. He can hit just about any spot on the field you want him to. He's become much better at throwing to the spot, trusting that his receiver will run to the ball and releasing it before it even seems a throw is there. He can hit the back shoulder, put perfect arc on a high-difficulty fade or thread the needle on a post.
Kentucky's offense thrived when Stephen Johnson make its run-pass options open up, and Williams thrives on those plays. Defenses must account for him, but what makes him lethal is his ability to run play-action on an apparent read-option, drawing linebackers from the box towards the backfield and opening up the middle of the field and creating big plays and touchdowns for his receivers.
His combination of arm strength, an improved accuracy and football IQ make defenses defend an enormous amount of the field, and when you throw in his hunger to learn, his humble, approachable and charismatic demeanor, it makes him an obvious candidate to become a star wherever he ends up in college.
In short, the tools were all there last year. But from the midway point of last season through today, his progression as a quarterback has been a process of putting together most of the missing pieces, and moving in the right direction on almost every point. He had exactly the kind of breakout junior season that most recruits dream of, and he's been duly rewarded with attention and offers from prestigious programs galore.
That's not to say he's perfect or a finished product. There's still room for Williams to improve on his 60-percent completion rate and his accuracy, although the 13-point jump in that percentage from 2015 to 2016 is very promising. But what's clear is the big leap forward from last summer, when he was already one of the most impressive players to camp in Lexington.
CatsIllustrated.com was 100-percent sold on two Class of 2018 recruits after the last camp season at Kentucky: Jarren Williams and offensive tackle Jerome Carvin. At the time neither had a lofty ranking or even especially long offer sheets. After singling out those two, all we've seen are Alabama offers for both, a four-star rise for Carvin, and a lot more big-time offers for Williams.
We'll stand by our initial assessment and, in fact, we feel better about it than ever.
Recruiting evaluation is a very inexact science because there are countless variables that either can't be quantified or can't be forecasted. But occasionally a player comes along who so clearly demonstrates a special convergence of physical, skill and leadership traits that makes success seem very likely. That all seems to come together in Williams, and both the numbers and his popularity with the nation's top coaches and programs seem to bear that out.
