TIMELINE: How Jarren Williams' recruitment played out

CatsIllustrated.com takes an in-depth look back at how Jarren Williams' recruitment played out.

If you're not a premium member of CatsIllustrated.com then sign up now!

The last weekend in May of 2016, Jarren Williams traveled to the Commonwealth to visit both Kentucky and Louisville. His first offer as a recruit came from the Cardinals.

Kentucky was not prepared to offer right away. Instead, offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw gave Williams some homework and some tips to improve his game as a passer.

But it was clear that Williams enjoyed the trips to the schools.

"I talked to the coaches at Kentucky," he told CatsIllustrated.com after that first trip to Lexington. "They just wanted me to come down to oen of their camps. And (Darin Hinshaw) wanted to see how I was doing. He said he'll be at our spring practice to watch me throw. They showed a lot of love."

Jimbo Fisher and Florida State offered shortly after Williams visited Kentucky and Louisville, and the Noles offered right after the Cardinals.

Williams didn't keep secret the fact that Florida State was a top contender. Throughout Williams' recruitment he would draw comparisons to former Seminole quarterback Jameis Winston because he's a mobile pro-style quarterback who looks to throw first.

Although Williams' ranking has never quite matched his offer list the Central Gwinnett prospect was very good at camps during the spring of his sophomore year.

At a Rivals QB Challenge, analysts wrote: "Williams, a rising junior, was invited to the event off of his film and he picked up two offers in the days leading up to the event. He didn’t disappoint once he was there, making the finals and nearly coming home with the title. If his showing on Sunday and interest from the Cardinals and Seminoles is any indication, more schools will be on board soon."

It wasn't all sunshine and roses. Josh Helmholdt said that at the iLLSPEED Playoff in Baltimore both Mac Jones (then committed to UK) and Williams struggled on a windy day. At the Rivals QB Challenge Finals there were ups and downs, but Williams was part of a stacked field.

Kentucky's offer made a huge impact on Williams, because he already had a lot of respect for quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw, who he credited with helping to improve his game as a passer with some tweaks for his mechanics and throwing motion.

Kentucky offered when Hinshaw made a trip to Central Gwinnett, almost a year ago exactly, during the spring evaluation period.

"He had told me the one thing I needed to work on, and said that if I fixed that (he'd have an offer)," Williams said, recalling the earlier trip to Lexington. "And I fixed it. It was just my release. When I pulled the ball back, I usually had it too far from my head. I've been working on it and he's impressed that I actually worked on it. He said he would tell most kids to fix it and they would just keep doing what they're doing."

During this time frame, roughly, Williams landed offers from Maryland, West Virginia and several other programs. This wasn't nearly as much a rise as his later recruiting surge, but it was his first and it put him on the map.

CatsIllustrated.com had the chance to evaluate Williams twice at Kentucky camps last summer, first in early June and again in mid-July.

The quarterback was impressive from the jump.

""Yes, we get along well," Williams said after the first camp, referring to Hinshaw. "I enjoyed being coached by him. I like the way he simplifies the reads. He's really an amazing, genuine coach. We had a great time hanging out after (the camp). Also got a chance to hang a little bit with Coach (Mark) Stoops."

Not long after his first camp in Lexington, Williams committed to Kentucky.

""What made me decide so early was I talked to my parents when we finished up our visit (to Kentucky). We wanted to hurry up and narrow it down so we don't miss out on (the right opportunity)," Williams said at the time. "Kentucky just by far stood out from a lot of the other colleges recruiting me. Take nothing away from them, but it really felt like home. I want to be a part of something great and get Kentucky back to the days like when Tim Couch was there and the offense was a major factor. It's a great opportunity for me, to work with the coaches and all. ...

"I love Coach Hinshaw," Williams said. "He's a great guy. Very genuine coach. I feel like working with him will help me get to the next level and he's a great guy. He's a man of his word. He came back and checked on me at practice. He saw me throw and he offered me. I really respected that. He's a man of his word. A lot of coaches say something and don't follow up.

"He's said I'm a special kid and he likes my arm. But more importantly he likes how I shake his hand, that I look him in the eye, and he thinks I can be a great leader at UK. He's ready to build a powerful offense."

Williams' commitment to Kentucky didn't slow down the process for him. In fact, many more schools started to recruit him, especially as his play on the field improved dramatically.

That culminated with a spring round of visits to the likes of Alabama, LSU, Florida, Florida State (yet again), Ole Miss and Tennessee.

After each and every visit Williams would say nice things about the school he visited, but would maintain that he was solid to Kentucky.

"After much thought and prayer, I have decided to decommit from Kentucky and open up my recruitment. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I want to make sure that I make the best informed decision regarding my future. Please respect my decision as I will not be doing any interviews regarding my decommitment. Thanks!"

That's the message Williams posted, unexpected, only Twitter.

But almost immediately thereafter he told CatsIllustrated.com that Kentucky remained his top choice. It's noteworthy that Williams never ruled Kentucky out.

This is where things get complicated, in part because the spring evaluation period happens so fast. Coaches from all over descended on Central Gwinnett and made their pitches.

Vince Marrow and Darin Hinshaw visited Central Gwinnett twice, once per week for consecutive weeks during the spring evaluation period.

Sources told CatsIllustrated.com that about a week and a half ago Williams had a conversation with Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, and while the details of that conversation are not known, sources said that Williams effectively shared his plans with Stoops during that conversation. All that remained was for Williams to go public and make known what had already happened.

Florida State's coaches have pushed for Williams to hold off on a decision as they decide, as a staff, whether to go "all-in" on him before the camp season, per a Rivals.com network source. Alabama was likely in the same boat, as they generally prefer (and often require) that their quarterback prospects attend camps.

Tennessee and LSU were anxious to land a commitment from Williams this spring.

Georgia offered him, as his home state's SEC program, and there was talk that Williams might visit Georgia -- but he shortly thereafter told the Macon Telegram that no such trip was planned. Another network source told CatsIllustrated.com that if Williams weren't committed by this coming Friday then he would be visiting Georgia over the weekend. But CatsIllustrated.com learned that a commitment was likely on Monday, and the plan was still on.

It wouldn't be right to say that today's news is "breaking" news, because Williams has probably been rightly characterized as a silent commitment for some time now. But what is breaking is his willingness to go public and shut things down.