Signee Q and A: Mike Williams
Stanford added a key piece to their 2016 recruiting class early last July when Texas defensive lineman Mike Williams delivered a verbal commitment to the Cardinal over offers from nearly every top program in the nation.
But while Williams was admitted to Stanford in January, the Cardinal had to fend off a strong push from the home-state Texas Longhorns to hold on to the talented defensive lineman.
In the latest edition of Cardinal Sports Report's Signee Q and A series, Williams addresses just how close the Longhorns were to landing his Letter of Intent, some of the highs and lows of the recruiting process and Stanford's new defensive line coach, Diron Reynolds.
Cardinal Sports Report: How close were things between Stanford and Texas? What was the process like the last two weeks of the recruiting cycle?
Mike Williams: It was as close as it could get to me. It was really, really close. It came down to I had to go out there and try it. I couldn't be afraid of being far away, of having hard classes or anything. It got really close. I had a debate in my head - the power of a Stanford degree versus the power of a Texas degree while playing football in Texas and liviing in Texas. What would that do for me? That's what really made me have to re-think my decision. But I ended up choosing Stanford.
CSR: When did you actually make your final choice?
Williams: I think I knew my final choice around probably that Friday before Signing Day. I was pretty sure.
CSR: What was Stanford's reaction when you told them you were solid?
Williams: They kind of got nervous before but I don't really think they ever thought I was really going to flip. They made sure they talked to me a lot but I don't think they thought I was going to flip. When I told them I was signing, they were excited - they were really excited. Ready to get this show on the road.
CSR: Shifting gears to the recruiting process as a whole, how is the recovery coming along for you with the shoulder injury? How is your rehab going?
Williams: It's good. My last shoulder (injury), I was ahead of schedule for a while. This shoulder, they told me I'm really ahead of schedule so they slowed me down. I'm still so stable in my shoulder and so strong they don't want me to mess it up. They said it was really stable at like eight weeks, seven weeks. So they really wanted me to just wait a little bit. But it feels great - I never really lost my strength in it. I just have to make sure I have all of my flexibility.
CSR: What was the worst part of the recruiting process for you? Was there any part you strongly disliked?
Williams: The part I strongly disliked, other than when coaches tell you they want you and then they leave the next day, is you build so many relationships with coaches. I had so many schools I looked at, for real, like Harvard, the Ivy Leagues, the Pac-12's, the Big-12's. I looked at so many schools, and you build so many relationships with people. And then you have to tell them, 'No, I'm not coming there.' You have to let them down. (You have to) make a selfish decision for yourself because you have to put yourself first.
CSR: What was the best part of the process?
Williams: Probably the official visit and them visiting having people know you. People have visited my school before that I had never seen and knew me. They knew my name, they knew what position I play, my mom's name. It was kind of creepy, but it was cool to have people that want you to go to their school. The fans, they want you there. They act like they care about you - they want you there. They try to cater to you. It's kind of fun.
CSR: What was the funniest recruiting pitch you ever got from a college coach?
Williams: I don't remember who said it, but one coach was like, 'We're going to get you an Aunt Julio down here.'
*Note: Williams goes by "Uncle Julio" on Twitter.
CSR: So the coach tried to imply that you would have a lot of success with the ladies by saying they would have an Aunt Julio?
Williams: Uh-huh. And I was confused for a little bit. I was like, 'I don't know if I want a girl named Julio, but I see what you're trying to say.'
CSR: Where does the "Uncle Julio" Twitter name come from. I've been curious for a while - is there a backstory to this?
Williams: This is how I got my Instagram name as "Young Pineapple." I was just sitting there back when people were making "Young" and putting a random fruit after their name (to name their social media accounts). This is back then when people were having random Mexican names. I sat down and I was just thinking - what kind of name would I name myself. I just said "Uncle" and I put Julio in there and it just fit. It stuck.
CSR: It does work.
Williams: Later I found out it's a restaurant name, Uncle Julio's. I'm just like, 'Oh, I must have been on to something.'
CSR: What was the most memorable recruiting pitch you got from a coach, if it was at all different than Aunt Julio?
Williams: There really weren't a lot of strong pitches to me - I'd say Coach Strong coming down, everybody surrounding me, trying to make me feel like a family. It was very memorable. It was really cool sitting in his house (on the official visit to Texas) with his daughter, his whole family there, all the coaches right there, holding my little brother, my little brother enjoying it. It was very memorable. They were just talking to me about how that's how it is all the time. It's like a family atmosphere - my family could come see me. That stuck to me, but I couldn't be afraid to be great.
CSR: Did any schools ever negatively recruit Stanford? Did you ever experience any negative recruiting from other coaches specifically toward Stanford?
Williams: Oh, yes. They tried to. They knew they could only do it to a point. It didn't work that well.
CSR: You don't have to name names obviously, but was there one pitch or one thing that other coaches really emphasized the most?
Williams: It was just always the distance. It was the distance and then really the coaches, it's like, you're from Texas, it's a different culture out there in California. Plus, Stanford is so high academically, how would you have fun there? I'm just like, I'm going to find a way to have fun. You're going to get everything together. You couldn't really negatively recruit Stanford.
CSR: You did take a number of visits unofficially and officially. What was the craziest thing, most unexpected thing that you saw or experienced on one of your visits?
Williams: When I was a junior, the first school I really looked at, I really liked and probably would have committed - they were my first offer - was Oklahoma State. I really liked them. My junior year I already had the offer and I had already made a name for myself, I came by for their homecoming. I walked by the student section and they all were chanting my name, like Mike you should come here. That was memorable to me. I liked that. I knew stuff like that happened all the time but it hadn't happened to me yet, so I remember that.
CSR: You've been recruited for such a long time, you picked up a ton of offers. If you have any advice for freshman year Mike Williams knowing what you know now, what would your advice be to yourself from three or so years ago?
Williams: It would be just keeping working. Don't get a big head, don't let all the attention get to you. You keep working and all these accolades, all these offers, they'll come. People stress too much. I was scared, I was stressing all the time. I was like, 'Man, I'm not reaching my goals. By this time I'm supposed to have an offer, and this and that.'
You have to go out there and send your film yourself. Coaches will do so much for you, but you have to go do this on your own. Because if you want it you'll go get it. You wouldn't put your life in anybody else's hands. You have to go get it yourself.
CSR: Finally, Diron Reynolds, he recruited you to Oklahoma. What was your relationship with Diron - how well did you get to know him? And what do you think about playing for him p at Stanford?
Williams: I loved coach Reynolds. He, Coach Hart, Coach Haley (from Texas) and Coach Gunn from SMU were probably my favorite defensive line coaches. And when Coach Reynolds was up at Oklahoma, I met him - I got used to Coach Montgomery before Coach Montgomery left to join the Packers, and Coach Reynolds came in. I didn't know if I was going to like him, but I really liked him. My mom really liked him too.
I like Coach Reynolds. I figured when Coach Hart retired, I knew that was probably the coach they were going to go get. He knew his stuff and I'm happy he's going to coach us.