Darrel Williams Offered...But Where Will He Play?

Les Miles and staff use their camps for a lot more than an opportunity to get plenty of highly-ranked prospects under one roof at the same time.  While they did achieve that this summer, when it was a who's who of 5-star recruits in the south, they used the camp to send out some offers. One of those players was Sione Palelei, a running back from East Ascension who would commit shortly thereafter. What that meant for Darrel Williams was he was left out with the staff set on taking only two running backs, one to complement the monster that is Leonard Fournette.  Now, most kids would accept that they just weren't going to be a part of their home-state college's team and move on.  Williams received offers from schools like Georgia, Auburn and Nebraska before committing to Arizona State, a Pac-12 program that is definitely on the rise.

However, Williams isn't like most kids. He was dead-set on earning that LSU offer, even if it meant busting his ass his senior year to get it. His hard work paid off on Wednesday when he finally received that offer as an athlete.  What does that mean? Well, I'll tell you curious reader.

If (or in his case when) he commits, the staff has told him that they would like him at linebacker.  He has played offense and defense in his senior year at John Ehret and showed enough on both sides that the staff wanted him as part of this class. Lamar Louis from the 2012 class was the same way, except it was more known he was going to be a linebacker. Williams is a bruising running back and will have no problem transferring that running style into punishing opposing running backs at the next level.

What Williams also brings is a security blanket at running back in case Sione Palelei is a little slow in recovering from his recent knee surgery. THIS OFFER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LEONARD FOURNETTE. Fournette is still a huge LSU lean, will more than likely be a part of this class, and for all I know he may already be a silent commit (I don't know, just his recruitment tends to make me lean this way). Fans feared the worst when Palelei went down with a knee injury late in his senior season.  It was admirable to see him a few weeks later with his pads on and ready to go, but he and his coaches decided the best route would be to have his surgery and prepare for the future.  If his recuperation goes a little longer than anticipated, Williams definitely has the ability to be an SEC running back and could step into that role.

This is a big offer for a guy who had his eyes set on earning it and deserves an article to recognize what he did on the field to earn it.  I'll go a little more in-depth on what he brings if he makes the switch from Arizona State, but for now Darrel Williams, I salute you for your hard work and determination.