Derrick Williams talks UF visit

Hurricane Jeanne is perhaps the only force of nature that can stop the nation's No. 1 football recruit. Greenbelt (Md.) Eleanor Roosevelt athlete/wide receiver Derrick Williams is done with his official visit at Florida, but he remains in the Sunshine State.

"We can't fly out until tomorrow," said the 6-foot-0, 189-pounder. "All the flights are booked because of the hurricane. It's okay though, I still had a great time here."

Williams, who arrived in Gainesville at around 1AM on Saturday morning, was hosted on his official visit by friend and ex-teammate Derrick Harvey.

"He really likes it down there and it's a great place," said Williams. "I had a great visit and met with coach Zook for awhile about how I fit in there. I took a close look at the offense and they spread it out a lot, so that there's a lot of man-to-man coverage. That's what I like because they can't double team you much."

Williams also got along with the players.

"They're a good bunch of guys and knowing Derrick already helped," he said. "On a scale of 1-10, I'd give the visit a 9 1/2 or a 10, it was great."

Does that push Florida ahead of the rest?

"No, I can't say that," he said. "They've set the bar high, but it was my first official visit so I need to compare. I plan on taking all of my trips, but Florida was a good start."

With the new recruiting restrictions, Williams was forced to use his imagination a bit.

"Derrick told me all the things they were able to do for him last year and I didn't get that this year because of the new rules," he said. "It's kind of weird because you have to imagine your name on the back of the jersey, imagine yourself running out onto the field and imagine your name in lights. But it was still a lot of fun."

Williams team lost on Friday night to rival Flowers, mainly due to an ankle injury.

"I rolled my ankle late in the first half and wasn't able to run in the second half," he said of the 34-20 loss. "I still ended up with 315 total yards and three touchdowns, but the entire second half I couldn't do anything but hand off."

Williams isn't sure if he'll be able to play next week and also isn't sure of his visit schedule.

"We have Florida State tentatively scheduled for this weekend (Oct. 1) but I don't know if my dad can make it so we might have to re-schedule," he said. "Southern Cal is set for Oct. 15 and I had Oklahoma set for Nov. 12, but that may have to be pushed back to early December.

"he last couple of visits will be between Texas, Tennessee, Virginia and maybe Penn State. Penn State is fading a bit because they haven't looked competitive."