Speedy Florida receiver heading to Big Ten

Desperately needing wide receivers in the 2009 class, the Purdue Boilermakers got some big important news on Monday morning when one of the top receivers in the state of Florida confirmed his commitment to the Big Ten program. With offers from Nebraska, South Florida, Ole Miss and others, three-star prospect Eric Williams of Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee has ended his recruitment.

"I committed to Purdue," Williams said on Monday morning. "I committed this morning like 35 minutes ago. The place fits. I've been looking at it with my coaches. There's a lot of reasons and I felt like now is the time."

WIlliams made his official visit to Purdue back in December and everything just felt right for the speedy wide out.

"It went well," he said. "I talked to a lot of the players and coaches and we bonded and I felt like I was at home. I talked it over with my parents and they think it is a good decision."

The commitment to Purdue was made over several offers but in the end it was between the Boilermakers and Ole Miss. Williams is scheduled for one more official visit to Ole Miss this weekend but likely he won't get to Oxford.

"I might not take the visit," he said. "I probably won't but I don't know yet. I just gotta talk to coach Dickerson and tell him I made the decision."

The deciding factor for Williams came down to an opportunity to make an early impact at Purdue.

"It was out of them two (Ole Miss and Purdue)," he said. "It was a hard decision and I just picked Purdue because I thought it'd be a better fit for me. Ole Miss is a great program and I'm not saying I can't come in there and play but when you're losing five receivers (at Purdue) I feel like there is a lot of opportunity for me."

Now that his decision is made, Williams is excited about his future in the Big Ten and is happy to have the decision off of his shoulders.

"I don't have to worry about this and that and now I can just sit back and focus on my grades," he said. "Everything is going well. My last report card was a 3.5 and I'm going to retake the test again. Hopefully I'll be up there by this summer working out with the team and getting better."