Three-Point Stance: Jameson Williams, Indiana, underranked prospects

Rivals national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove takes a look at his original evaluation of future NFL receiver Jameson Williams, win totals for the upcoming Big Ten season and the most underrated prospect in the Midwest.

*****

MORE THREE-POINT STANCE: Red Raiders rolling, busy May, rankings debates

CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

TRANSFER PORTAL: Stories/coverage | Message board

RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info for 2022 series

*****

When it comes to the NFL Draft, there is nothing more enjoyable than looking back at old player evaluations from my scouting days. There are many prospects that go on to do big things, but there are certain players that you never forget. Jameson Williams is probably the most memorable for me.

I first evaluated Williams at the Chicago Showcase in March of 2017. There were plenty of players on my must-eval list heading into the camp that day, but Williams was not one of them. He wasn't even on my radar at the time. I had never even heard the name Jameson Williams prior to that day, but he inadvertently found a way to repeatedly catch my attention. He did it so many times that Williams became impossible to ignore, so I started asking around and digging for more information on him. I found out that he played for a friend of mine, coach Brandon Gregory, at St. Louis (Mo.) Cardinal Ritter. He said Williams was better known for his track success at the time, but also thought he had a bright future on the football field.

I remember thinking that Williams had star potential. So I continued to evaluate, this time with intentional focus, and then proceeded to do what I always did with high level prospects: I took a side-by-side picture with Williams. I took these pictures during my scouting days because it was the only way for college coaches to gauge legitimate size on a prospect without actually being able to see them in person. That picture was then attached to my evaluation and sent to the many teams I worked for at the time. Within two weeks of sending Williams to the coaches, he had multiple offers and went on to be one of the most coveted recruits in his class. Williams signed with Ohio State before going on to star at Alabama this past season. He was drafted by the Lions as the No. 12 pick in this year's draft.

Below is the first evaluation I sent to college coaches, via email on March 31, 2017, about Williams:

I saw Jameson at the Chicago Showcase last weekend and he is an impressive athlete that has a chance to be a heck of a prospect. Consistently caught my eye throughout the day.

Good frame and looks to be pushing 6'1" right now. Picture of us together is attached.

Smooth and athletic with good balance. Deep threat that can stick his foot ibn the ground and gain separation. High level track kid that went 39.88 as a freshman in the 300 hurdles and told me his fastest 400 meter split in the 4x400 relay was 49 seconds.

Coach Gregory has been around some good players and says he is going to be great and should be a high level recruit.

Las Vegas recently released its initial over/under win totals for the 2022 college football season. I am far from a professional gambler and you can take my gambling acumen with a grain of salt, but there is one win total in particular that stands out as an early value play to me: Indiana O/U 4.5 wins

The 2021 Hoosiers were in the preseason top 25 for only the second time since 1950 and entered the season slotted as the nation's No. 17 team in the Coaches Poll. There was a whole lot of excitement brewing in Bloomington only for them to finish 2-10 overall, 0-9 in conference play and end the year on an eight-game losing streak.

So why would I think Indiana will finish with more than twice as many wins in 2022 than they did in 2021? Especially with two new coordinators and their former starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. heading to Washington via the transfer portal? Let me tell you...

1. There were many factors that led to the season Indiana had in 2021. The Hoosiers were pounded by an Iowa team (which went on to be much better than predicted) to open the season and that loss likely killed team morale from the very first week. Following a win over Idaho, Indiana then went on to lose by 14 to Cincinnati which was likely another morale killer at the time, but doesn't seem so bad when looking back. The Hoosiers were able to take Michigan State down to the wire with a backup quarterback and lost by three to Maryland on the road with a freshman quarterback making his first start. The wheels then fell off and the negative momentum proved too much to overcome on the way to a nightmare finish.

2. While the loss of Penix Jr. hurts, Indiana was able to land Connor Bazelak from Missouri. Bazelak is a proven commodity under center and was the SEC's Co-Freshman of the Year in 2020. He has started big-time football games at Missouri which included huge wins over LSU, Florida, Kentucky and others. In a little over two seasons he threw for 5,058 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 66 percent of his passes. Should Bazelak be the starter in 2022 the Hoosier fans should have plenty to be confident about. Should Bazelak end up the back-up quarterback, it would likely be the result of rising sophomore Donaven McCulley's development, which may be reason for even more excitement in Bloomington.

3. Indiana has done a great job recruiting, and although the players may be young, there is definitely talent in the building. The Hoosiers also open up with three winnable home games against Illinois, Idaho and Western Kentucky. Should they win those three games, Indiana will only need to steal two of the next nine in order to hit the over 4.5 win total. While I wouldn't put it past the Hoosiers to pull off a big upset along the way, their odds of winning at least two additional games with a schedule that includes Rutgers, Nebraska, Maryland and Purdue is definitely not out of the question.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH INDIANA FANS AT THEHOOSIER.COM

Another round of rankings are coming as we meet in late May and release in June. There will be prospects that rise, prospects that fall and new prospects that emerge. There are a few that could be argued as the Midwest's most underranked, but there is one in particular who takes the cake on this debate. That is St. Louis (Mo.) CBC running back Jeremiyah Love.

There was some debate among myself and others on the national team that Love should be a four-star prospect when our last 2023 rankings were released. Not only did Love was slotted as a three-star and given a Rivals Rating of 5.6 which doesn't place him among the highest-ranked three-star prospects. The film was limited at the time, some questioned his upright running style, and there was concern whether he was fast enough to be an elite level back. All of those questions seem to be answered now when you consider the performance he has had this off-season.

Love has proceeded to become one of the most highly recruited running backs in the country, with more than 30 offers including Alabama, Georgia, USC, Texas A&M, Oregon, Michigan, Notre Dame, Miami and, well, you get the point. Love's upright running style has proven to be more about his height than lack of bend and change of direction. As far as questioning whether he has the speed to be an elite level back, I'm pretty sure that was put to rest when he recently ran a 4.28 electronically timed 40-yard dash at a major camp. Look for Love to make a major move in this upcoming rankings release.