USC, Penn St, Tennesse on mind of Rivals250 DB

Class of 2016 Rivals250 safety JoeJuan Williams has had a busy summer, with his travel schedule taking him all over the country for visits. But before he's ready to cut his list down to five, he said he has a few more visits on his agenda.

"I'm going to Georgia on the 18th for Dawg Night and I'm trying to get to Florida State and I want to visit Tennessee again. Auburn and LSU are also schools I want to see again. All the visits are going to be crucial when it comes time to cut my list."

The most important one of his trips was to USC, where he excelled and won top defensive back honors for his performance at the camp.

"My last visit was USC and it was great," Williams said. "I camped there and It went really well. I felt like I was one of the top defensive backs there and they called me out and let me know how well I did. I stayed there for two days and I loved the campus, they showed me around, treated me like family."

The only problem is that despite his strong showing, Williams didn't leave California with an offer, leaving him to focus on his other options.

One school that has made an impression on Williams is Penn State. The Nittany Lions coaches have been recruiting Williams since they were at Vanderbilt and he already has the school locked in for an official visit this fall.

"I know I'm going to be officially visiting Penn State," Williams said. "I want to go to the game when they play Michigan State. I've never visited there before but I want to use one of my official visits as an opportunity to see what they have to offer."

Williams said his interest goes beyond just checking out the campus in Happy Valley.

"I'm really interested in them and I like them a bunch," he said. "James Franklin and Coach Shoop, I'm coach friends with his sons, they went to my school when they lived here so I know him well. They're a really great coaching staff and I like their philosophy and where they see me playing. It seems like it would be a good fit. I just have to take a visit up there."

Over the past few recruiting cycles Tennessee has made in-state prospects a priority so Williams said it's not a surprise they are still heavily pursuing him as well.

"They've always been showing me love," Williams said. "They've always been pretty high on me. It's an in-state school and Coach Jones is turning the program around, the Nike uniforms are pretty cool and with the way everything's going it's like a complete 180."

While he will be attention to see how the Vols progress in Year 3 under Jones, he said on-field performance won't factor into his decision.

"It really doesn't matter right now because they're still really young," Williams said of Tennessee. "They've got all the best recruits so I know they'll be great in a couple of years. I have to get up there some more. I've never been to game before so I have to see that atmosphere so that's on the list for sure."

With so many moving parts in play, Williams isn't quite sure when he will cut his list, but he is already eying a December decision.

"I'm in the process of breaking down to five and I will probably do it soon," he said. "It will be at the end of the summer. I want to commit December 6 but if I get an invite to an all-star game I'll probably wait and commit there."