Williams back from Southern Cal

Davenport (Fla.) Ridge Community five-star safety Karlos Williams was amongst the many visitors to Southern Cal this weekend. The Florida State commitment talked about the time he spent on the West Coast.

"The trip itself was amazing," Williams said. "Los Angeles is a great city. There is a lot to do - big lights, the Staples Center, and a lot more. It is entertaining in itself. It was a good trip overall."

During the visit Williams had an opportunity to meet and speak at length with numerous members of the Trojans coaching staff, including head coach Lane Kiffin.

"Coach Lane was very direct, very straight-forward about how they want me to come out and contribute to the football team," Williams said. "They also have a guy from my same county, so that was a pitch they used on me. He is a straight-forward guy. He isn't going to lie to you. He made me feel good about him and USC."

He also spoke at length with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

"Coach Monte is historic, just sitting in front of him and listening to him break down defenses and coverages is amazing," Williams said. "Learning from him would be amazing. It would be awesome. It is very interesting to see the differences between the West Coast defense out there and the East Coast defense back here - the different talent they play and the different way they prepare compared to here. It was interesting."

During his visit, Williams was hosted by a familiar face who shared a lot of good insight with him about being a Trojan and his decision to travel from Florida to Southern California for his collegiate career.

"(Freshman cornerback) Nickell Robey out of Frostproof was my host," Williams said. "Having a guy from the same county being my host was interesting. He told me it was a big risk and it is kind of a man decision because you are growing up and have to leave the nest at some time. He talked about why not leave it in a big way. You can always go back to where you are from. He said he did something a lot of people don't do from Florida, travelling halfway across the nation to a college."

Joining Williams on the visit was his parents. He said that they both came away impressed by the trip and everything they learned.

"My parents had a good time, they took it all in," Williams said. "They are Florida State fans, Florida State parents, but it was a different experience on the West Coast. You can't go out there with a closed mind. I do believe they enjoyed their experience of L.A. and what L.A. had to offer to them."

While Williams was impressed with the atmosphere at Southern Cal and everything they offer on the football field, what most impressed him on his official visit was the diploma and opportunities you can earn off the field.

"The degree you can get from USC is ridiculous," Williams said. "It is a private school and not many people go to the school as compared to a public college. It was very, very interesting seeing the School of Business and School of Communications. Just seeing that, hearing what they have to offer and the internships they offer and connections they have from college to going to ESPN or the Los Angeles Times was very interesting to me. That was my favorite part of the whole trip."

While he was very impressed with his first official visit, Williams doesn't plan to play games with his recruitment. He is scheduled to take an official visit to Florida State on the weekend of Jan. 21st and intends for that to be his final visit. After that, he will sign on National Signing Day with all indications at this time being that the Seminoles will receive the national letter-of-intent.

"I didn't commit over a year ago to not go to the school I chose," Williams said. "What kind of recruit would that be to commit a year in advance knowing that is the school you always dreamed of going to and the school you have always wanted to go to. You were raised in a household of being a 'Nole but then you take one trip and decommit - of course not."

"I am certainly going to sit down and think about my options and think about the trips," Williams added. "After I am removed from both places well enough I can sit down and do some thinking but as of right now I am still strong and a hard Florida State commitment."