Williams on the rise

Justice Williams has been a standout on both sides of the ball for Frisco (Texas) Wakeland. At 6-foot-4, 205-pounds, Williams has been a key contributor at outside linebacker, and in 2013 he was Wakeland's leading receiver.

College coaches have taken notice with Illinois the first to extend an offer.

"Getting my first offer from Illinois was just a relief just to know all the hard work and effort I've been putting in since I was five and started playing football has finally paid off," Williams said. "To know I will at least have somewhere to play in college."

He has not been able to visit the Illinois campus, but he has done some research on the program.

"I've gone on their website and the coaches have come to my school and I've talked to them before," Williams said. "I've done a little research on them. It's cool. It would be a big stage for me and I'm just kind of anxious to see what happens."

Tulsa also recently extended an offer, and a trip to check out the Golden Hurricane program is among his future plans.

"We haven't been to any junior days yet,"Williams's father Keith said. "We're going to SMU next Saturday (Feb. 22) and Justice has been invited to about a half dozen but they're just too far away. He's been invited to Wake Forest and Virginia and Iowa and Illinois. We got invited to Tulsa. We were planning to go this weekend but my wife and I had a couple of things in our schedule change that are keeping us from going. So we're going to go up there during spring practice and check that out. He has a couple of dozen invites and the activity level is starting to pick up."

Williams has already taken unofficial visits to Oklahoma State and Arizona. He has talked to coaches and received handwritten letters from Wake Forest, Virginia, and Iowa, and recently has seen interest pick up from Oregon.

It is still early in the recruiting process, but Williams admits a few programs have caught his attention.

"I've been an Oregon fan since I was about 10, so I'd probably say they're my favorite," Williams said. "I've liked Arizona since like the seventh or eighth grade because a girlfriend I had liked them."

Williams's father Kevin Williams played college football at Lafayette in the 1980s and his brother, Kevin "K.J." Williams, Jr., is currently a walk-on at Southern Miss.

Mr. Williams has seen his son grow and progress over the years and is excited to see what the future holds.

"It's been a good ride," Mr. Williams said. "I've been coaching him since he was six and it's good to see him continue on and start to really grow in his skillset. He's always had a pretty good skillset with his hands from playing receiver and a good concept on defense. Now he's putting it all together and it's starting to pay off for him."

In addition to football, Williams is also a member of the Wakeland basketball and track teams. On the football field, he earned first-team all-district honors on offense and defense.