Illinois Football: Bad excuse for dropping Isaiah Williams out of top 247
The Illinois football team has only one top 247 player in the latest 247Sports Top 247 rankings.
Marquez Beason is the lone Illini checking in on this list coming in at No. 100. He was right around where he was originally but moved up one spot. There is someone missing, though. That is right the player who was the highest rated recruit for the Illini just a day ago, Isaiah Williams, is not even in the top 247 according to 247Sports.
When you go to Williams’ profile, you will see he is now the No. 255 player in the class of 2019. According to Jeremy Werner of 247Sports, Williams was the No. 77 player before the rankings updated. That is a drop of 178 spots for those counting at home. This is a massive drop in ranking, and I am wondering why?
Well, Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports does the evaluating and the rankings. Back in March, less than four months ago, Wiltfong had nothing but great things to say about Williams in an interview with Mark Tupper of the Herald & Review. Here is that excerpt.
"Steve Wiltfong, director of recruiting for 247Sports, said Williams is “the most dynamic prospect to come out of St. Louis since Ezekiel Elliott,” referring to the running back who starred at Ohio State and now plays for the Dallas Cowboys.“A rival high school coach said he’s one of the 10 most dynamic athletes in the country,” Wiltfong said."
Mind you, this was less than four months ago. But, in an interview with Werner just today, Wiltfong completely changes his tune. Here is that excerpt.
"“From my perspective, here is a young man that lacks the ideal size, when you’re talking NFL quarterbacks, Williams doesn’t fit those measureables,” 247Sports director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong told Illini Inquirer. “He just doesn’t resemble anyone playing on Sunday. He is terrific on film, but the competition isn’t the top of the food chain in his state, and with average testing numbers he doesn’t scream elite prospect. He still has a ranking where we believe he’s a good player, just don’t have him among the nation’s elite prospects.”"
The fact that less than four months ago Williams was a great player who was the best thing to come out of St. Louis since Ezekiel Elliott, but now he is ranked as the No. 6 player in the state and not even in the top 247 is mind-boggling. The main justification for him dropping so many spots was because of his size, according to Wiltfong.
Well, a few things on that topic. Williams didn’t magically shrink in the last four months. He has been the same size since you declared him the most dynamic prospect to come out of St. Louis since Elliott. In fact, 247Spots lists him at 5-foot-9.5, but ESPN has him at 5-foot-10 and Rivals and MaxPreps has him at 5-foot-11.
In addition to the height likely being wrong for 247Sports, I can start naming quarterbacks who have been successful and are on track for the Hall of Fame in the NFL, if you want. Russell Wilson is 5-foot-11. He has made the Pro Bowl in four out of the six years in the NFL and won a Super Bowl. Michael Vick and Drew Brees are both 6-foot. Brees is a lock for the Hall of Fame and Vick was the most dynamic player we have ever seen in the NFL.
On top of all that, why are you evaluating for the NFL? Williams is entering his senior season at Trinity Catholic High School. He will then be going to college for at least three seasons. There is no reason to evaluate him for the NFL. You are a college recruiting evaluator for a kid entering college. The excuse that he doesn’t have the measurables for Sunday confuses me. He will be playing on Saturdays with the occasional Friday game. Those are the measurables you should be evaluating.
That takes care of my rant on the size and measurables excuse that Wiltfong brings to the table. We aren’t even in the season yet and you drop the kid that many spots. Plus, both 247Sports and ESPN have him at a 4.78 40-yard dash, which is pretty good considering he is a quarterback coming out of high school.
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If you want to adjust your rankings some to boost up other players because you might have underestimated them, fine go ahead, but to drop a player like Williams 178 spots is unacceptable. Your reasoning for the drop doesn’t make sense. And, honestly, I have lost all respect for the process of 247Sports rankings and the value of Wiltfong’s opinion.