2018 Kentucky QB commitment Williams reopens recruitment

Three-star quarterback Jarren Williams is no longer committed to the University of Kentucky after announcing Monday afternoon that he has reopened his recruitment.

Williams — a 6-foot-2, 205-pound prospect from Lawrenceville, Ga. — originally committed to the Wildcats last June, becoming the first player from the class of 2018 to pledge to UK. Since then, he’s received scholarship offers from several major programs and has visited many of those schools in recent weeks.

“After much thought and prayer, I have decided to decommit from Kentucky and open up my recruitment,” Williams said in a statement posted on his Twitter account. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I want to make sure that I make the best informed decision regarding my future.”

Williams added that he would not be doing any interviews regarding his decision.

Earlier this month, Williams spoke to the Herald-Leader ahead of his trip to Lexington for the UK spring game on April 14. He said at the time that he was “100 percent” committed to the Cats and excited about his visit, later tweeting that he enjoyed himself on the trip to Lexington.

At the same time, Williams acknowledged that he was listening to recruiting pitches from other major programs and remained interested in visiting other schools.

Since his commitment to UK last year, Williams has picked up offers from fellow Southeastern Conference programs Alabama, Florida, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee. He also holds offers from Florida State, Louisville, Michigan State and several other top schools.

Alabama, Florida, FSU, LSU and Tennessee have all hosted him for visits this spring.

“It’s a blessing for coaches to recognize the hard work I’ve been putting in, and my talent, and to offer me a scholarship to their school,” Williams told the Herald-Leader a couple of weeks ago. “I’m very blessed. It’s definitely a good feeling.”

Williams’ decommitment comes one recruiting cycle after UK lost four-star quarterback Mac Jones, who flipped to Alabama on June 7 of last year. The timing of Williams’ decision gives the Cats a little more time in the 2018 cycle to find another quarterback, and the Herald-Leader was told Monday afternoon that UK does plan to add at least one recruit at that position in the class of 2018.

The Cats currently have five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster: senior Stephen Johnson, junior Drew Barker, redshirt freshman Gunnar Hoak and true freshmen Danny Clark and Walker Wood.

Johnson will be out of eligibility following this coming season, and the other four quarterbacks are expected to be back for the 2018 campaign.

Williams is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 22 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2018. Nine of the top 25 dual-threat QBs and five of the top 20 pro-style QBs in the 2018 class remain uncommitted, according to the Rivals.com rankings.

Williams’ decommitment leaves Kentucky with six players in its 2018 class: wide receivers Marvin Alexander, Cadarius Gaskin and Shocky Jacques-Louis, tight end Brenden Bates, and defensive linemen Davoan Hawkins and Alex Reigelsperger.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "2018 Kentucky QB commitment Williams reopens recruitment."