Four-star recruit Joel Williams, originally committed to Florida, picks Kentucky
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The University of Kentucky welcomed another addition to its signing class on Thursday.
Joel Williams, a cornerback out of Madison Prep Academy in Baton Rouge, La., committed to UK one day after the early signing period for college football began. He also signed a letter of intent, making him the 20th signee of the Wildcats’ 2020 recruiting class (and 21st new addition, counting Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood).
Williams selected UK out of a final six that consisted of five other Southeastern Conference schools: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida and LSU. In 247 Sports’ composite rating, he is considered the No. 13 athlete in the nation, the No. 12 player overall in Louisiana and ranks 304th overall, nationally. Rivals has him as the No. 26 safety in the country and the 14th-best player in Louisiana. Both services rate him as a four-star prospect.
UK in a release said that it expects Williams to enroll in January.
He committed to Florida in May but de-committed from the Gators less than a month later after receiving an offer from Alabama. Kentucky came on strong in the subsequent months, and the addition of LSU transfer Kelvin Joseph helped the Wildcats’ standing; the two are good pals, if their social media interactions are any indication. Joseph began publicly recruiting Williams to Kentucky immediately after he enrolled at the school.
The addition of Williams moved Kentucky to No. 19 overall in Rivals’ team recruiting rankings for this cycle, and in front of South Carolina to improve to eighth overall among Southeastern Conference teams.
Williams took his official visit to Kentucky during the weekend of the Arkansas game, which UK won, 24-20, after starting Lynn Bowden at quarterback for the first time.
Kentucky this month offered Tyrell Raby, a junior teammate of Williams at Madison Prep. It was the first SEC offer for Raby, a cornerback who also has offers from Arizona, Georgia Tech and Virginia.
UK could still add a few more players to its incoming class. Bowling Green safety Vito Tisdale is announcing during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 4. The Wildcats are considered the favorite for Ohio running back Mike Drennen II, who’s thought to be considering between them and Southern Cal. Torrance Davis, a three-star running back who’s committed to Kentucky, has not yet officially signed.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 3:25 PM.
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