Manny Diaz’s Miami Hurricanes added yet another blue chip defensive back to the 2022 recruiting class this evening when Orlando (FL) Evans 4-star S Markeith Williams committed to The U on his instagram live stream from his birthday/commitment party!

A tall and lean player at 6’1” 170lbs, Williams is a ballhawk in the secondary with great length, top-level skills, and plenty of potential for growth, both physically and in his game skill-wise.

Over the course of the last few months, Williams has risen up the board for Miami at Safety. Already a well-known, blue chip prospect, Williams’s connection to Miami grew when former Evans standout Ishmael Aristide came over from Texas A&M to coach OLBs/STRIKERS for the Canes. The connection to another Orlando native, and one who starred at the same school that Williams attends, became a big key to this recruitment.

Williams visited Miami multiple times when the NCAA-imposed dead period ended. Those multiple visits were the foundation that was laid to build up to this evening’s commitment.

Unlike many prospects, who have to sit behind other, older players until their upperclassmen years in high school, Williams has been a varsity contributor since his freshman year in HS. Williams jumped onto the scene with 6 interceptions and 9 other PBUs as a freshman. Williams followed that performance up with first team All-Area honors in 2019, and averaged 10 tackles a game last year while playing with a club on his hand due to a broken wrist. Impressive resume to this point, to be sure.

On the recruiting trail, Williams picked Miami over named finalists Nebraska and Ohio State, and other offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Texas A&M, among others.

Here’s a quick eval on Williams by 247sports Southeast Recruiting Analyst Andrew Ivins:

Tall, rangy athlete with some length in the arms. Skinny, even for a high schooler. A ballhawk of a safety that can patrol the backend of a defense and create takeaways. Uses longer stride to chew up turf. Able to change directions better than most. Reads the quarterback well from his deep alignment. Quickly recognizes and diagnoses route concepts. Fills the alley with a purpose as a run defender. Always looking to strike someone. Described by coaches as a ‘tone setter’ given physical style of play. Broke his wrist on the first defensive series of a game as a junior and refused to leave the field. Ended up leading his team in tackles that night. Has some experience in man coverage, but that’s an area of his game that he can keep improving. Must also add some muscle in both the upper and lower halves if he’s going ever going to be able to wrangle college-sized tight ends and running backs. Picked off six passes as a freshman and seven more as a sophomore before quarterbacks started looking the other way. Should find plenty of success at the Power 5 level given range. Could excel in a single-high system. Longer frame will likely have him on the NFL’s radar.

Adding Williams to the fold continues to build Miami’s 2022 recruiting class, which already sits in the top 10 in terms of rating average for each commit. Williams joins CBs Tre’Quon Fegans, Khamauri Rogers, and Chris Graves in the secondary in this class. He becomes the 4th highest rated commitment in this class, behind Fegans and Rogers, and blue chip QB Jacurri Brown.

For a better look at the player Miami is getting in Williams, check out his HUDL highlights below:

Welcome to the U, Markeith!