Williams Still Not Ready To Commit Ferris Standout Awaits Visitors Before Announcing Where He’Ll Play Football

UNPUBLISHED CORRECTION: The name of football player Jeremey Williams is misspelled in this story. The correct spelling was confirmed by his mother.

Once again, rumors and reports have crept up that Ferris High standout Jeremy Williams has orally committed to play football for Washington State.

Once again, they are untrue, according to Williams.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive lineman said he will be taking two more in-home visits this week - from new Washington coach Rick Neuheisel and USC coach Paul Hackett - before making his decision.

Williams, considered one of the top 100 recruits nationally, has taken official visits to both schools, as well as Washington State and Michigan. He canceled a trip to UCLA.

The Cougars have been the leaders throughout the recruiting battle, but the blue-chip prospect has continually said he wanted to look at every available option and listen to all offers before making his decision.

Williams’ decision could come as early as this weekend.

Another Washington State prospect, 6-foot-7, 325-pound Jordan Gehring of American Falls, Idaho, also is in a wait-andsee mode. The two-time all-state player had committed to Colorado, but when Neuheisel left, Gehring pulled his commitment.

“He’s waiting to see what Colorado does with their coaching situation,” said American Falls coach Dick Brulotte. “He really wasn’t going to Colorado because of coach Neuheisel, so he is not interested in following him to Washington.”

Gehring, who has a 3.75 GPA, had narrowed his choices to WSU and Colorado before choosing the Buffs a few weeks ago. Now, Kansas State has entered the picture.

“He wants to go to a small-town type school,” said Brulotte. “Since he is from a town of 3,000 to 4,000, that’s where he believes he will be most comfortable.”

Gehring, who has been sought by every school in the West, has attended Washington State’s summer football camp the past three years. He may still be growing.

“I have to order new equipment for him every year because he outgrows the old stuff by the time the season starts,” said Brulotte.

Gehring may wait until the signing day, Feb. 3, before making his decision.

Isaac Brown, a 6-3, 240-pound linebacker/defensive end from Claremont, Calif., still has WSU as his top school after a weekend visit to Arizona State. Brown, a high school teammate of Cougars recruit Deon Burnett, is scheduled to take a trip to Texas A&M this weekend.

The trip to College Station was to be his last, but some close to the situation said he may not take it and could announce his commitment with the Cougars late this week.

Other prospects for the Cougars include Chad Cook, a 6-4, 220-pound tight end/defensive back from Portland. Cook took his official visit to Washington State last weekend. Kyle Stewart, a 6-3, 303-pound offensive lineman from Kent, Wash., also has WSU listed among his top schools.

The Cougars did miss out on defensive back Nijrell Eason. The 6-1, 195-pound Long Beach City College product, who was rated as one of the top defensive backs nationally, has committed to USC.

And Central Valley’s Tyree Clowe, the Greater Spokane League’s all-time rushing leader, no longer is being recruited by the Cougars. Clowe had a trip to WSU scheduled for this weekend but the school called it off after signing Burnett. Clowe moved up his trip to Hawaii to this weekend.

Washington State, which has 21 known oral commitments, will probably sign 25-27 players. Only 25 can report with this class, however.

“What we may do is sign more (than the 25 that can enroll) and then some will enroll in January (2000) because of grades, size or a previous injury,” said WSU coach Mike Price.

One player who is probably headed for that route is Huntington Beach’s Sam Lightbody. The 6-8, 266-pound lineman knows he will have to put on weight before he can play at the college level.

Four players have already enrolled and a fifth is on the way.

Junior college transfers Curtis Holden, a 6-3, 240-pound linebacker from San Francisco City College; Milton Wynn, a 6-3, 200-pound receiver from L.A. Valley City College; and Marvin Camarena, a 6-3, 260-pound defensive lineman from San Francisco City College are enrolled. So is Kjell Nesen, a 6-2, 193-pounder from LaCanada, Calif., who waited a semester to enroll.

Garvia Freeny, a 6-3, 275-pound offensive lineman from Long Beach City College could enroll by Friday - the last day the university will allow for this semester. He is waiting to see if he has earned his Associate of Arts degree from Long Beach Junior College.

“I’ve been involved in probably the two best recruiting classes at WSU, the 1989 class with (Drew) Bledsoe and then the 1972 class with Jack Thompson,” said Price, who is restricted by NCAA rules from commenting on individual players. “This class rivals those.”

WSU moved from 18th to 20th on recruiting analyst Bobby Burton’s rankings this week. Six Pac-10 schools are listed ahead of the Cougars: No. 4 UCLA, No. 7 USC, No. 14 Stanford, No. 15 Oregon, No. 16 Cal, No. 18 Arizona, No. 19 Arizona State.

Washington is listed No. 33. Oregon State is 45th.

WSU ORAL COMMITMENTS High school seniors Rein Long, OL, 6-7, 260, Anacortes, Wash., Seattle Times Red Chip, Tacoma News Tribune Northwest Nugget Honorable Mention. Forrest Lawson, WR, 6-2, 190, Puyallup, Wash., Red Chip, Tacoma News Tribune Northwest Nugget Honorable Mention. Billy Knotts, OL/DL, 6-6, 230 Vancouver, Wash., Red Chip. Matt Kegel, QB, 6-5, 210, 4.7 40, Havre, Mont., SuperPrep’s 12th rated quarterback nationally. 1998 stats: 2,100 passing yards, 24 TDs, 11 interceptions. Collin Henderson, WR, 6-2, 185, 4.6 40, Puyallup, Red Chip, Tacoma News Tribune Northwest Nugget Honorable Mention. Al Genatone, LB, 6-0, 210, 4.5 40, Kennewick, Red Chip, Big Nine defensive player of the year. Faafetai Tupai, DL, 6-4, 295, 5.3 40, Monterey, Calif., top 100 players nationally as rated by ESPN. Marcus Trufant, DB, 6-0, 175, 4.5 40, Tacoma, Red Chip, TNT Northwest Nugget Honorable Mention. Melvin Simmons, LB, 6-6, 205, 4.6 40, Compton, Calif., Long Beach Press Telegram First Team Dream Team Defense. Stats: 221 tackles and 21 sacks in the past two seasons. Josh Shavies, TE/DL, 6-6, 245, 4.7 40, Oakland, Calif., top 100 players nationally as rated by ESPN. Josh Parrish, TE, 6-5, 245, 5.2 40, Chewelah, Red Chip, TNT Northwest Nugget Honorable Mention. Kjell Nesen, no position listed, 6-2, 193 4.6 40, LaCanada, Calif. Kason Love, LB/DL, 6-4, 260, Riverside, Calif., 1998 league defensive player of the year, All-Southern California pick. Deon Burnett, RB, 6-0, 205, Claremont, Calif., 4.4 40, 1997 HS All-American, 1998 all-state. 1998 stats: 2,537 yards and 27 touchdowns; 10.7 yards per carry; 32 receptions, 450 yards. Sam Lightbody, OL, 6-8, 266, Huntington Beach, Calif., 1998 stats: 51 tackles, four sacks.

Junior college transfers Curtis Holden, LB, 6-3, 240 San Francisco City College, 1998 Junior College All-American, 140 tackles. Melvin Camarena, DL, 6-3, 260, San Francisco City College. John Williams, LB, 6-3, 225, 4.5 40, second team JC All-American. Milton Wynn, WR, 6-3, 200, 4.4 40, L.A. Valley City College. 1998 stats: 751 receiving yards. Garvia Freeny, OL, 6-3, 275, Long Beach City College. Anthony Adedopi, DL, 6-5, 260, Chabot Junior College. Thirteen sacks in 1998.

Staff writer David Trimmer contributed to this report.