Five-star athlete James Williams, the No. 1 prospect in Florida, commits to Miami

One of the Miami Hurricanes’ quality control coaches teased the announcement with a GIF of a nuclear bomb and this bit of news deserved it: James Williams has orally committed to Miami.

The five-star safety announced his decision on Twitter a few moments after Mike Zuckerman, Manny Diaz and just about every other member of the Hurricanes’ coaching staff teased a massive announcement on the horizon.

“It’s been long it’s been hard but I stand on ten toes for what ever it takes to BEGREAT,” Williams wrote in his announcement. “I will announce that I will not be leaving the Sunshine State of Florida And Shutting Down My recruitment and Will Be Signing To The University Of Miami.”

As part of his announcement, the defensive back shared the hashtag: “#RIPSEANTAYLOR.”

Williams immediately becomes the top-ranked member of Miami’s Class of 2021 and one of the top recruits it has secured a commitment from in years. The Hurricanes beat out the Georgia Bulldogs to land the superstar from Plantation American Heritage, who announced his top two last month.

If Williams signs a National Letter of Intent with Miami with his current ranking, Williams would be the Hurricanes’ highest-ranked signing since five-star tackle Seantrel Henderson signed with Miami in 2010.

The 6-5, 218-pound senior is the No. 9 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the 2021 recruiting class, the No. 1 athlete in the class and the No. 1 player in all of Florida. He’s not just the first five-star prospect to join the class — Williams also is the first top-100 player to join Miami’s class, which now ranks No. 11 nationally and No. 3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Williams has been a top recruiting target for the Hurricanes since he was a freshman playing at Miami Gardens Monsignor Pace. The Hurricanes offered him way back in 2018 and Williams first committed to his hometown team later in the year. He stuck by his pledge for more than a year before he decommitted in 2019 as national powers like Georgia and the Alabama Crimson Tide became involved in his recruitment, and after Miami struggled in former coach Mark Richt’s final season.

Still, the Hurricanes remained persistent and frequently hosted the elite prospect for visits in Coral Gables. In February, he put out a top three with the Bulldogs, Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers, but Miami managed to make up ground and crack his top two with Georgia in June. A little more than a month later, the defensive back is joining the Hurricanes’ class.

After his freshman year, Williams transferred to American Heritage for his sophomore season. He then spent his junior year at Davie Western, where he piled up 62 total tackles with 2 1/2 tackles for loss, one sack, six interceptions, four passes defended, five forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He returned one interception for a touchdown, and also had five catches for 139 yards and three touchdowns, plus a pair of two-point conversions. Williams returned to the Patriots earlier this year and plans to play his senior season at American Heritage. He was a first-team all-Broward County selection by the Miami Herald for Classes 8A-6A.

Williams is the 19th member of the Hurricanes’ recruiting and the 16th from South Florida, and two of the three from outside the Miami metropolitan area grew up in Miami-Dade County.