I'm sure ReCane remembers Willie.... But at this critical time in recruiting I thought I'd post a link to one of my favorite recruiting stories of all time. The Recruitment of Willie Williams
Read "The System" if you want to know what goes on behind the scenes. It wioll make you laugh, cry and be incredulous.
Ole Willie, the answer to every major college out there and for sure every big time university in the State of Florida... Oh yeah I remember Willie, we actually won the contest in getting him to sign with Miami, must of been the police escorted Escalade....Seems that in his visit in Gainesville he had an altercation that was brought out to the light where we either voided his offer or came up later on, I forget.... This guy has to be 25 years old by now, I wonder what he is doing now with his life...He was the ultimate of ultimate recruit for any and all schools that would guarantee a run to the national championship....
Its a long book and I purposely did not read the chapter headings in advance so I would not be prejudiced or tempted to skip over anything.The chapter on the Texas program was one of the more incredible ones I've read so far. The time period covered is mostly 2011-2012 so it is current.
'" Auburn: ''The girls at the party were much better than the farmer girls we'd see all day around campus,'' Williams said. ``I was kind of worried all Auburn had to offer was those farmer girls that talked funny. But the girls at the party weren't farmer girls at all. I thought they must have bused them in from Miami.''
Another in-depth article on Willie Williams from the beginning to the end, a sad, sad ending to be honest... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1943325-the-tragic-story-of-willie-williams-college-footballs-first-celebrity-recruit
That is sad and a shame. It doesn't sound to me like one incident did him in but many, to bad. Another sad case is Willie Green out of Kissimmee Florida, he attended Osceola High School and led them to one state championship and to the finals another year. He broke some of Emmitt Smith's high school records and was named Mr. Football in Florida for 1999. He got a scholarship to the University of Florida. Willie gained over 2600 rushing yards in each of his Junior and Senior years in high school. He was loved in Kissimmee and I have a picture of one of my grandsons talking to him at an event. Willie was destined to be a star and for the NFL. Unfortunately injuries did him in and he hardly played at Florida. He had knee injuries in high school but after a scope was right back on the field. His high school coach blamed the Gators for his medical problems, but he hardly played at Florida. I am convinced he was overused in high school and his knees were pretty well shot. To make a long story short he dropped out of Florida, got involved in trading drugs and ended up in jail. I don't know his exact sentence but do have this article about him just before he was sentenced to jail. It seems there are to many stories about athletes like this and Willie. The writer of this story is a personal friend of mine. What Happened To Willie
I don't remember Willie Green, but another sad story. There's a story out there on Ryan Perriloux the former Texas verbal who stiffed Mack Brown on signing day for LSU and didn't stick there either, was booted for a bunch of things and ended up at Jacksonville State...still trying to play. His story is one of a kid who just couldn't get out of his own stupid way. Ryan Perrilloux
I'm not surprised you never heard of Willie Green Terry. By all accounts he was a model student, decent guy and great football player in High School. I am convinced his high school coach ruined his chances by bringing him back to quick from knee injuries. Running backs have a limited life especially if over used. Running for over 5000 yards in two years is definitely high usage. He was still highly ranked coming out of high school but considerably lower then where he had been projected the year earlier. His college career just never got off the ground but due to injuries not attitude. Things went wrong for him later. I surely remember Ryan Perrilloux and it seems he got in his own way like Willie Williams and other talents that just don't get it as to what they need to do in order to succeed.