Tar Heels get commitment from Massachusetts star

By: By Bill Cole | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: January 06, 2009

North Carolina added one of the nation's top high-school linemen to its recruiting class less than a month before national signing day.

Brennan Williams, a 6-6, 270-pound senior at Catholic Memorial High in West Roxbury, Mass., committed during the weekend while in San Antonio, Texas, for the U.S. Army high-school All-Star game.

Williams also considered Wake Forest and Boston College and had at least 20 scholarship offers from a list of schools that also included Florida, Notre Dame, Stanford, Michigan, Maryland, Duke, Virginia, Connecticut, Penn State, Syracuse and Minnesota.

Williams' father, Brent, played in the NFL for the New England Patriots, the New York Jets and the Seattle Seahawks, but Coach Alex Campea of Catholic Memorial said that a future pro career was not foremost on Williams' mind in picking a college.

Campea said that Williams sees a championship program building at UNC under Coach Butch Davis.

"Don't misunderstand my statement, but I think the NFL is not the reason why he chose North Carolina," Campea said. "Coach Davis is someone who has ‘been there, done that,' meaning that he's been at the college level and at the professional level.

"I think the whole Williams family is comfortable that Coach Davis is a stable coach who has great assistants who did a great job recruiting him. He felt comfortable in that entire environment."

Williams, UNC's 25th commitment, was a SuperPrep preseason All-America and was No. 23 in the nation among offensive linemen and No. 1 among seniors from New England in SuperPrep's preseason rankings. He can sign a binding NCAA letter of intent on Feb. 4, the first day of the football signing period.

Williams played on Catholic Memorial's varsity for four seasons, and Campea said that a freshman making the varsity is unusual in his program. Williams moved to center as a senior so the team could have a reliable snapper in a Shotgun formation, played tackle as a junior and sophomore and was a guard as a freshman. He has 5.2-second speed over 40 yards.

Campea said that Williams probably will play on the offensive line at UNC but that he could also play on the defensive line. The Massachusetts high-school coaches association named Williams to its Super 26 team of top seniors as a defensive lineman.

"He explodes off the ball," Campea said. "I think he can put on another 20 or 30 pounds, and you probably wouldn't see it on him. He's got that type of frame. He's got long legs and long arms that help in pass-blocking situations."

■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.