Zereoue Williams’ Improbable Recruiting Journey

Mountain Pointe’s Zereoue Williams stands out.

Initially, it’s because of his 6-foot-8, 250-pound frame, but when he speaks, it becomes abundetly clear he’s a focused, respectful, patient student-athlete. The 4.1 student wants to study biochemical engineering or software engineering in college and averaged 11.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game on the boards for the Pride basketball team that made it to the 6A state title game.

But the gridiron is where he’s received multiple Power 5 offers over the last week…despite never playing a varsity game.

“This is a totally new experience for me,” Williams said. “All the coaches talking to me from these are big-time places, it’s a dream for me to to get recruited this heavily. I didn’t know that football would be the outlet for me.”

Williams’ older brother, Eriq, plays football at Northern Arizona University, and Zereoue took up the sport in March in hopes to potentially team up with his brother at the next level. Pride head football coach Eric Lauer was well aware of Williams and what he can do on the basketball court. 

In fact, Williams was Lauer’s top “on-campus target” to come try out football. The senior’s size and agility made him an intriguing option at offensive tackle.

“I knew the kind of feet that he had when watching him run on the court,” Lauer said. “At 6-foot-8, he has elite feet as a football player his size. I’ve coached guys in high school that have played (offensive line) in the NFL, and he has the best feet I’ve seen. There’s a lot of things that have to happen to play on Sundays, but he has Sunday feet for a lineman.”

https://twitter.com/ZereoueW/status/1252330595796971520

The offseason was impacted greatly by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Williams has had limited opportunities to put the pads on and actually hit somebody. But he was named a team captain to the football team beacuse of his ability to push his teammates to be better.

“He runs sprints sometimes with our receivers,” Lauer said. “He’s like an oversized elk…He’s the closest thing to a unicorn that you’ll get at his size.”

The recognition continued after Mountain Pointe’s preseason scrimmage against Maricopa High School. The tape showed Williams, with virtually zero experience on the gridiron, winning multiple reps. His size, athleticism and drive stood out. 

And colleges took notice.

With just that tape on Williams’ HUDL, he earned offers from Florida State, Utah, Iowa State, Boston College, Arizona State, Oregon State and Northern Arizona in the span of a few days.

He said his phone is constantly ringing from Division I programs, he still hasn’t taken a varsity game rep due to a tweaked ankle in practice. This week, the multi-sport athlete had to think a lot about his future. West Coast teams are of interest to him so he can stay close to his family, but ultimately, the education he can receive will drive his decision.

“Academics come first,” Williams said.

What initially caught Lauer’s eye is the same thing that stands out for the colleges offering him: his elite feet. 

“(Schools like) my feet and how I move, how I look, and my my build,” Williams said.” They want to see more weight and more aggressiveness because I’m a little bit under underweight for my position, but I’m I’m going to get there to the higher weights, higher strength for dominating on the field.”

This may be just for the beginning for Williams’ unconventional recruitment as he hopes to get on the field soon. If tape from his scrimmage led to six offers, more are sure to come with more experience under his belt.

“His ceiling is so high because he’s so new to the game,” Lauer said.

But for now, Williams is enjoying the early recruiting process and continues to take care of business on the field and in the classroom.

“I’m thankful, I’m blessed,” Williams said.

“I feel great, but I’m definitely determined to keep working.”