SOUNDTRACK WARNING
As shoelesshobo linked in the fanposts, Jarrick Williams has just committed to Alabama. Williams is a 6'2 and 210 pound safety prospect out of Eight Mile, Alabama, and he is widely considered one of the top safety prospects in the country. Both Scout.com and Rivals have him as an upper-end four-star prospect, and he had offers from effectively every major program in the country.
Williams' commitment comes as no major surprise. Many have speculated for some period of time now that Williams may have been a silent commitment, but even if that is not the case he has long been expected to end up in Tuscaloosa. It was always more of a question of when, not if. Nevertheless, regardless of the lack of surprise, Williams' commitment is a very big one for the Tide. He is clearly one of the top players in the country, one of the top five players in the state, a native of a key recruiting area for Alabama, and a top-end player at a need position for the Tide.
At this point, in-state recruiting is almost over for the Tide. With Williams on board, only three legitimate in-state prospects remain on the board, and they are Ladarius Owens, C.J. Mosley, and Corey Grant. Owens will likely end up at Auburn, Mosley at Alabama, and in many ways Grant is the most open of all (though recent talk on Florida message boards has him committing to Alabama in the soon, so take it for what it's worth). Bottom line, with Williams on board, it essentially insures that the Tide has almost entirely locked up the state of Alabama for the third year in a row.
Williams becomes the 16th commitment of the 2009 recruiting class.
SOUNDTRACK WARNING