4-star RB DeJuan Williams announces top eight schools

Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy four-star running back DeJuan Williams has narrowed his list of top schools down to eight. His list includes Boston College, Cincinnati, Maryland, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

Williams is the No. 291 overall prospect and No. 25 running back in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 7 player in Maryland.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), Maryland currently has the lead to land a pledge for the 5foot-10.5, 195-pounder. The Terrapins sit with a 40.7% chance while Penn State sits not far back at 26.9%.

Not only does the RPM have Maryland as the favorite, but Williams told On3’s Chad Simmons in a recent interview that he views that Terrapins as the favorite in his recruitment as well.

“What puts Maryland on my top of my list is first off is because it’s my hometown team,” Williams told Simmons. “I love the coaching staff. Coach lance has been coming to my spring practices and he always texts me and my parent to make sure I’m doing good. I feel that I could play early if I go there my freshman year, do great things and be a freshman All-American.”

The only official visit Williams has set so far is to Maryland on June 23.

“I’ve visited Maryland a lot since I’ve been little,” Williams added. “My brother was being recruited there a couple years ago so it started early for me with Maryland.”

Williams currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $48K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.