Georgia stays the course on Mykel Williams, and it's paying off already

There aren’t many players more talented in the Class of 2022 than Mykel Williams. And there aren’t many stories better than Williams ending up at Georgia, a place that has always meant so much to him and one where he has connections galore.

Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee recruited Williams out of his hometown of Columbus, Ga. He’s known the Williams family for a while, and when he initially committed to Souther Cal, it was a big disappointment. But McGee and company stayed strong and eventually won him over.

“It was definitely tough. He was initially committed to USC, but I’ve known his pops, his grandfather and his uncle for a long time, so we knew we were never out of it,” McGee said. “We just stayed the course, stayed consistent, and it probably speaks for itself. Mykel is a Georgia kid that loves Georgia. I think he’s going to do things in an exceptional manner, which he has already. You can see the extra work and the attention to detail that he has as a young player. He actually came in and practiced with our team during the bowl week for a couple of days. He went through 14 spring practices and the spring game. Even this summer, you would see on off days he would be working. He would be working on Sundays, doing extra things to make him a better football player. So, we’re getting a very, very hard worker. Kind of unmatched from a hard work standpoint. That’s what you want out of a young player so they can influence their class as well as older guys, like, ‘Look at what Mykel is doing.’”

Williams is just another example of talented players coming out of the area. He was the No. 2 player in the country according to On3 and No. 7 according to the On3 Consensus. On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power had the following to say about Williams.

We’ve thought Mykel Williams bears a strong resemblance to a high school Chris Jones for much of the cycle. Williams checks in at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds with an arm length over 34 inches. Jones is around one inch taller than Williams, but their frames look similar at the same stage. Jones was around 6-foot-6, 255 pounds as an On3 Consensus five-star prospect in the 2013 cycle. We would not be surprised to see Williams top out around 300 pounds after a few years in Georgia’s strength program. Williams is more technically advanced than Jones at the same stage, but both were devastating pass rushers at the high school level while projecting as interior disruptors in college and the NFL. Williams averaged 1.3 sacks per game over the course of his high school career. Jones tallied 160 tackles and 14 sacks as a senior. Both also turned in dominant all-star performances – Williams was the best player all week at the All-American Bowl, while Jones was a top performer at the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic and Under Armour All-America Game.

Charles Power – On3 Director of Scouting

“There’s a lot of talent in that area, down in Columbus and Phenix City. Of late, they’ve been really excelling on the football field. Had a lot of kids cross over the river a little bit. It’s just a great area. Always has been, always will be,” McGee said about the area. “Me being from Columbus, I’m definitely tied into the area and I’m in the know. I’ll know some of the kids before they even hit the high school marks, that, ‘Hey, this middle school kid I already know about. I’ve heard about the little league running backs.’ I have a little bit of a head start on everyone else, so we’re able to get those younger kids up to our camps and on campus. We’re able to build that relationship with those kids.”

Williams will get his first taste of a fall camp scrimmage on Saturday as the Bulldogs go between the hedges. He was on campus this spring and participated in the team’s two scrimmages as well as the spring game.