Leader Of The Pac (10)

Illinois linebacker Kyle Williams is from Big Ten country but the Pac-10 schools are ready to do battle for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound, All-American candidates signature.

Kyle Williams, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound, linebacker from Bolingbrook, Illinois continues to be one of the hottest prospects in the Midwest.

Williams had scholarship offers from Iowa, Illinois and Purdue prior to the Nike Camp held this past Saturday in Ann Arbor.

Now, with the May Evaluation period in full swing, Williams is reaping the rewards of a solid showing on the campus of the University of Michigan.

Williams was the Nike Camp Most Valuable Player runner-up just behind Huber Heights (Ohio) linebacker Marcus Freeman.

Since the Nike Camp, Michigan State, Indiana and UCLA have all offered Kyle a scholarship.

Yesterday, Oregon offered a scholarship and Illinois head coach Ron Turner made a school visit. Oklahoma called and said they are very interested in Williams and will be in during May as well.

Southern Cal assistant coach Lane Kiffin will be in Bolingbrook next week. More scholarship offers for Williams will come this week and all throughout the May Evaluation period and we’ll keep you up to date.

Does Williams have a leader at this point? The school to beat right now is Iowa. Hawkeye assistant coach Lester Erb is becoming one of the best recruiters in the Big Ten.

Last year, Erb and the Hawks landed the signature of All-American Mike Jones and they did it by going up against the likes of Penn State, Notre Dame and Tennessee.

Coach Erb will have his work cut out for him again this year with All-American candidate Kyle Williams but you can bet he’ll be up to the test.

What will it take to get Williams’ signature in February? We asked Bolingbrook head coach John Ivlow.

“Get in early,” said Ivlow. “The schools that have offered Kyle a scholarship early have a leg up on everyone.

“Kyle is very loyal and he knows which schools are showing him the most interest. Kyle is competitive and he feels like he’s the best linebacker in the nation, that’s why he went to the Nike Camp at the last second.

“I’ve spoken with Kyle and we’re going to sit down after the May Evaluation period and sort things out. We’ll see who came in and who called and come up with a game plan from there.”

Kyle Williams has a tremendous support group around him. His brother, Steve Williams is a former all-state linebacker from Bolingbrook and he started two years at Indiana.

Bolingbrook head coach John Ivlow played running back for Northwestern and Colorado State. Ivlow won a Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49er’s.

An early verbal commitment from Kyle Williams isn’t likely. This is going to come down to official visits, home visits and gut feelings.

Kyle has a supportive family as well as a brother and a coach who have both been through the recruiting process, he’ll be getting solid advice throughout the year just as Mike Jones did who ironically also had a brother who went through the process before him.

Question is, will Iowa still be on top when the dust settles with Kyle Williams as they were with Mike Jones? Stay tuned.