Oregon's Battle for Dylan Williams Heating up Amid Recruiting Boom

Dylan Williams has been viewed as an Oregon lean, but other schools aren't letting up and won't go down without a fight.

The future is looking bright for Oregon linebacker recruiting. The Ducks are one of three schools that have the full attention of 5-star Conroe (Tex.) Oak Ridge standout Justin Williams and Kamar Mothudi is still very high on the Ducks.

Staying in Southern California, Oregon has been closely linked to Long Beach (Calif.) Poly linebacker Dylan Williams, who is set for a busy stretch on the recruiting trail.

Got to talk to 2024 Long Beach (Calif.) Poly LB Dylan Williams today. His recruitment has really taken off lately and he’s set for a busy June with a slate of trips lined up. More coming on Ducks Digest pic.twitter.com/WiYwfkzZa2

— Max Torres (@mtorressports) May 10, 2023

"This upcoming weekend I'll be taking an official visit to UCLA," Williams told Ducks Digest at the Long Beach Poly Spring Showcase. "The next one I think is June 11 to Michigan State. I'll be taking an OV to Oregon in June as well and I'll be getting up to Texas and Miami in June."

The 6-foot-3, 212-pound backer plans on taking more than the traditional five official visits and will see a major Big Ten program in the fall.

"I'm planning on doing more in season. I want to go to that Penn State White Out game. They're a top school for me right now."

Williams now holds more than 30 scholarship offers and with official visits getting scheduled, it may look like he's getting closer to a decision.

"Right now I'm just going with the flow," he said about his commitment timeline. "Whenever it feels right I'll be making a decision, but as of right now I'm really just taking my time in my recruitment and just keeping everything 100% open."

However, he does know that he'll be enrolling at his school of choice early and that he's prioritizing a family-oriented program and somewhere he can compete for early playing time.

With so many schools coming after the standout backer, he tried to highlight who's recruiting him the hardest.

"Oregon for sure. Coach Tosh (Lupoi), working with Dan Lanning and Coach Mike (Brian Michalowski) new inside linebackers coach. UCLA is on me very tough Coach Ken Norton Jr. and Coach Chip Kelly are doing their thing over there. Michigan State's on me tough. 

"Miami's on me really hard. Coach Mario Cristobal and then Coach Derek Nicholson, he's on me tough, calling me every day texting me every day. Nebraska's on me hard right now. Michigan's on me pretty tough right now. Texas, me and Coach Sark, me and him have a great relationship. I love everything he's doing over there with the program."

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Michigan State has emerged as a real player in his recruitment.

"Michigan State for sure is one of the schools that I had really no interest in them at all until they were able to convince me to come up on a visit and ever since then, (a) top school for me," Williams said. "I truly love everything Mel Tucker is doing right now and Coach Hazelton up there."

So what's the story with him and Oregon and the latest in their recruiting efforts?

"Tosh Lupoi, he was actually here last week. Me and him have a great relationship. Me and Coach Mike, the new inside linebackers coach we'll be getting on a Zoom tomorrow actually just going over defense, breaking some things down. 

"Everything's 100% great over there. Oregon's like (a) top three school for me, they might be the top school as of right now. I love everything they're doing out in Oregon. Everything."

Having taken so many trips to Eugene already, one thing might be different when Williams takes his official visit next month.

"Just getting my family up on campus," he said. "I'm excited for that. I can't wait to get my fam up there and let them see everything they (Oregon) have to offer."

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