I'm sure some of you are familiar with the saga of poor Willie Williams, the Florida high school football superstar by day and career criminal by night.
The Sports Guy mentioned his recruiting diaries in his column once, and they really are sheer, unadulterated entertainment and ridiculous extravagance (remember, these are public colleges financing these visits). I couldn't make up passages more ridiculous than some of these on the foolinest day of my life.
note: these are from before all of his criminal past, and at that time future, came out, one of them even documents the trip where he got into more trouble!
Trip 1- Florida State: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/7696869.htm
Highlights:
King Willie-
From a ride on a private jet to chowing down hundreds of dollars worth of steaks and lobster tails at Tallahassee's most elegant restaurant The Silver Slipper, Williams ate up the royal treatment.
---
On Spending the University's Money-
``Coach Haggins told us to order as much as we wanted. I ordered a steak and a lobster tail. The lobster tail was like $49.99. I couldn't believe something so little could cost so much. The steak didn't even have a price. The menu said something about market value. I was kind of embarrassed so I didn't order a lot.
'But then I saw what the other guys were ordering, I was like, `Forget this.' I called the waiter back and told him to bring me four lobster tails, two steaks and a Shrimp Scampi. It was good. I took two boxes back with me to the hotel.''
---
On Getting Hammered a 'The Club'-
''After dinner, we hit the clubs,'' Williams said. ``I had a great time with [fellow recruits] Xavier Carter, Xavier Lee, Aaron Jones and Kenny Ingram. All of us really bonded and had a great time. We got back late -- and we paid for it the next day.''
Trip 2- Auburn: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/7757573.htm
Highlights:
On His Unique Dietary Concerns-
''I really wanted to go to Red Lobster for some more lobster and steak, but they told me the wait was two hours. So I got me some babyback ribs, buffalo wings and shrimp,'' Williams said. ``Even though I ordered first, somehow, I was still the last one to get my food. It took them like two hours.''
During the wait, several of the female hosts, nicknamed the ''Tigerettes'', offered him some of their spinach dip.
''You know how it is, those girls are supposed to be there to cheer you up,'' Williams said. ``But I told them, `I ain't no animal, and I ain't going to eat no plant.'
``But they kept pushing it toward me. It was disgusting. I told them, `I'm from Miami. I don't eat that. You farm people are used to it, but not me.''
---
On Being Underappreciated-
The following morning, the recruits toured the campus and talked academics. Williams said everything went well until it was time to board the bus again after eating lunch at the football stadium.
''My host was taking her time, and it was freezing outside -- like 30 degrees or something,'' Williams said. 'All I was wearing was this little T-shirt and jeans. By the time she got to me, two of the shuttles had already left. We jumped on the last bus. I told her, `You think I'm a snow man or something?' She didn't say nothing. Not even sorry. I was [ticked] off.''
Williams said he swallowed his anger and met briefly with the Auburn coaching staff. He said he spoke mostly with linebacker coach Joe Whitt.
''Coach Whitt was great. He told me if I went to Auburn, I could probably play right away,'' Williams said. ``Thing was, I was still kind of mad. And it only got worse.''
---
On Auburn's Scenery-
Later that night, the recruits were invited to a party on campus with their hosts.
''The girls at the party were much better than the farmer girls we'd see all day around campus,'' Williams said. ``I was kind of worried all Auburn had to offer was those farmer girls that talked funny. But the girls at the party weren't farmer girls at all. I thought they must have bused them in from Miami.''
---
On Resisting Temptation-
On the way to the airport Sunday morning, Williams said he and the recruits were greeted by the school cheerleaders on the way to the bus.
''One guy decided it was enough for him to commit,'' Williams said. 'They tried to get me to join him. The girls were shouting `We want you Willie.
Trip 3 University of Miami- http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/7804726.htm
Highlights:
On Being Properly Escorted-
Coach Larry Coker picked him up at his Carol City home in a white Cadillac Escalade, then put Williams up at the Mayfair House Hotel in Coconut Grove. Williams' room featured a jacuzzi on his balcony.
The name of Williams' room? The Paradise suite.
---
On Coach Coker-
Williams was surprised when Coker picked him up.
''Coach [Coker] looks like an old guy in his 50s or 60s, but he's real cool,'' Williams said. ``When he talks, he sounds like he's 18 or 20.
'And when I saw he was driving the Escalade, I was like, `Dang, coach got some taste.' '
---
On... umm... academics.
When Williams arrived at UM, Killian running back Bobby Washington and Killian cornerback J.R. Bryant were waiting for him. The recruits spoke with school counselors about academics. [:lol :lol :lol :lol]
---
On His Pavlovian Reaction to the Police-
Following the campus visit, the recruits boarded a bus with the coaching staff and headed for the Orange Bowl. Williams said he wasn't aware the recruits had a police escort.
''We'd get to a red light and I would hold on because the bus driver would just take it,'' he said. ``Coach Coker looked at me and he was like, `Are you OK, Willie?'
'I was thinking the bus driver was crazy. Coach Coker was like, `Willie, we've got police escorts.' I told him, 'Thank God. I thought the police were trying to pull us over and give us a ticket.' That was pretty funny.''
---
On His Animal-Life Fears-
Williams ran out of the tunnel through a giant-sized UM helmet and the infamous smoke. The music playing over the loudspeakers was Bone Crusher's rap hit Never Scared. Oddly, though, Williams kind of was.
''I was running like a blind man,'' Williams said. 'I had my eyes closed cause I didn't want none of that smoke to get in my eyes. Coach was like, `It's OK, Willie. It isn't going to hurt you.' Now, I know. Running through that smoke was awesome.''
---
'The Club,' Part Two-
Then it was off for a night out on South Beach.
'They took us to this place called `The Bed.' Warren Sapp, Clinton Portis, Jevon Kearse and a whole bunch of really hot girls were all there. We didn't stick around long. After that, we just went back to the hotel to sleep.''
---
Trip 4- Florida: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/7857927.htm
Highlights:
On His Intimate Connection With God-
``Tonight, I'm going to spend the night in my room. My cell phones are going to be off and I'm pulling the phone line out of the wall. It's going to be me and my rap music. I'll pray. Then I'll make up my mind.''
---
On Having His Refined Culinary Sensibility Insulted-
On Friday, he and Carol City teammate Akeem Robinson boarded a private jet and arrived in Gainesville at 5 p.m.
Upon arrival, the two were greeted by the Florida coaching staff and whisked away to a dinner party at Alumni Hall. Williams ate swedish meatballs but passed on gator tails.
''I ate so many meatballs, the people there started looking like meatballs,'' Williams said. 'Some guy kept trying to get me to eat these alligator tails, but I wasn't having it. I told him `I'm not the Crocodile Hunter.' I don't touch reptiles.''
---
On Some Freaky Beauty Pageant Where the Bitches Don't Just Shake Their Tits In Your Face-
After dinner, Williams and other recruits were taken to an on-campus beauty pageant.
''They had girls come out, all dressed nice, but it took awhile,'' Williams said. ``It was a weird beauty pageant because there were some people talking about black history the whole time. Then it got worse. They had guy models come out.''
---
More Culinary Concerns-
The following morning, the recruits toured campus and met with the Florida coaching staff. Later that night, Williams said he was surprised to learn he was eating at the stadium again for dinner.
''The first night I was OK with eating at the stadium,'' Williams said. 'But when they told me were going to eat there again, I was a little disappointed. I was like, `Take us to Red Lobster or something.' Instead, it was the same old fried chicken.
The Sports Guy mentioned his recruiting diaries in his column once, and they really are sheer, unadulterated entertainment and ridiculous extravagance (remember, these are public colleges financing these visits). I couldn't make up passages more ridiculous than some of these on the foolinest day of my life.
note: these are from before all of his criminal past, and at that time future, came out, one of them even documents the trip where he got into more trouble!
Trip 1- Florida State: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/7696869.htm
Highlights:
King Willie-
From a ride on a private jet to chowing down hundreds of dollars worth of steaks and lobster tails at Tallahassee's most elegant restaurant The Silver Slipper, Williams ate up the royal treatment.
---
On Spending the University's Money-
``Coach Haggins told us to order as much as we wanted. I ordered a steak and a lobster tail. The lobster tail was like $49.99. I couldn't believe something so little could cost so much. The steak didn't even have a price. The menu said something about market value. I was kind of embarrassed so I didn't order a lot.
'But then I saw what the other guys were ordering, I was like, `Forget this.' I called the waiter back and told him to bring me four lobster tails, two steaks and a Shrimp Scampi. It was good. I took two boxes back with me to the hotel.''
---
On Getting Hammered a 'The Club'-
''After dinner, we hit the clubs,'' Williams said. ``I had a great time with [fellow recruits] Xavier Carter, Xavier Lee, Aaron Jones and Kenny Ingram. All of us really bonded and had a great time. We got back late -- and we paid for it the next day.''
Trip 2- Auburn: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/7757573.htm
Highlights:
On His Unique Dietary Concerns-
''I really wanted to go to Red Lobster for some more lobster and steak, but they told me the wait was two hours. So I got me some babyback ribs, buffalo wings and shrimp,'' Williams said. ``Even though I ordered first, somehow, I was still the last one to get my food. It took them like two hours.''
During the wait, several of the female hosts, nicknamed the ''Tigerettes'', offered him some of their spinach dip.
''You know how it is, those girls are supposed to be there to cheer you up,'' Williams said. ``But I told them, `I ain't no animal, and I ain't going to eat no plant.'
``But they kept pushing it toward me. It was disgusting. I told them, `I'm from Miami. I don't eat that. You farm people are used to it, but not me.''
---
On Being Underappreciated-
The following morning, the recruits toured the campus and talked academics. Williams said everything went well until it was time to board the bus again after eating lunch at the football stadium.
''My host was taking her time, and it was freezing outside -- like 30 degrees or something,'' Williams said. 'All I was wearing was this little T-shirt and jeans. By the time she got to me, two of the shuttles had already left. We jumped on the last bus. I told her, `You think I'm a snow man or something?' She didn't say nothing. Not even sorry. I was [ticked] off.''
Williams said he swallowed his anger and met briefly with the Auburn coaching staff. He said he spoke mostly with linebacker coach Joe Whitt.
''Coach Whitt was great. He told me if I went to Auburn, I could probably play right away,'' Williams said. ``Thing was, I was still kind of mad. And it only got worse.''
---
On Auburn's Scenery-
Later that night, the recruits were invited to a party on campus with their hosts.
''The girls at the party were much better than the farmer girls we'd see all day around campus,'' Williams said. ``I was kind of worried all Auburn had to offer was those farmer girls that talked funny. But the girls at the party weren't farmer girls at all. I thought they must have bused them in from Miami.''
---
On Resisting Temptation-
On the way to the airport Sunday morning, Williams said he and the recruits were greeted by the school cheerleaders on the way to the bus.
''One guy decided it was enough for him to commit,'' Williams said. 'They tried to get me to join him. The girls were shouting `We want you Willie.
Trip 3 University of Miami- http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/7804726.htm
Highlights:
On Being Properly Escorted-
Coach Larry Coker picked him up at his Carol City home in a white Cadillac Escalade, then put Williams up at the Mayfair House Hotel in Coconut Grove. Williams' room featured a jacuzzi on his balcony.
The name of Williams' room? The Paradise suite.
---
On Coach Coker-
Williams was surprised when Coker picked him up.
''Coach [Coker] looks like an old guy in his 50s or 60s, but he's real cool,'' Williams said. ``When he talks, he sounds like he's 18 or 20.
'And when I saw he was driving the Escalade, I was like, `Dang, coach got some taste.' '
---
On... umm... academics.
When Williams arrived at UM, Killian running back Bobby Washington and Killian cornerback J.R. Bryant were waiting for him. The recruits spoke with school counselors about academics. [:lol :lol :lol :lol]
---
On His Pavlovian Reaction to the Police-
Following the campus visit, the recruits boarded a bus with the coaching staff and headed for the Orange Bowl. Williams said he wasn't aware the recruits had a police escort.
''We'd get to a red light and I would hold on because the bus driver would just take it,'' he said. ``Coach Coker looked at me and he was like, `Are you OK, Willie?'
'I was thinking the bus driver was crazy. Coach Coker was like, `Willie, we've got police escorts.' I told him, 'Thank God. I thought the police were trying to pull us over and give us a ticket.' That was pretty funny.''
---
On His Animal-Life Fears-
Williams ran out of the tunnel through a giant-sized UM helmet and the infamous smoke. The music playing over the loudspeakers was Bone Crusher's rap hit Never Scared. Oddly, though, Williams kind of was.
''I was running like a blind man,'' Williams said. 'I had my eyes closed cause I didn't want none of that smoke to get in my eyes. Coach was like, `It's OK, Willie. It isn't going to hurt you.' Now, I know. Running through that smoke was awesome.''
---
'The Club,' Part Two-
Then it was off for a night out on South Beach.
'They took us to this place called `The Bed.' Warren Sapp, Clinton Portis, Jevon Kearse and a whole bunch of really hot girls were all there. We didn't stick around long. After that, we just went back to the hotel to sleep.''
---
Trip 4- Florida: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/7857927.htm
Highlights:
On His Intimate Connection With God-
``Tonight, I'm going to spend the night in my room. My cell phones are going to be off and I'm pulling the phone line out of the wall. It's going to be me and my rap music. I'll pray. Then I'll make up my mind.''
---
On Having His Refined Culinary Sensibility Insulted-
On Friday, he and Carol City teammate Akeem Robinson boarded a private jet and arrived in Gainesville at 5 p.m.
Upon arrival, the two were greeted by the Florida coaching staff and whisked away to a dinner party at Alumni Hall. Williams ate swedish meatballs but passed on gator tails.
''I ate so many meatballs, the people there started looking like meatballs,'' Williams said. 'Some guy kept trying to get me to eat these alligator tails, but I wasn't having it. I told him `I'm not the Crocodile Hunter.' I don't touch reptiles.''
---
On Some Freaky Beauty Pageant Where the Bitches Don't Just Shake Their Tits In Your Face-
After dinner, Williams and other recruits were taken to an on-campus beauty pageant.
''They had girls come out, all dressed nice, but it took awhile,'' Williams said. ``It was a weird beauty pageant because there were some people talking about black history the whole time. Then it got worse. They had guy models come out.''
---
More Culinary Concerns-
The following morning, the recruits toured campus and met with the Florida coaching staff. Later that night, Williams said he was surprised to learn he was eating at the stadium again for dinner.
''The first night I was OK with eating at the stadium,'' Williams said. 'But when they told me were going to eat there again, I was a little disappointed. I was like, `Take us to Red Lobster or something.' Instead, it was the same old fried chicken.