Recruiting Roundup: Two Alabama football studs verbally commit

As the high school football season draws closer, two local standouts decided to go ahead and take their recruitments off the table.

Smiths Station defensive lineman Deondrae Williams announced on July 27 that he has committed to the Naval Academy. Williams, considered a two-star recruit by Rivals, also had offers from Troy, Richmond and The Citadel.

“I would get the best education from Navy and also get the best opportunities in the field of study I want to go into,” Williams said. “From a football standpoint, their program is getting a lot better, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Look for more information on Williams’ commitment in a story Friday online and in Saturday’s paper.

On Tuesday, Glenwood three-star wide receiver Cameron O’Neil committed to Pitt. O’Neil chose the Panthers over his other finalists, which included Illinois, Memphis, Troy and Virginia.

“Really it was because of the connections I had before I even went there,” O’Neil said. “It was like we were already family, and I hadn’t met the coaches yet. I already had a good relationship with them.”

Several FBS programs sent out official scholarship offers this week. Central five-star wide receiver Justyn Ross tweeted out offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and LSU. Northside linebacker Caleb Johnson tweeted out official offers from Georgia and Tennessee. Glenwood safety Navy Harris has an official offer from Eastern Kentucky.

Manchester wide receiver Kalil Brawner participated in a camp at Western Kentucky on July 24. Brawner was one of the standout players at i-Dare U’s Southwestern Exposure Camp in Columbus.

Glenwood participated in a 7-on-7 camp at UAB on July 27.

Russell County defensive lineman Simeon Hill has been offered by Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan.

Baseball

Smiths Station pitcher Jerry Bowman committed to North Georgia on Wednesday. Bowman was a member of the 2017 All-Bi-City 4A-7A Baseball First Team.

“Walking into the clubhouse on the day of my visit and (head coach Tom Cantrell) greeting me like I was family made me feel at home,” Bowman said. “Walking around the school and seeing how beautiful the campus was really set it off.”

Boys Basketball

Manchester’s Jah’Nile Hill is visiting East Tennessee State this week. Hill was the Region 4-A Player of the Year for the 2016-2017 season and was also named to the All-Bi-City 1A-3A First Team.

Softball

Smiths Station’s Lauren Michaud has committed to Gordon State in Barnesville, Ga. Michaud was named to the 2017 All-Bi-City Spring Softball Team.

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Recruiting Roundup: Two Alabama football studs verbally commit."