Marquis Williams

Panther247 will be taking a look at Pitt's 2018 recruiting class and evaluating what each player will be bringing to the table for the Panthers in the future.

Class of 2018 cornerback Marquis Williams committed to Pitt back on Aug. 21. The three-star prospect has had several colleges try to flip him lately, but Williams has made it known to all that he is one-hundred percent committed to Pitt. Williams be signing his Letter of Intent on Dec. 20. Panther247 takes an in-depth look at Williams and what he brings to the table for the Panthers.

COVERAGE SKILLS

Williams played both man and zone coverage for his high school football team. Panther247 was able to get enough of a sample size of Williams in both types of coverage. When you think of Florida skill position players, the first thing that usually comes to mind is speed. Williams has that. The first thing that stands out about Williams is his closing speed. Even if a receiver gets a step on him, which isn't too often, Williams is fast enough to close the gap and run stride for stride with receivers. There's several plays that Williams made in his highlights there he runs stride-for-stride with receiver a receiver and ends up breaking up the pass.

In the play above, even though you can't see what happens at the line of scrimmage, you can see what the end result is. Williams ends up running stride for stride with the receiver down the sideline and the quarterback is unable to complete the pass.

Having that closing speed is what sometimes separates an FCS prospect and an FBS prospect. Williams' ability to transition from his backpedal to turning and running with receivers with fluidity is another part of his game that stands out.

BALL SKILLS

As a 5-foot-9 cornerback playing in the ACC, it's obvious that he's going to line up against plenty of wide receivers that may be taller than him. This is where Williams' excellent ball skills come into play. We know he already has the ability to run with most wide receivers. The question is what happens when it's time to compete for a 50/50 ball in the red-zone?

Williams made plenty of plays like the two above where he has to high-point and make a play on the football. The ability to backpedal, turn and run stride-for-stride with the receiver and then correctly time your jump to make a play on the ball in the air is not an easy thing to do for all cornerbacks. Some cornerbacks have problems with either locating the football when it's in the air or with timing their jumps. Some even have problems doing both, but not Williams. Williams has great eye/hand coordination and that enables him to win those 50/50 battles for the football.

RUN SUPPORT

Williams is not afraid to come up and make a tackle and can be counted on to provide run support.

The only thing we would like to see Williams do is use his hands a little bit more while making tackles. That being said, he's a physical cornerback that can tackle in the open field too.

ABILITY TO READ AND DIAGNOSE PLAYS QUICKLY

The best cornerbacks usually have great instincts and can react to what they see quickly.

In the play above, it looks like his team is in a zone defense. Williams is about to run with the wide receiver up-field, but he reads the quarterbacks eyes and turns his attention to the slot receiver coming his away. It doesn't turn out well for the slot receiver. Williams has multiple plays on his highlights where he is able to diagnose quickly whether or not it's a pass or run play coming his way.

FOOT QUICKNESS AND BURST

The play below is just one example of him having that "burst" that you need to drive on a wide-receiver after coming out of your backpedal and make a play.

Williams makes it difficult to for quarterbacks to complete passes on him because he's usually right on the wide receiver's hip. It won't be a "culture shock" to Williams when he gets to the ACC from a speed standpoint. He's a Florida kid that is used to facing fast players on a regular basis.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It's no wonder why Power 5 schools are still knocking at Williams' door even though he has shut down his recruitment. Yes, Williams has speed, but there's a lot of players at the FBS level with that. Williams also has that burst and closing ability that will enable him to run with the best wide receivers at the next level. Williams is a physical cornerback that loves to tackle and will get even stronger at the next level. Pitt is getting a well-rounded cornerback in Williams.