I was reading Thayer Evans' story on the recruitment of Seantrel Henderson and realized it sounded like a G-rated version of one of the greatest tales ever told: Manny Navarro's Miami Herald stories on the recruitment of Willie Williams.  As far as I can tell, these have been scrubbed from the Herald site and not readily available to a quick Googling, so I did a little digging for nostalgia's sake (and to remind you of the creepy business we were all following yesterday).  Enjoy.

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ON TRIP, FSU HAS WILLIAMS' NUMBER

BYLINE: MANNY NAVARRO, mnavarro@herald.com

Willie Williams' weekend visit to Florida State felt like a scene from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

From a ride on a private jet to eating hundreds of dollars worth of steaks and lobster tails at Tallahassee's most elegant restaurant, Williams ate up the royal treatment.

Williams enjoyed it so much that he says FSU has moved back into a tie with Miami in the battle for his services.

"After this visit, it's 0-0 again," said Williams, who will also visit Auburn and Florida. "UM had taken a lead when they won the Orange Bowl. But I had such a great time [at FSU], I'm torn again. I guess UM and FSU are going to overtime on me."

THE RIDE

Williams had been on a plane before, but not by himself.

"When I got to Miami International Airport, this guy was waiting for me," Williams said. "He was like 'Mr. Williams, right this way.' When I got on the plane, I was like 'Where's everybody else.' It was me, the flight attendant and the pilot. I was bugging out."

Williams slept most of the flight. When he arrived at Tallahassee Airport, defensive line coach Odell Haggins was there to greet him.

"When he picked me up, he had a box of chicken wings for me," Williams said. "I was starving, but there was only like two wings. I told him 'Coach, we're still going to dinner right?'

"He took me to the hotel. This place was beautiful, nicest place I've ever stayed. It was called The Radisson. I was impressed."

ALL YOU CAN EAT

But nothing impressed Williams more than when he sat down for dinner with nearly a dozen other recruits - including Northwestern cornerback Trevor Ford and Killian cornerback J.R. Bryant.

"Coach Haggins told us to order as much as we wanted," Williams said. "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.

"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 shrimp scampi. It was good. I took two boxes back with me to the hotel."

After dinner, Williams met his tour guide - defensive back Antonio Cromartie. But he quickly urged the coaches to find him a new one.

"That boy was on crutches," Williams said. "I would have had to hop around campus everywhere. Besides, I wanted somebody who played my position to take me around."

Cromartie was immediately replaced by linebackers Ernie Sims, Willie Jones of Carol City and A.J. Nicholson as well as defensive lineman Clifton Dickson of Northwestern.

"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."

Williams and other recruits were late for Saturday's tour of the campus, which was supposed to start at 8 a.m.

"All in all, it was a good day," Williams said. "They talked to us about their tutoring program. If you start struggling with your grades, they have a program set up that can help. To me, you have no choice but to be successful in school."

After the tour, Williams said the players were treated to lunch at Doak Campbell Stadium. But it wasn't the type of meal the players had been treated to the night before. Just sandwiches.

LUCKY NO. 17

Lunch was followed by what Williams referred to as the highlight of the trip.

"They told us to take a walk into the locker room," Williams said. "When we went in there, they had jerseys with our names on it. They even had my No. 17. I told them 'Isn't that number retired for [Heisman winner] Charlie Ward? Coach [Bobby] Bowden was like, 'For you Willie, we'll bring it back."

Williams and the rest of the recruits then lived a childhood dream when they were each introduced on the Jumbotron screen as the 2004 starting lineup for the Seminoles.

"We all had our Seminoles jerseys on, and they told us: 'Run out on the field about 10 yards," Williams said. "I was so pumped up, I just kept running. I ran the entire field."

Following a trip back to the hotel and a nap, it was time for dinner again.

"I asked Coach Odell, 'Where we eating tonight?" Williams said. "He was like, 'The stadium.' I thought he was playing. Then we ended up eating at the stadium again. I guess we spent all their money the night before."

What the recruits didn't know at the time was that they were in for a treat - a trip to Bobby Bowden's home for his wife's homemade deserts.

"Coach Bowden was cool, but Ms. Bowden was the bomb," Williams said. "I swear, she must be related to Betty Crocker or something. When we walked into that house, it was like walking into a Publix Bakery - banana pudding, chocolate cake, cheese cake. I had one of everything. I didn't want to leave."

THE CROCODILE HUNTER

After dessert, Williams returned with his hosts to their dorm room, but quickly learned a few interesting facts about Sims, the top recruit in the nation last year.

"I like Ernie, but there is no way in the world I'd be roommates with him," Williams said. "In fact, I don't know how [Dickson] does it. Sims thinks he's the Crocodile Hunter. "When Cliff and I walked in, Ernie was sitting on the sofa with a snake around his neck. He was like 'Come in, Willie, give me five.' I was like 'Nope. I'm staying by the door.' "

The next morning, Williams and Bowden talked - one on one - for 20 minutes.

"We talked about everything," Williams said. "The jersey. The trip. He told me if I came, I'd stay at outside linebacker and have a real good shot at starting next year. That was all I needed to hear."

Next Tuesday: Williams details his trip to Auburn.

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AUBURN FAILS TO GET WILLIAMS

BYLINE: MANNY NAVARRO, mnavarro@herald.com


If his trip to Florida State was a perfect 10, then Willie Williams' weekend at Auburn was a few notches below.

After getting spoiled with his own private jet ride to FSU, Williams was downgraded to sharing a flight with seven other players. And the expensive steak and lobster tails he had been treated to by the Seminoles were replaced by a steady diet of finger foods and ribs.

But he did enjoy a two-night stay at the Auburn University Hotel, where he encountered "the biggest bed in the world" and a bathroom with its own waterfall.

Williams said he enjoyed the trip, but not enough to rank with his co-leaders - Miami and Florida State.

THUMBS UP

Hialeah running back Anthony Campbell and Deerfield Beach quarterback Brent Schaeffer were among the seven other players along for the ride to Auburn.

Williams said he enjoyed the company but was worried because the plane experienced turbulence.

"We could see [the pilot], and he could see us," Williams said. "One time, the plane starting shaking. So I asked [the pilot], 'Is everything OK?' He turned around a gave me the thumbs up and didn't say a word. Then when it happened again, he did the same thing - thumbs up.

"I looked at the other guys and was like, 'This guy has to be related to Ebert or something.' "

After the plane landed safely at around 3 p.m. Friday, Williams and the other recruits were dropped off on campus to meet their hosts.

Before dinner, the recruits waited for the Auburn coaches in the hotel lobby, where a spread of shrimp, cheeses, cold cuts and fruits awaited.

"They told me they heard about my trip to FSU and how I love to eat," Williams said. "They were like, 'Willie, why don't you have a few snacks before we go to dinner.' So, I served myself like six little plates of everything."

Following the "snack," Williams and the recruits headed for a restaurant called Old Charlie's. After experiencing a long wait for his food on his trip to FSU, Williams made sure to sit at the front of the table near the waiter to order first.

"I got ribs, buffalo wings and shrimp," Williams said. "But even though I ordered first, somehow I was still the last one to get my food. It took like two hours."

During the wait, several of the female hosts, nicknamed the "Tigerettes", offered him 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.' It was disgusting."

The next day, Williams met with the Auburn staff, speaking mostly with linebackers coach Joe Whitt.

"Coach Whitt told me if I went to Auburn I could probably play right away," Williams said.

SHOWER MESS

Williams returned to his hotel Saturday night and took a quick nap before dinner. He woke up late and rushed to take a shower.

"When I walked into the bathroom, it was like Hurricane Andrew in there," Williams said. "Water was all over the place - dripping from the lights and ceiling. I called downstairs and they told me some pipes had broken. I ended up having to take a shower in Anthony Campbell's room. I wasn't happy about that."

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."

The next morning, Williams met with coach Tommy Tuberville for 20 minutes.

"He told me how he coached Ray Lewis [at UM] and how he thought I had the same potential," Williams said. "That got me really excited about playing for them."

But that excitement apparently wasn't enough. On the way to the airport Sunday morning, Williams said he and the recruits were greeted by 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. We want you.' I couldn't do it. So I just waved good-bye and got on the bus."

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UM TRIP IS PARADISE FOR WILLIAMS

BYLINE: MANNY NAVARRO, mnavarro@herald.com

If his trip to Florida State was like an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Auburn was a trip to the Simple Life, Willie Williams' experience this past weekend with the hometown Miami Hurricanes could be summed up in one word: paradise.

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.

As usual, Williams was treated to feasts at some of the area's nicest restaurants. He gobbled up ribs, shrimp and barbeque chicken at Monty's, then had three lobster tails and two steaks at the Rusty Pelican.

Williams called the trip his best yet, although he said Miami and Florida State are still tied in the battle for his services.

"This thing just gets harder every week," Williams said. "Who knows, maybe when I go to Florida next week I'll like them so much I'll commit right then and there.

"This is going down to those three nights before National Signing Day [Feb. 4]. Then, I'll announce it."

COOL 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.' "

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.

"UM looks like it has a real good business school," Williams said. "After going on these trips and living like King Tut, I think business is something I want to get into."

After talking books, the recruits were taken to the weight room.

"I love that weight room - it's state of the art," Williams said. "I felt like I was in the year 2020 when I walked in there. They had some machines I've never seen in my life. Now I know why these guys get so big."

During the tour, Williams said he enjoyed partaking in playful banter with Washington and Bryant over their state semifinal playoff game this past season. Carol City beat Killian 3-0 and went on to win the Class 6A state title.

"All they kept talking about was that game," Williams said. "They were like, 'If it wasn't for you Willie, we'd be state champions.' I told them, 'If it weren't for our defense - not only me.' "

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT

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."

Williams, who wore No. 17 at Carol City in honor of UM linebacker D.J. Williams, had his own No. 17 waiting for him inside the Canes' locker room. In the next locker was jersey No. 52 - the number once worn by superstar linebacker Ray Lewis.

"When I first put on [his UM jersey], I felt at home," Williams said. "Coach was like, 'That's you, Willie.' To be honest, it really felt like it."

After the players put on their jerseys, parents were asked to leave the locker room. The players were then called out one by one to run out of the famed tunnel while their names were announced over the stadium speakers.

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."

Williams and the recruits enjoyed their experience so much they didn't want to give back their jerseys.

"J.R. and I figured we would stuff it under our clothes," Williams said. "Bobby hid his in his stomach, but he looked pregnant."

DINNER AT MONTY'S

Following the stadium, the recruits were bused to Monty's restaurant on Miami Beach.

"As soon as I got off that bus, it was like a cartoon," Williams said. "The smell hit me right away. Coach was like, 'Willie, you've got an eating disorder.' "

After the recruits were greeted with nachos and crab claws, the main course quickly followed - along with the arrival of UM players, including D.J. Williams and cornerback Antrel Rolle.

"Coach Coker must be related to Cleo or something," Williams said of the famed TV psychic. "The man knew what I wanted and had it already ordered. I didn't need a menu. I told him, 'Coach, how did you know what I like?'

"He was like, 'Willie, I've been reading up on you.' "

Dinner was followed by a trip back to Rolle's apartment for a few hours of video games. 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."

After breakfast the following morning, Williams met with linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves.

"He told me how they really want to use me for blitzes and that I'll play [weakside linebacker]. I liked hearing that."

The following morning, Williams and the recruits headed back to the athletic complex for one final meeting with the coaching staff.

Williams met with Coker, who handed him the crystal football awarded to the Hurricanes as part of the Sears National Championship trophy of 2002.

"He asked me, 'You ready to win one of these?" Williams said. "I was like, 'Sounds good to me.' He told me, 'All you need to do, Willie, is let me know. The jersey is the easy part. All we have to do is scrape off the D.J. on the number 17 and put a W.'

"Man, that sounded awesome. I like that No. 17."

Coming Tuesday: Williams details his final recruiting trip - to the University of Florida.

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WILLIAMS REJECTS UF (AND THE FOOD)

BYLINE: MANNY NAVARRO, mnavarro@herald.com

Following a weekend trip to Gainesville that featured all you can eat fried chicken, Willie Williams decided he isn't taking the Gator bait.

Williams, a full qualifier with a 3.0 GPA and a 1070 SAT score, crossed Florida off his list and will between Florida State and Miami.

"Florida was real nice to me, but I just didn't feel at home there," Williams said Monday. "It ain't me - it's too farm like.

"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."

GATOR TALES

Rejecting the Gators was easier. Before his trip, Williams said he had heard good things about coach Ron Zook. But after a few days in Gainesville, Williams said he was turned off. 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 coaching staff and whisked 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," he 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."

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 weird because there were some people talking about black history the whole time. Then it got worse. They had guy models come out."

The next day, the recruits toured campus. Later, Williams learned 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 disappointed. I was like, 'Take us to Red Lobster or something.' Instead, it was the same old fried chicken.

"That's when I pretty much made up my mind. I can't live in a place that don't have restaurants. What am I going to do - fly home to eat shrimp?"

THE ENVELOPES

When Williams returned to his hotel room Saturday night, he found dozens of envelopes on the floor of his room. Each envelope was filled with a written letter or sign, urging Williams to pick the UF, UM or FSU.

"Some of them were like, 'Come on Willie, pick UM,' " he said. "Others had the logos of the Gators and the Hurricanes crossed out and the Seminoles circled. I was really freaked out how they found where I was staying.

"I'm telling you, some people are really going nuts over this whole thing."

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And how the story ends...