How good is Brock Williams?
Good enough for a national power to venture well away from its usual recruiting base to reel him in.
The Libertyville tight end committed to Texas on the Pat McAfee Show last month, adding the consensus No. 79 player in the country to coach Steve Sarkisian’s 2027 class.
“It says a lot for a team like Texas coming up to get him,” national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove told the Sun-Times. “You don’t see them dipping into Illinois often.”
But it makes sense for the nation’s elite programs to be chasing Williams. A 6-foot-5, 230-pounder, he’s the No. 5 player in the state in the 2027 recruiting cycle and the No. 4 tight end.
Williams emerged on recruiters’ radar as a sophomore in 2024 when he was one of the top targets for Wildcats quarterback Quinn Schambow, who threw for 3,521 yards and 52 touchdowns that season. Williams had 35 catches for 608 yards and seven TDs in 2024 before pulling in 44 passes for 596 yards and 11 touchdowns last fall.
Showing his versatility, Williams also returned punts and kickoffs, averaging 24.8 yards per runback. And he even completed his only pass attempt for 32 yards.
“He is so natural with his ball skills,” Cosgrove said. “He reminds me of (former South Elgin standout and Miami recruit) Gavin Mueller a lot.
“After the catch, he plays nasty. He’s a physical kid.”
Williams had almost 40 offers, including pretty much every college football blue blood: Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, LSU. Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame, among others.
“The recruiting process over the past few months has been insane,” Williams said on the McAfee show.
But he felt confident in his choice.
“You can’t go wrong with coach Sark, especially his offense he’s putting you in,” Williams said on the broadcast. “You’re going to have top-of-the-line quarterbacks, the best quarterbacks in the country. So that’s huge for me as well.”
Cosgrove expects Williams to fit in well in the Longhorns’ offensive scheme.
“Even if it’s contested, he catches the ball,” Cosgrove said.
Cosgrove described one notable reception that displayed Williams’ situational awareness: “He had to turn around and catch it. There were people behind him. He made the perfect cut and took it for a touchdown.”
Not every player, even every good one, can handle the spotlight of playing in Austin.
“It’s always a big culture shock when a kid goes from the Midwest to the University of Texas,” Cosgrove said.
But Williams has the skills and the makeup to make that leap.
“I think he’s got a chance to be a weapon,” Cosgrove said.
Lake Zurich hires Teonic
Former Hersey,, Larkin and South Elgin coach Dragan Teonic has been hired at Lake Zurich.
He replaces Ron Planz, who stepped down after leading the Bears to a 51-24 record over seven seasons. Planz’s teams twice advanced to the semifinals and had two other trips to the quarterfinals.