"I want to announce I'll be going to the state of Florida; I'll be playing at the University of Miami," Williams said at a press conference.

"It was the place I felt most comfortable and was the best place for me. I like the players, the coaches, the city and feel Miami will be the best place for me to win a championship. It's a great environment to be in and I want to play in big-time games."

The linebacker had also considered Michigan and Texas. He had 88 solo tackles and six sacks on defense as a senior, while rushing for 1958 yards and 30 touchdowns on offense. He also scored another six times on pass receptions, once on a punt return and once on a 35-yard fumble recovery return.

Williams, who had denied reports of a commitment to Miami two weeks ago, added, "I'll miss my mom and family a lot, but I feel it's time for me to go on and grow up. I can always come home for vacations."

A few other Class of 2000 football prospects are still making signing decisions, which could affect early class rankings.

The touted duo of linebacker Amon Gordon and quarterback/athlete Teyo Johnson, both from San Diego-Mira Mesa, Calif., are expected to announce their decisions early next week. Both have been considering Stanford, USC and Miami (Fla.). Stanford may lead for Johnson (also a Top 100 basketball player), who looked at Houston and SDSU as well.

Defensive back Kevin McCadam of Lakeside-El Capitan/Grossmont College, Calif., has signed with Virginia Tech over Texas Tech and BYU.

Linebacker Ken Jerry of Melbourne-Eau Gallie, Fla., chose Maryland after decommitting from Iowa.

Miami (Fla.) will not pursue the letter-of-intent of top offensive line prospect Jonathan Colon of Miami-Central, Fla., who signed with both Florida and the 'Canes. Colon, who announced on Signing Day that he had signed with the Gators, also signed the night before with Miami. Normally, the first letter-of-intent signed in such cases is binding, but letters must not be signed before 7 a.m. on Signing Day.

California added a 25th signee in receiver Chase Lyman of Mountain View-St. Francis, Calif.

Boston College signed defensive back Lenny Walls of CC San Francisco, Calif., over Texas Tech, Georgia Tech and Washington State.

Virginia added defensive lineman Chris Canty of Charlotte-Latin, N.C.

Central Florida signed defensive back Atari Bigby of Miami-Senior, Fla., over interest from North Carolina State, Florida and LSU.

Hawaii signed running back/receiver Ray Ohrel of Orange Coast JC, Calif.

Meanwhile, just as the smoke clears from the football recruiting battlefield, top juniors are already committing.

Michigan added 315-pound offensive lineman Leo Henige of Chesaning, Mich. Defensive back Ernest Shazor of Detroit-M.L. King, Mich., committed to the Wolverines earlier.

Virginia Tech has defensive/running back DeAngelo Hall of Chesapeake-Deep Creek, Va.

UCLA is leading the Class of 2001's early charge with three verbals, including defensive back Matt Ware of Los Angeles-Loyola, Calif., linebacker Marvin Simmons of Long Beach-Poly, Calif., and offensive lineman Bob Cleary of Lake Elsinore-Temescal Canyon, Calif.

Linebacker Reggie Arden of Ironton, Ohio, committed to Ohio State.

Iowa verballed offensive lineman Blake Larsen of Atlantic, Iowa.

Purdue verballed running back Brandon Jones of Peru, Ind.

Defensive back Lamar Baker of Avondale-Agua Fria, Ariz., committed to Arizona State.

LSU has a commitment from athlete Freddie King of Winnfield-Senior, La.

Arkansas pledged running back Cedric Houston of Clarendon, Ark.

Of course, for those waiting for the Class of 2003, Wake Forest has a commitment from quarterback Chris Leak of Charlotte-Independence, NC., who verballed last July before his prep freshman season. He is the younger brother of C.J. Leak, a quarterback on the current WF team.

The Big East dominated the Class of 2000 men's early signing period (Story). UConn headed the women's recruiting battle (Story).