Oregon
Riley Williams goes in-depth on Oregon State commitment: Maalik Murphy ‘sealed the deal for me’
Riley Williams is coming home.
On Saturday during a visit to campus, the Miami Hurricanes tight end and former Central Catholic star announced his transfer portal commitment to the Oregon State Beavers.
“It was really that thought of playing back home,” he said. “Believe it or not, I was born and raised in Portland Oregon and I’d never stepped foot in Corvallis. It was my first time being down there.”
“I had connections with the coaches — whether they were Central Catholic alumni or just through local ties. And the opportunity was huge. I’d go there and be able to showcase my talent.”
In two seasons at Miami, Williams played in nearly every game and accumulated 15 receptions for 187 yards and one touchdown.
The 6-foot-6, 240-pound tight end will have two years of eligibility remaining.
After entering his name into the portal in late December, Williams heard from dozens of schools, but was most heavily recruited by Cal, Oregon State and UCLA.
The Beavers earned the first visit this weekend, in part, due to a pair of peer recruiters.
“Darrius (Clemons) was definitely recruiting me,” Williams said. “He was on me heavy, for sure. He was on me the most behind the transfer quarterback, Maalik Murphy.”
Williams’ Miami team played against Murphy while he was at Duke this fall and the newest Beaver was impressed by the quarterback’s ability to make plays with his arm.
“To be honest, when I saw him (in Corvallis) I didn’t realize how tall he is. He’s huge,” Williams said. “He’s got the ability to throw the ball. He’s a 3,000-yard passer. I’m excited to be on that team and catch those passes and block for him and do whatever I’m supposed to do.”
Would Williams have still chosen Oregon State without a star transfer quarterback coming in?
“I don’t know,” he said, thinking. “Honestly, not sure. But once he signed and hit me up, that sealed the deal for me.”
As a class of 2023 high school prospect, Williams was a star at Central Catholic before transferring to national powerhouse IMG Academy (Florida) for his senior season.
A heralded bluechip recruit, Williams was selected as an Under Armour All-American and committed to Miami over more than 20 scholarship offers, highlighted by Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and others.
At Miami, Williams earned immediate playing time, but was not utilized as a pass-catcher as much as his high school profile projected.
Offensive fit, therefore, was a massive piece of the puzzle when looking at his options as a transfer.
And Oregon State offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson’s offense made for an excellent fit.
“I have two years of experience under my belt. I’ve played almost every game of my college career so far,” Williams said. “Through that, you see that you have to see a school that is going to utilize you and give you the opportunity to show what you can do to help you win. You have an offensive coordinator, coach Ryan Gunderson, he’s a previous (offensive coordinator) at UCLA when they had Greg Dulcich. It’s going to be an offense where the tight ends are utilized.”
Perhaps the final key piece in Oregon’s favor? The programs recent pipeline of in-state tight ends becoming NFL’ers – Teagan Quitoriano (Sprague) and Luke Musgrave (Bend).
Williams hopes to arrive in Corvallis sometime next week.
He’s ready to work – and to showcase his ability closer to home.
Nemec’s analysis
I’ve covered Riley Williams extensively since his freshman season.
Coming out of high school, I had a high four-star grade on him – with an NFL ceiling.
I still feel that way – and continue to love him as both an on-field asset and a culture fit.
Simply put, he’s a good athlete and human being.
Mario Cristobal’s offenses – both at Oregon and Miami – have somewhat limited the passing game, especially pass-catching tight ends.
When he committed, I had some concern about how he’d be used, and I think the Miami offense wasn’t the best fit for his skillset.
i expect Williams to immediately become a key focal point in the Oregon State offense and for his numbers to quickly reflect that of his recruiting stock coming out of high school.
The Oregon Ducks are set for one of the biggest timelines of their recruiting cycle, as many top targets are nearing commitments. This time around, the Ducks have a ton of top targets still remaining on their board compared to past seasons, as the Ducks have eight total commitments at this time.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff still need to land a safety commitment, but three-star safety Elijah Butler out of Maryland recently included the Ducks in his final six schools.
Oregon Target Elijah Butler Makes Exciting Recruiting Announcement
Butler announced his top six schools ahead of a crucial part of his recruitment, according to a graphic by Leyton Roberts. The Ducks made the cut alongside the Maryland Terrapins, Virginia Tech Hokies, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The talented prospect would be a great addition for any of these teams, as they could all use a safety prospect at this point in the recruiting timeline.
Butler is from the state of Maryland, which makes the Terrapins one to watch.
It is also worth noting that he has been labeled as one of the best players in the state of Maryland, as he currently ranks as the state’s No. 9 prospect, according to Rivals. This is important as the Terrapins have always made solid attempts to land their in-state stars, including last season when they landed one of the better players in the state’s history, Zion Elee.
As of now, the prospect hasn’t been predicted to land with any of these schools, which means it is likely still a tight race entering the official visit schedule. He has yet to schedule an official visit with all of the schools he has listed in his top six, as he is still missing three key official visits. Butler has scheduled official visits with Alabama, Auburn, and Florida, according to 247Sports. This means he still needs to set one with Oregon, Virginia Tech, and Maryland if he wants to take one to each school.
If the Ducks are able to get Butler on a visit, then they would likely be in a more favorable position to land his commitment, as it currently. seems they are one of the trailing teams from this list. It seems highly unlikely that the Ducks will gain his commitment unless they get him on an official visit, which is still possible at this point, as plenty of top prospects across the nation are still scheduling their official visits.
As of now, the Ducks have 27 prospects set to take an official visit, according to 247Sports. Among all of the prospects who have scheduled a visit thus far, only one of the players is listed as a safety. That player is a three-star target, Junior Tu’upo. This leads one to believe that the Ducks could try to get Butler on a visit, or at a minimum, pitch their program to the prospect from St Frances Academy.
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BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
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