Auburn signee Tre Williams says that the Tigers 'own Mobile'
As a Rivals.com five-star prospect and the second-ranked inside linebacker in the country, Mobile, Ala. linebacker Tre Williams had the option to attend pretty much any of the top schools in the country. Williams opted to stay in his home state and attend Auburn, choosing the Tigers over other options like Alabama, Florida State and LSU.
Williams’ hometown, Mobile, has always been one of the more talent-rich areas in the south, and in recent years, Alabama has had quite a bit of success landing players from the area. According to Williams though, that is going to chance.
“Auburn owns Mobile. They will own Mobile until we leave,” Williams said per Al.com.
Auburn co-offensive coordinator Dameyune Craig is a native of Mobile and Williams thinks he is a big reason why the Tigers will have success in the area.
Williams admitted it was a tough choice picking Auburn over Alabama. He even took a visit to Tuscaloosa while he was verbally committed to Auburn, but ultimately Williams, citing the down to earth nature of the coaching staff and wanting to help build “something new,” stuck with the Tigers.
“Alabama recruited me so hard,” Williams said. “I visited there a lot. I talked to coach (Lance) Thompson and coach (Nick) Saban a lot. When I finally made my decision to go to Auburn, they kept coming. I even went up and visited for a couple days while I was committed to Auburn.
“It was hard. Alabama was always so dominant. I was raised to like Alabama, and to try to separate yourself from your childhood is hard, but it’s something I had to do.”
The 2013 season saw Auburn rebound from a 3-9 in 2012 to beat Alabama in the Iron Bowl, win the SEC and make a national championship appearance. Last year’s season has provided a momentum boost for Auburn with in-state recruiting.
"Most teams when they have a really bad year, the next year they'll be better. Auburn was ten times better than its bad year. That had a huge impact on all of the kids going through the recruiting process because they see that came out of nowhere and say 'I wish I was a part of that,’” Williams said.
Currently, Auburn has 14 verbal commitments from the class of 2015 and is ranked No. 3 in the Rivals.com team rankings. Alabama has 15 verbal commitments and sits atop the team rankings at No. 1.
Williams' high school teammate, Rivals four-star center Joshua Casher, signed with Alabama.
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