Miles Williams: Why I Chose Cal
I’m Miles Williams. I attend Mansfield High School in Mansfield, Texas. I play football and I run track. I also played baseball until my junior year.
My recruiting experience was crazy, honestly. I picked up my first scholarship offer from SMU in March of 2017. After that, I didn’t get another offer until January of 2018. At that point, I had moved from safety to corner after my junior season.
After that, I got my second scholarship offer from UTSA and my recruiting took off from there. Coaches from what seemed like everywhere were texting me and calling me all the time. It was truly hectic, to say the least.
Growing up, I would say I never could’ve imagined myself being in the position I’m in now because I loved scoring touchdowns playing offense. My freshman year of high school, I played on both sides of the football, playing wide receiver and safety. I was good on defense but I felt like I was always a better offensive threat. Never would I have imagined getting multiple scholarship offers to play defensive back.
My first visit to UC Berkeley was great. My dad and I went in April of 2018 and the coaching staff treated us very well.
Even though my family was originally from Los Angeles, we didn’t really know much about Berkeley but as soon as we got there, I loved it. I liked how everyone is trying to accomplish their dreams and you can feel that vibe when you get on campus. The campus is very nice and the facilities were very nice, too. And the views of the bay were breathtaking.
My relationship with the coaches at Cal is great. With me playing defensive back, I’ve had the most contact with Coach Alexander. He’s a great coach and even a better man.
Earning my Cal degree will mean a lot to me because I’m aware of how much weight it holds. Whether or not I’m fortunate enough to stay healthy and get drafted to the NFL, it won’t matter because either way, I’m set up for life with a degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
What I’ll miss most about high school is the great relationships I’ve built with people here. From my friends to my teachers and coaches, they’ve all taught me something that I can take with me to better myself when I’m off on my own and I’m thankful for that. I’m always going to be in touch with my friends but not being able to see them consistently will hurt.
What I’m most looking forward to are new beginnings at Cal. It’s time to start setting myself up as best I can to be as successful as possible because I know football isn’t forever. I’m looking forward to the new relationships I’ll build with the people in Berkeley and the opportunities ahead.
One of the main reasons why I chose to play football and get my degree at the University of California, Berkeley was because I wanted to get a great education. And as I said before, football doesn’t last forever and I want my degree to be able to set me up well in life, whether I make it to the NFL or not.
Another reason I chose Cal was because I wanted to be original. I wanted to be a part of something special and be a program-changer. The reality is, Cal football has been slept on for a while now and I want to be a part of the class that turns the program around and puts it on the map and shows we’re serious about football here.
#GoBears