A true blue chip

Derrick Williams is two days away from the decision of a lifetime.

Florida … Oklahoma … Tennessee … Penn State … or Texas?

“Right now there’s a whole lot of pressure on me,” said Williams, the nation’s top prep football player, his fingers steepled in a subconscious plea for divine inspiration. “You could say I’m down to three schools, though I’m not telling anyone which three. But those three are pretty much dead even, so all this stuff is flying around in my head.

“I really just can’t wait until it’s over. But at the same time, I know it’s a huge decision for my career, and I want to make it the right one, because I know once it’s over, it’s over and there’s no going back.”

The latest suitor to football’s “Slash” nickname, the 6-foot, 195-pound quarterback/wide receiver/running back/defensive back/return man has spent the last several seasons tormenting opponents of Eleanor Roosevelt High from every skill position on the field.

And Wednesday, when he announces his college destination live on ESPNEWS at 3:30 p.m. from the Greenbelt school, prep football’s army of one instantly will improve the 2005 outlook of one fortunate program.

“He’s just an absolute gamebreaker,” said a recruiter who represents one of the aforementioned schools but by NCAA rule is not allowed to give an attributable quote about a recruit. “Think [USC’s] Reggie Bush but more versatile. Remember David Palmer at Alabama? He reminds me of a much bigger version of [Palmer]. He’s about as close to can’t-miss as you’ll get.”

His blue-chip value goes beyond his No. 1 ranking on Rivals.com, the nation’s premier recruiting network. It goes beyond his 57 college offers, a number representing more than half of the nation’s Division I-A programs. It can be measured most accurately by the lustmeter, by witnessing the relative levels of genuflection exhibited by the game’s top coaches as they engage in the desperate dance of courtship.

Only .50-caliber recruits can reduce elder statesmen like Joe Paterno to a schoolgirl-style note beginning with the underlined sentiment, “We need Derrick Williams.” What’s next, doodled hearts in the margins, a sign-off of scribbled X’s and O’s?

Only the best of the best was worthy of receiving the first call Steve Spurrier made after accepting his new post at South Carolina.

Only outrageous talents can prompt USC’s Pete Carroll, college coaching’s current king, to make a cross-country journey during a dead communication period last spring knowing all he could do was watch you practice without exchanging a word.

“We’ve had more than our share of Division I recruits around here, and just last year we had [Derrick Harvey], who was listed in the top 20 by every analyst,” said Eleanor Roosevelt coach Rick Houchens. “But with Derrick [Williams], it’s gone to another level. It’s been madness. With DH, West Coast coaches would call and request video. With Derrick, those guys started showing up on campus, like Carroll.

“You know it’s serious when the coach of the national champions spends a day in a plane just for you.”

Of course, serious things tend to happen when you run a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash as an eighth grader — Williams now is consistently in the 4.28-4.32 range. And serious visitors are to be expected when you amass 3,360 yards of total offense in your senior season, shredding teams as a rusher (1,123), passer (982), receiver (404) and return man (851) despite an inexperienced offensive line and an uncooperative ankle.

“He had a couple of games this year where he ran for over 100, passed for over 100 and caught for 100. Have you ever heard of such a thing?” Houchens said in awe. “Everyone is recruiting him as a receiver, a slot back, but I’ve never seen a kid who could play so many positions at such an elite level.”

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