Mighty Duck: Jonas Williams went with Oregon because he ‘felt at home’

The whole world of X, formerly known as Twitter, knew which schools Jonas Williams was down to. He made his final four choices public weeks ago. Ohio State and Alabama were on the list, but he said it wound up being a decision between two schools.

Williams said it was “really tight” between Oregon and LSU. Both have produced first-round NFL quarterbacks the past five years, both are routinely ranked in top 10 nationally, and both have world-class facilities. So what made Williams decide to commit to the Ducks over the Tigers on Saturday?

“I felt more at home at Oregon,” Williams said. “Plus, with them being in the Big Ten now, I’m going to be playing games in the Midwest and closer to my hometown. Honestly, I like coach [Dan] Lanning a lot. I felt like I could trust him after meeting with him twice. I just felt like it was right, and you only get that feeling from a couple of places. I just went with my gut.”

Williams, a junior, spent the first two years of his high school career at Bolingbrook, but will be the starting quarterback at Lincoln-Way East this fall after transferring. The move hasn’t altered his standing in the recruiting rankings, as he’s viewed as one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation.

Rivals.com ranks Williams as the No. 2 recruit in the state, the No. 4 quarterback in the country and the 108th overall player. He’s universally ranked as a top-five recruit in the state and top-10 QB in the nation for the Class of 2026.

But Saturday he was just a kid excited to make his college commitment.

“It’s not really describable,” Williams said. “It’s a feeling you only get once in a lifetime. Growing up, you imagine picking a college, and it’s what you dream of. It’s pretty surreal, and I’m just really excited.”

Excited is how Lincoln-Way East fans are feeling right about now, too. Williams threw for 2,737 yards and 37 touchdowns as a freshman at Bolingbrook before passing for 3,196 yards and 33 touchdowns last year. Now he heads to a Griffins team that’s finished as the Class 8A state runner-up the past two seasons. There’s about half a dozen other Division I recruits on the roster to work with, which has Williams feeling amped.

“I’m super excited about the coaches and new school,” Williams said. “I would say it’s a different approach because it’s a whole new team. I’m getting to know my teammates off the field and doing overtime with them because I grew up with the other guys at [Bolingbrook], and [the players at Lincoln-Way East] did, too, so I had to catch up in that aspect. I’ve excelled at earning their trust and getting to jell with them.”

While fellow junior Jacob Alexander (11 Power Four offers) and senior Caden O’Rourke (Northwestern commit) will command some big headlines on defense, Williams is particularly excited about getting to pair with another D-I commit on offense in senior tight end Trey Zvonar. Zvonar is committed to Miami (Ohio) and is listed as 6-foot-4, 220 pounds.

“I’m really excited [to be working with him],” Williams said. “The first time I came in January, I threw with him and I thought, ‘Man, this is going to be really fun in the fall.’ I’ve had really big targets in terms of talent, but I’ve never really had a big, physical target that’s like 6-foot-5. It’s really important to build a connection with him so he can be my safety blanket. He’s a great guy and player, so I’m excited to work with him this fall.”

Excited. That’s a word that kept coming up.

Williams is “excited” about the idea of playing at Oregon, which has gone 22-5 in two years under Lanning. That includes a 12-2 record last year with both losses coming to eventual national runner up Washington by a total of six points. The Ducks finished the season ranked sixth in the nation, won the Fiesta Bowl and enter 2024 ranked third in the preseason coaches poll.

That’s a lot of winning to be excited about, but it’s also two years away. He’s also excited about the new environment at Lincoln-Way East and teammates who will be heading to play Division I college football, as well. But perhaps most of all, he’s excited about the opportunity to win and win big.

Bolingbrook went 7-3 Williams’ freshman season with a first-round playoff exit before stumbling to 3-6 last season. The Griffins, meanwhile, have gone 26-1 in that same time frame with both losses coming in the state championship game. In preparation for trying to bring a national title to Eugene, Oregon, he’s hoping to bring a state title to Frankfort, Illinois.

“The expectations for me and the team are exactly the same,” Williams said. “I don’t try to make it about me. As a quarterback your job is to win, and that’s the team’s goal. The only expectation is to win.”