By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE – In 2004, LSU landed America’s consensus top collegiate prospect in East St. John quarterback Ryan Perrilloux.

In 2013, LSU nailed down a commitment from the country’s top junior college prospect – and again, it’s an East St. John alum.

D’haquille Williams committed to LSU Friday evening, joining what is already widely considered to be a strong 2014 recruiting class.

Williams, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound wide receiver, tallied 67 receptions for 1,295 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 games for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College as a redshirt freshman last season.

Williams attended MGCCC after leaving East St. John as an academic non-qualifier in 2011, but he never dropped from the recruiting radar. He chose LSU over a field of suitors that included Alabama, Texas, Auburn, Texas A&M, Florida State, Texas Tech and Miami.

He opened plenty of eyes on the prep level in his time at East St. John. After transferring from Liberty Christian to ESJ before his junior season, Williams entered the varsity fray with no prior experience at the prep level – Liberty Christian did not have a football team. Williams played basketball there.

But Williams proved to be a natural, finishing as one of the state’s receiving leaders in each of his two seasons with the Wildcats. As a senior, he tallied 1,186 yards and 20 touchdowns in 11 games; he posted 18 touchdowns as a junior in just 10 games. He earned All-State honors both years.

His average of nearly two touchdowns a game in Class 5A – including a signature 167 yard, two-touchdown postseason performance against St. Augustine and then-top cornerback Tyrann Mathieu – made one thing abundantly clear to recruiters.

“He’s a playmaker,” said former ESJ football coach Larry Dauterive, who coached Williams in each of his seasons. “If you listen to a lot of people, he’s the best athlete in America right now.

“Steve Campbell, (Mississippi Gulf Coast’s) coach said that they’ve got 13 alumni who all made it in the NFL. He says D’haquille’s better than all of them.”

Dauterive said Williams was a true difference maker when at East St. John.

“He’s a guy who could take nothing and turn it into something,” said Dauterive. “He’s a big guy at 6-foot-4 who can run a 4.4 (40-yard dash). And he has ungodly hands.

“If you have a gym full of people, and someone throws a football up, he’ll find a way to get it.”

Dauterive said Williams is currently maintaining a 3.4 GPA, well on pace to qualify to move on from the JUCO ranks to play at LSU.