Speedy receiver D.J. Williamson looking forward to being a Wolverine

The reigning 100-meter champ in the state of Ohio, D.J. Williamson couldn’t help but be impressed with Denard Robinson’s debut as a Michigan sprinter last week.

“He’s probably the fastest person I ever saw run,” Williamson said.

Williamson, who watched Robinson’s meet with nine other Michigan recruits during his official visit to Ann Arbor last week, will bring his own fast feet to the Wolverines’ offense next fall.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound receiver doesn’t have any illusions of competing with Robinson on the track - “He would beat me. I can’t even say he wouldn’t,” Williamson said - but he wouldn’t mind catching passes from Michigan’s backup quarterback one day.

Williamson committed to the Wolverines last spring during junior recruiting day and, despite interest from Michigan State and Cincinnati, hasn’t flinched on his pledge.

He grew up a Michigan fan, attends the same Warren (Ohio) Harding High that produced former Wolverines Mario Manningham, Prescott Burgess and Carl Diggs (plus teammate and recent Michigan commitment Davion Rogers). He remembers vividly looking up to Manningham as a youth.

“Growing up I wanted to be like him,” Williamson said. “But now since I’m there, I want to be better than him.”

In junior high, Williamson served as waterboy for the Harding football teams that Manningham starred on.

“When they used to call timeout I used to always run to Mario first so he could grab my water,” Williamson said. “He was the star of the team. When he went to Michigan, that’s when I started watching college football a lot, and that’s when I really started liking football.”

Baseball was Williamson’s first love, but he gave that sport up in high school to run track.

As a sophomore, Williamson ran the anchor leg on Harding’s 4x100-meter relay team that finished third in the state - just ahead of a Lakewood St. Edward’s team featuring Latwan Anderson, a blue-chip safety prospect (now at Cleveland Glenville) who recently committed to West Virginia.

As a junior, Williamson had his best football season with more than 30 catches, and beat Glenville’s Shane Wynn, one of the top junior receivers in the country, with a 10.9-second showing in the 100.

It was on his way home from an indoor track practice last spring that Williamson learned Michigan was going to offer him a scholarship.

“(Harding coach D.J.) Doda called me, he told me that you better be going to junior day this weekend at Michigan because they’re going to offer you,” Williamson said. “It was unexpected. I mean, it came out of nowhere.”

Williamson, who battled nagging groin and ankle injuries during a disappointing senior season, likely will redshirt his first year at Michigan. The Wolverines graduated Greg Mathews and LaTerryal Savoy from their playing group, but freshman receivers Jeremy Jackson, Ricardo Miller and Jerald Robinson enrolled early and sophomore Je’Ron Stokes will take on a more prominent role.

Still, with such a premium on speed, Williamson could be destined for big things before his career is finished.

“I think once I get route running down and I get better at that, and I get the releases better and all that, I think I can be pretty good,” Williamson said.

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.