West Des Moines Valley running back Jayden Williams has proven to be a dominant athlete on the football field and college coaches including the Hawkeyes have taken notice.

“The colleges that have been recruiting me are Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Northern Iowa, Northern Illinois, Miami of Ohio, and South Dakota State.”

Williams had a recent visit to Iowa City for a bowl practice and mentioned what stood out to him the most.

“Sitting down and having lunch with Coach Foster was a really good time, "said Williams. "They were schooling me on recruiting and just hitting some real key points about the program.”

Football at the University of Iowa is something that continues to stand out for Williams.

“It’s a real good program," Williams said. "I’ve been to the games and the atmosphere is awesome.”

Williams continues to build his relationship with the staff in Iowa City.

“I’ve talked to Coach Niemann and Coach Foster," he said. "Those conversations were real solid. Coach Niemann really talked about recruiting and Iowa’s program. With Coach Foster, it was more really from a running back standpoint.”

The Hawkeyes are among five schools that have been able to host Williams for campus visits.

“I’ve went up to K-State, Iowa, Iowa State, UNI, and Northern Illinois.”

While Williams has not officially heard what the Iowa coaches think about him, they are continuing to follow his progress.

“Nope, they really have just been sizing me up.”

There were a trio of colleges that Williams followed when he was younger.

“Growing up, I’ve always had three favorite teams," said Williams. "It has been the Michigan State Spartans, the Oregon Ducks, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.”

Williams, who rushed for 1,043-yards and 12 touchdowns while sharing carries with North Dakota signee Creighton Mitchell, raised his play this fall for a Valley team that lost once in 2019.

“Overall for me, I think my season went pretty good," Williams said. "There were a few nervous jitters at the beginning, then I kind of got used to it and realized that football is football no matter what level you play it at.”

Williams, who has scholarship offers from Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa, says the focus now is to continue improving and making strides in his game.

“Plans from here are to grind in the weight room to build some more muscle and also get ready for this upcoming track season.”