Nobody's a Winner in the Preston Williams Recruiting Saga

Around this time every year, there's at least one bizarre recruiting story. 

Sometimes, a mom steals a national letter of intent. Other times, a player commits to one school but signs with another. And sometimes, a player's bio gets posted on a school's website a bit prematurely.

Preston Williams, a 4-star wide receiver from Lovejoy High School in Hampton, Georgia, is your early leader for the most bizarre recruiting story of 2015.

Williams, a Tennessee commit since September, took an official visit to Auburn last weekend. It didn't last long. He was asked to leave early by the Auburn coaches, and the reason for the dismissal is certainly up for debate.

Photo Credit: 247Sports

According to RockyTopInsider.com, Williams showed up on the visit wearing Tennessee gear and was actively trying to recruit some of the other official visitors—many of whom aren't considering the Vols—to join him on Rocky Top.

Knoxville-based radio station WNML 99.1 has a slightly different account.

According to Josh Ward, a midday host on the station, Williams was asked to leave after he was caught smoking marijuana by the Auburn staff. Justin Hokanson of 247Sports.com also reported that Williams was a distraction and was disruptive during meetings but didn't show up in Tennessee gear. The hotel room incident was the last straw, according to Hokanson.

From Hokanson:

"

From talking to sources very close to the situation, Williams didn't show up to Auburn in Tennessee gear, he showed up in red sweatpants and acting like he didn't want to be there. Williams didn't participate in the visit, he didn't make it a point to talk to people or interact, and he showed an extreme lack of interest in the visit.

During one presentation by S&C (strength and conditioning) coach Ryan Russell, Williams laid on the ground, not paying attention at all. Auburn asked Williams if he wanted to leave and Williams said no.

"

Williams backed up RockyTopInsider.com's account on WNML on Tuesday (10-minute mark).

"It was all right," he said. "I just didn't want to be there anymore. I was ready to go home."

No matter which side you believe, nobody is a winner in this situation.

Photo Credit: 247Sports

If you believe Williams—who maintained in the radio interview that he was wearing Tennessee gear and actively recruiting players to Tennessee—you're believing a player who would show up on a free official visit and purposefully be a distraction to players who aren't Tennessee targets. 

Does that make somebody a legend? Hardly.

It also makes Auburn look a little threatened by Williams and perhaps unsure of whether it can close some of its visitors with somebody else providing unfriendly competition.

If you believe Ward's and Hokanson's reports, Williams doesn't exactly look like the kind of player you want on your team.

There are three sides to every story, and the truth probably lies somewhere in between.

Regardless, the Williams recruiting saga is a situation in which both sides have scars. In recruiting, those tend to linger because the flow of information from both sides is limited and both parties would much rather move on than dwell on it.

Ah, national signing day. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.