Spencer Williams patiently waited. When the opportunity presented itself, he pounced.

The Cedar Falls offensive lineman camped at Iowa Sunday seeking a scholarship offer. After the event, head coach Kirk Ferentz presented one to him.

Williams de-committed from Western Michigan, to whom he verballed in late March. Monday afternoon, he announced he was a Hawkeye.

"Iowa has been my dream school ever since I was a kid. I’ve been taking visits there ever since I got the opportunity, any opportunity I got," Williams said.

"So, I’ve been around the coaches, players and everything for quite a while. I understand how they do things. I knew before they even offered that it was the place I wanted to be. Once they offered it was just kind of like, wow, this is what I always wanted and it’s a dream come true. It’s an amazing feeling."

The 6-foot-3, 280-pounder said he was offered by Iowa as a center. He joined four other known verbals – Nate Stanley, Toren Young, Cedrick Lattimore and Chauncey Golston – in the 2016 Hawkeye Class.

The Iowa Newspaper Association tabbed Williams as a Class 4A all-state third-teamer last fall. He also reported scholarship offers from Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, Western Michigan and several Ivy League schools. In the end, none of them stood a chance against Iowa.

"The coaches are just awesome, especially after (Sunday’s) camp. I loved working with Brian Ferentz and Coach (Kirk) Ferentz and Coach (Chris Doyle) and all the coaches; really seeing how they do things and how they coach. It works with the way that I do things and the way I like to play. It’s the perfect fit for me. It’s close to home. My family can come watch me play. The facilities are great, too. I’m very fortunate for all of this," he said.

Williams said he never lost faith that he would earn a Hawkeye offer. He stayed patient and it paid off.

"Honestly, I respect the way that they recruit. I love the way that they recruit and the way they recruited me. They like Iowa kids, obviously. I mean, they want to get the right kids. They want to get to know you as a person not just a football player and make sure this is the right fit for you. I love that. I really appreciate how they did that and how they handled and made sure I was the right fit," he said.

The Iowa coaches hosted Williams on a visit two weeks ago. They told him they looked forward to watching him perform at camp. He convinced them that he belonged at Iowa once he got on the field.

"Before the camp, (Brian Ferentz) said he wanted to see me compete live for him and he told me what he sees in me right now – my aggressiveness, my leadership, how I love the game. And I went out there with the mentality that no matter what you’ve just got to keep going. You don’t stop. You keep going and show the coaches that that’s how you play; be aggressive, don’t stop. I think him seeing exactly what he thought I had, him seeing it in person and live, was the last piece," he said.

The last piece for Iowa meant that it became a better fit for Williams than was Western Michigan. He called Kalamazoo.

"You know, Coach (P.J.) Fleck is pretty awesome. I owed it out to respect to call him and take care of things with him before I did anything because I do respect him. I respect their program. They’re going to do great things there. He was very supportive. I have his full support, he told me," WIlliam said.

William hasn’t played much center in high school but said he feels comfortable at the position. He works on snapping a lot in his free time with a device he created at home with his family.

"It’s just two metal bars and then one of those five-gallon buckets with two bungee cords in between. So, if it goes in the bucket you know you snapped it where it needs to be," he said.

Williams now turns to preparations for his senior season at Cedar Falls. He also said he’d be working on recruiting other prospects to Iowa. He’ll be at the tailgate there later this month to work on uncommitted players with offers.

"I’ve been working out with my team all summer. We’re just getting a bunch of young guys in there and just looking forward to a great senior season. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I got the offer of my dreams and am going to play football at the University of Iowa. It feels great," he said.

Rivals ranks Williams as a two-star recruit and the No. 5 player in the state this cycle. Scout rates him as a two-star and 247 has him as a three-star and No. 4 in Iowa.