Williams Is Raiders' Answer Man
Junior Running Back Steps Into Spotlight After Knee Injury

By Stephen A. Norris
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 3, 2006

It's 1:26 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10, when Stonewall Jackson Coach Loren Johnson receives a text message on his cellphone: "LJ, I hope practice is going well. Tell Ryan I said what's up."

That is just an example, Johnson said, of the calls, text messages, e-mails and general interest he receives daily about his star running back, Ryan Williams.

The junior, who gained more than 1,000 all-purpose yards as a freshman backup in 2004, might have faded briefly from the spotlight of high school football after missing six games last year because of a torn meniscus in his knee. But he remained on the wish list of many college coaches.

Williams is in no hurry to choose where he wants to play college football but has said he has a handful of oral offers: Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland, Stanford, Connecticut and Pittsburgh. Miami, Notre Dame and Tennessee have expressed interest as well, and the momentum is just beginning to build as he enters his junior year and is allowed to receive calls from college coaches (according to NCAA rules, coaches must wait until Sept. 1 of a player's junior year before calling him).

Zirkle Blakey, editor of virginiapreps.com, said that when the rankings for Virginia's Class of 2008 come out, Williams -- who is 5-foot-10, 194 pounds and will start at running back but will also play quarterback, wide receiver and linebacker, and will return kicks -- probably will be at or near the top of his class and is projected to be at least a four-star (on a five-star scale) recruit.

"He could be the region's most heavily sought prospect since Hylton's Ahmad Brooks," Blakey said. Brooks played at Virginia for three years and was the national high school defensive player of the year in 2003. He is now with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The past eight months have been a whirlwind for Williams, who was shocked to receive so much attention so fast.

"I never thought it would get this crazy," Williams said. "People are calling me from college [fan Web sites], Virginia Preps and newspapers asking for interviews. Last week I had three interviews in a row, and the same question pops up every time: What college am I looking at and what college do I want to go to?"

For the record, Williams has no idea and doesn't plan to start the decision-making process until after this season. He said he's always been a fan of Miami and also has developed a friendship with Virginia Tech defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, but neither should be taken as any indication of where he wants to play.

"Right now I just want to play football," Williams said.

Williams said he has a lot to prove after missing most of last season. Watching his team go 5-5 one season after finishing 9-3 and advancing to the regional final in 2004 was "devastating," Williams said.

"Football is my life, and to see my team losing and seeing plays I knew I could help out on, it just hurt." Williams said. "Words can't describe how I felt when I missed out. It just made me hungrier for this season. I was working hard in the weight room, and I think I worked harder this summer than anyone in the county."

Since junior high, Williams always felt as if he had a lot to prove. He said his early success in high school only spurred unfounded criticism and jealousy from others in Prince William County.

"A lot of people on the outside made me feel like it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Williams said. "They just made it seem that it was just because of the team that I had. It was hard. It was a good feeling [to do so well], but a lot of people in the county like to talk trash about you."

Critics of Williams, he said, went so far as to claim he had done steroids.

"Coming in, in eighth grade, I was bigger than most 14-year-olds, and a lot of people said I took steroids and that I wasn't really 14, that I was a senior," said Williams, 16. "People made it seem like it wasn't natural what I was doing on the field, that I had enhancements to help me out. When people say that, I just tell them, get like me, get in the weight room and work as hard as I do and you'll find out."

Williams came back early from his torn meniscus last season, though his doctor advised him to wait another week or two because he had lost a lot of strength in his right knee. Williams played the last four games of last season and averaged better than 100 yards per game.

"I realized when I tried to cut off my right leg I didn't have a lot of support, so I didn't cut that much, and I'm usually a finesse football player," Williams said. "I was just using my vision and hitting my holes."

It's numbers like those that have many wondering what a healthy and more mature Williams will mean for Stonewall Jackson this season. Hylton Coach Lou Sorrentino has an answer.

"That Williams kid is just a junior, but he is super talented and explosive," he said. "They have our attention with the talent and the coaching job they are doing over there. Last year, some breaks went against them, some injuries hurt them, but we saw them two years ago in the regional final, and they will be a tough opener, no doubt."