Q&A: 2023 Zachary DE/OLB Ashley Williams Jr.
Ashley Williams Jr. remembers seeing big-time college football games on television when he was younger and realizing he hoped to one day earn the opportunity to play at that level. So the 6-foot-5 edge-rushing athlete has spent the past few…
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Continue ReadingAshley Williams Jr. remembers seeing big-time college football games on television when he was younger and realizing he hoped to one day earn the opportunity to play at that level.
So the 6-foot-5 edge-rushing athlete has spent the past few years focused on developing physically and technically with those goals in mind.
And in the past several months, he has started to see the rewards falling into place from his role on Zachary’s undefeated Class 5A state championship run to dozens of offers this spring.
Ashley, what’s been going on, man? It’s probably been a fun time over there to hit the road a little bit and have some of these conversations with college coaches.
Yes, sir. It’s been a great experience.
You went into junior season, and you had the one offer, an FCS offer last summer. And you play a part in that defensive effort that helped the Broncos get back to a Class 5A state championship. And then the end of January when Incarnate Word hit was kind of when the gates really started to open and you started to pick up offers left and right, including 14 in March alone. When did it hit you how fast this was all starting to unfold for you finally?
Really, I knew if I keep on grinding and working out and just reach my max potential, I knew that days like this would come. But I would say after Incarnate Word, Louisiana Tech and Minnesota, it just started skyrocketing after that.
I’d told you a little bit, too, that I’d watched some of the clips of you from being a sophomore. And you were really tall already, but you’re 170 pounds at that point, so it’s watching a really skinny guy with some quickness to him. So you could see there’s something there. You just had to keep developing. And when I talked to coach (David Brewerton) about you last August and asked, “How special can this kid get?” He said, “Yeah, he’s got a chance. We’ve just got to watch him keep getting there, keep chasing that chance.” For you, from last summer to now, what was that? What was that difference that has brought you to this point where you’re now a highly touted recruit and SEC schools are coming in and wanting to get you on their campus?
I would say really me producing myself as an athlete, as well as a student-athlete. I would say that. And my work ethic got way better from my sophomore year to my junior year and then my senior year that’s coming up this year.
Give me some examples when you talk about your work ethic and some of what you’re doing. What has that looked like for you, in terms of whether you can give me a story about the different attitude you carry with it, a different approach, or some of what you’re actually doing in terms of weight room or drills and technique type stuff? Anything that sort of stands out that you think has really kind of helped push you to this next level.
Sophomore year, I thought to myself and was talking to my dad about it, and we just kept on working. And he said, “You’ve got to keep on working to get what you want.” So I just kept on working and doing what I do best, working out and trying to just be better than everyone on the field.
To bulk up from about 170 as a sophomore to 220 now, how much of that was you starting to kind of naturally fill out, how much of that was stuff you’re doing with your diet, how much of that was weight room?
Really, the weight room does help make you strong and make you bigger. And really, my appetite, I had to start getting a bigger appetite. I had to start realizing that when I was seeing all these four-stars and five-stars being 230 to 250 or 260, and I knew I wanted offers. I’ve wanted offers really my whole life, so I said, “To get there, I’ve gotta get my weight up. I’ve already got my height. I’ve gotta get my weight.” So I started getting my weight, and now everything started coming how I wanted now.
Do you remember the first time that you thought about the potential of playing college football or potentially even NFL football, when that dream first started to kind of pop into your head?
I would say really from sixth grade to eighth grade I was watching college football and thinking, “I want to be on TV, you know?” So I was looking at it, but I didn’t really put nothing to it until ninth grade, I said, “I want to play D-I college football. And whatever it takes to get there, I want to do it.”
Now that you’re seeing what it takes to be that type of a recruit and really to be a high-level player at a 5A school in Louisiana, did sixth-, seventh-, eighth-grade you realize what type of a commitment that was going to take?
Yeah, I didn’t know it was going to be like this. For me, it’s nothing but strictly football. Offseason, in-season, it doesn’t matter. It’s strictly football and working out. But all I can say is it’s working out, to be honest, so I’m not really mad about it.
And you played as an underclassman, you hit some of the camp circuit last offseason, the additional work and emphasis you put in to really get stronger and get bigger, when did you start to see some of those rewards pay off to everything you put into that? Was there some point during this season, or did you get out to a camp at some point this spring where it kind of clicked? When did you get kind of that measuring-stick moment or light-bulb moment where you realize, “OK, we’re getting there”?
So, really, whenever I was at camps — Mississippi State, LSU and all the known camps — college recruiters started hitting me up. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited. But in my head, I was like, “I’ve got to keep on working, and I can probably get those offers in.” So I just kept sticking with that mindset ever since all the college recruiters, the recruiting on-campus directors and all of that started hitting me up.
What has the reaction been like around you, your family, school, the football team, to see some of this unfold? But I’m sure Coach Brew and company are saying, “OK, but keep going. Keep this rolling. We’re not there yet.”
We’ve all got to keep working. Teammates are excited as always, and it’s a lot of hype around me a little bit, but I’m not going to let that get in front of my work ethic or make me think I’m better than everybody.
When you were watching some of the college ball that you mentioned was when you started to realize was something you wanted to do when you were middle school age, were there certain teams? Being a Baton Rouge guy, were you watching LSU? Were there other teams that really stood out or caught your attention early on?
Yeah, I watched a lot of LSU ball, I would say. I liked watching Oregon, Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia also.
Anything specific stand out about those that kind of drew you to them? Obviously those are some of the top programs nationally, but did any other specific thing catch your eye?
I really like the atmosphere, how they design things and how each team is just a whole bond.
Yeah, they’re definitely well-known brands and cultures and all of those things. And you’ve had a chance now to more of these schools and visiting as a recruit. You’ve been to LSU’s campus. You were on a big visit to Auburn recently. You’ve hit Florida State, Tulane, some of these. As you start to go visit as a college recruit, what’s that process been like? What’s it been like to get behind the scenes a little bit, have some conversations with these college coaches and start to weigh what an eventual decision can look like for you?
Visiting all the colleges and everything like that is a good experience for me, like I said earlier. And when you talk to all the coaches and have conversations, they really build a good relationship and a bond to where you get to know them more, know more about them and you can talk to them about yourself.
What are some of the things that you hear the most from colleges about either things they like about your game, things they hope to see you continue to grow into, ways that you can fit there or anything like that?
Really, my grit. I would say grit and about my length and height. And about the weight, most of the colleges that have offered me said they’re going to put weight on me either way, so that’s one of the last things they’re really worried about.
I guess in some cases in may really just depend on the program or scheme, but are a lot of colleges picturing you with your hand in the turf as a defensive end up front, or they want you to be standing up as more of an outside linebacker?
It depends on the defense. Some schools that offered me, they run a 3-4, so I’d be on the edge on a two-point, and some schools run a 4-3 and would have my hand in the dirt at times. But it really depends on the defensive scheme.
Do you have a preference? Do you feel better or more comfortable or that you’re able to be more effective one way or the other?
In my opinion, I do like standing up as an edge rusher, outside linebacker, but that really doesn’t matter to me. I just like playing football.