Williams upholds family tradition|[12/09/07]
Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 9, 2007
A rich family tradition of athletic prowess has been extended by Vicksburg High linebacker Carlos Williams.
Williams’ mother, Dorothy Taylor, ran track for VHS football coach Alonzo Stevens. His uncles Ronnie and Randy Taylor were also former Gator athletes.
“His mom started the tradition when she ran track for me,” Stevens said. “And his two uncles, Ronnie and Randy, were great athletes. And this season Carlos showed he is very athletic.”
So much so that Williams has earned the Vicksburg Post’s 2007 Defensive Player of the Year honor. The junior is the third straight VHS player to win the honor, following defensive end Dekores Branch in 2006 and defensive back Willis McGowan in 2005. Ronnie Taylor, a linebacker during his playing days, won the award for VHS in 1990.
Now, Williams has something to brag about to his uncles.
“Since I was 7 or 8 I knew I was going to be a football player. And all that time, my uncle, Ronnie Taylor, told me that I would have to do better than him,” Williams said.
All Williams did for the Gators defense this season was make a team-best 148 tackles (121 solos). He was also a major force on special teams, blocking four punts, returning one for a touchdown, along with two other place kicks.
Williams credited his film study for his success in blocking kicks.
“It was something I looked at on Thursday night. How was the other team blocking their punts and I’d try to think up a way to take advantage. Our coaches have stressed that a blocked punt could be a difference in our winning the football game,” Williams said.
As for his many tackles, Williams said he has to credit his teammates on the defensive line.
“Our D-line was good. Anthony Addison and Emannuel Lofton really did a good job opening things up for me,” Williams said.
“But again, it went back to my film study. I knew where the ball was going,” he said.
As a junior, Williams will have another year to help the Gators advance farther in the Class 4A playoffs. Vicksburg finished 6-5 and was beaten in the first round by West Point, 24-14. Williams had one of the Gators’ scores in that game with his fourth quarter blocked punt return score.
“It’s great that he’s got another year left, but he has got to continue to work,” Stevens said. “We call him ‘Fire’ because of how he covers things. He can make a lot of plays because he has extremely good speed.
He also has a good size, at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, to draw interest as a collegiate prospect next year.
“He has the tools,” Stevens said. “He just needs to be motivated.”
Three straight losses to close his junior season after a 6-2 start could be motivation enough for Williams.
“We need to play more as a team and be ready to play every Friday night. We didn’t do that enough,” Williams said.
The Gators will have a big target to shoot for as they begin off-season work toward next season. They will open the year against South Panola, which won its fifth straight Class 5A title on Friday.
“I’m hoping they are still undefeated when they come here to play us,” Williams said.