Every WPa D1 Prospect seems to have

[Captain Kangaroo]

A player to watch: Monessen's Williams creating a name for himself

Friday, August 20, 2004

By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Like many teenagers, Ernest "Mick" Williams spends a great deal of time playing video games. When he plays football games, he goes to the "create a player" section and creates himself. He makes his video version big, strong and dominating.

Players to Watch

Last in a series on top high school football players in the WPIAL and City League.

So there you have it. Video games can imitate life.

On the "real" football field at Monessen High School, Williams is every bit of big, strong and dominating. That's why he is expected to have a big senior season and why he has a handful of Division I scholarship offers.

"There are times when he does things you can't teach," Monessen coach Andy Pacak said. "His natural strength and his natural nose for the ball is impressive, and he's a very aggressive kid. Then when you flip it around offensively, he is a very good running back."

Williams is a 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker and running back who became a varsity starter near the end of his freshman season. He scored two touchdowns in his first varsity start. On offense, Williams will play fullback and team with halfback Quinton Martin to make one of the most formidable running combinations in Class A.

Last season, Martin rushed for 923 yards on 105 carries (8.8 average) and Williams 866 on 101 attempts (8.6 average).

But Williams is being recruited by colleges to play linebacker. He has offers from Pitt, West Virginia, (his sister, Latitia, played basketball at West Virginia), Iowa, Indiana and Akron.

"I've always been a linebacker," Williams said. "Except when I was little and they tried to put my hand in the dirt and make me a lineman. I didn't like that."

Williams wants to be known as a linebacker. What he doesn't want to be known as is "Ernest."

"It's just a funny name," he said.

He got the nickname "Mick" as a youngster because his father, Ernest, was known as "Mickey."

"People said he had big ears," the younger Williams said.

Like Mickey Mouse?

"Yeah. But I don't have big ears," he said. "Mine are nice."

As a football player, Williams has done a lot of nice things for Monessen. One thing he wants to do is prove he has his old quickness. He ballooned to 250 pounds in the spring. He attended Pitt's camp and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds. He ran it again and dropped it to 4.7.

"I almost cried when I ran it the first time," Williams said. "When I was smaller, the worst I had run it was 4.55 or 4.6. When I ran that 4.9, [Pitt coach] Walt Harris was there watching. But then I did better the second time."

Williams said he has gotten into better shape with the help of Monessen assistant coach Jamie Reader, a former Greyhounds running back who had a brief stint a few years ago with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Pacak would like Williams to keep his weight between 235 and 240 pounds.

"We're really pushing these kids in practices," Pacak said. "We run them every morning with different distances and sprints. And we do it before we start practicing."

Williams said, "We're running so much, I should gain 1,000 yards this season."

[Big Zip]

Maybe we'll get lucky and Jamie Reader will put in a good word for Akron. Was he a Faust guy or an Owens guy?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Maybe we'll get lucky and Jamie Reader will put in a good word for Akron. Was he a Faust guy or an Owens guy?

Faust.

[Guest Guest_Z.I.P.]

I met Jamie when he was in Hawai'i for the Hula Bowl. That was I believe 1999, or possibly '98. So he was on the cusp of being recruited by either of those coaches. I suspect however though, that Coach Faust may have recruited him -- at least before his dismissal. Gerry had a pipeline to Monnessen PA, and Jamie may have been one of his last from the Greyhounds.

I can say one thing -- even after Coach Faust left, he was still partly responsibly for Jamie having the chance to play in the Hula Bowl, which no doubt created his NFL career as a blocking back. Through his membership in the AFCA -- which ran the bowl -- it was Faust who recommended Jamie to the coaches for the game on Maui.

That was the first year the game was played on Maui, and they only brought the players over to O'ahu one day for a reception. And since it was poorly organized/attended they haven't done it since. I guess that means that I'll have to dip into my Hawaiian Airlines miles if I want to see #5 play this year, eh? Maybe Coach Owens can put in a good word for Charlie.