IM ALL IN ?? #WE2DEEP17 #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/IQWj5JBP2V
— Jordan Williams (@_blessed_23) August 6, 2016
Jordan Williams Got His Grit And Toughness From His Grandmother
Jordan Williams’s grandmother, Lula Williams, was very strict but she knew how to have fun and live a lot. Jordan Williams said that she always treated him like he was her own child and had gifts and food for him when he would visit her. He learned more about his grandmother when she battled sickness late in her life and it has given him the strength and mental fortitude he has on the football field today.
“…She was in a retirement home and she was getting really sick. She was starting to forget a lot of things but she never stopped fighting and she told my dad who told me that when she was younger, she said, ‘Don’t take my life away. God has His plan that when He’s ready to call on me, He will,’” “She always fought through everything and she had a really bad sickness [in the nursing home] and then she finally passed. I get a lot of things from her. I never quit during workouts, I work hard not to, I work hard at everything that I do and never gave up because she never gave up. That has had a huge impact on my life.”
She passed away in 2014 before one of Williams’s summer league basketball games and he played one of his best games that day.
“I felt like that was the toughest thing I had to overcome knowing that I couldn’t go down to North Carolina and see her like I wanted to and I had to go to the funeral and see her the way she was. I felt like that was one of the toughest things I had to overcome so far,” he said.
He started playing football at four years old. His parents wanted him to play a sport so he played football. Basketball has always been a passion of his but he has seen more success with football so he said he will stay 100 percent committed to that sport in college.
Jordan Williams hails from Virginia Beach, Virginia and he loves his city. According to the 247Sports Composite, The six-foot-four and a half, 260 pounder is a four star recruit in the 2017 class, the 12th best weak-side defensive end and fifth best player in Virginia.
He has received close to 30 scholarship offers so far from these schools: Clemson, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland and more.
He is now a senior with the Frank W. Cox Falcons (Va.) and last season he recorded 39 tackles (19 solo), 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries (one touchdown) in 12 games.
All Glory To God?? #Top5 pic.twitter.com/x4luYDnge6
— Jordan Williams (@_blessed_23) June 1, 2016
He narrowed down his top five schools to Clemson, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Ohio State. Here’s what he had to say about the list and the recruiting process as a whole.
“I just want to go with a program that has definitely made an impact and [effort] to stay in contact with me and talk to my parents and me all the time. I’m also going to look at what they have ahead of me that’s already there and what they have coming in,” he said. “That’s going to play the biggest part [for me] because I don’t want to go somewhere and sit two or three years before I touch the field like I want to. That’s going to have an impact and also if they have the major I want to major in.”
He wants to major in sports medicine and says his family will play a big role in his commitment decision.
“My family does have a huge role in my life and my recruiting process as well. They’re not the type of parents that tell me ‘No, you can’t go to this school,’ they want me to go wherever I’m happy. They do give me their input but they don’t tell me I can’t go to a certain school.”
He said that the recruiting process has been a huge blessing for him and his family. It’s stressful but it’s a good kind of stress to have and his message to other recruits going through it is simple.
“…It’s definitely a process I would say enjoy while you can and take all the visits, go to all the games, talk to all the coaches and enjoy it. Don’t let it stress you out to much because it’s supposed to be fun.”
He plans to make his commitment decision sometime in August but the actual day is not set.
“I’m definitely more effective getting to the passer on throwing downs. I’m good at stopping the run as well. If something comes my way, I’m not going to let it get past me. I’m getting after the quarterback,” Jordan Williams said about where he’s most effective on the field.
His motor is nonstop. That’s what he said is the best part of his game.
“…Honestly, when I play football, my motor is nonstop and you can’t teach effort. My motor has a huge impact on what I do and different things like that,” he said.
To be a complete football player, he feels like he needs to work on technique and he’s gotten a lot of help by participating in “The Opening,” and “Rivals 5-Star Challenge,” camps this summer.
“That has had a huge impact on me, being able to take coaching from guys that have been doing it for a long time,” he said.
Williams just needed an opportunity to get on the field and before he got that opportunity, he was playing defensive tackle at 185 pounds in his sophomore year. His position change to defensive end was the beginning of his success that he is seeing now.
“My sophomore season, there was a guy ahead of me [at defensive tackle] and he was bigger than me, he was stronger so I didn’t play that much in the early season. The coaches felt like I was too good not to be on the field and at defensive end, it was different,” he said.
He struggled making the transition and figuring out how to play his new position. Everything came together for him toward the end of his sophomore season and camp season where he got a chance to see how he stacked up against some of the best high school talent in the country that summer.
“I was going against these big name guys that I had no idea about. I was working out with some these guys and I felt like I was just as good if not better than some [of them],” he said. “After that, I got the mindset that I’m the best out there, nobody can compete with me, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to beat the guy ahead of me.”
He said that going to the “The Opening,” Finals, a first for him, in Beaverton, Oregon on July 5, will be another huge opportunity to show the world what he can do. It has been a childhood dream of his and he has had friends like Josh Sweat,Levonta Taylor and Jaquan Yulee play in it as well.
“Being able to see a lot of those guys compete in it, it is something I wanted to accomplish this year. Being able to go down to the regionals in New Jersey, compete and make the final five [for defensive linemen] and then get the invite for Oregon and I did, it was definitely more exciting than any offer I could’ve gotten except for the first one,” he said.
You can watch the “The Opening,” Finals on ESPN Tuesday, July 5, at 8 AM. Set your DVR’s.