Editor’s note: Montana State welcomed nine high school prospects to campus the final recruiting weekend of the winter the last weekend of January 2018. Eight of those recruits ended up signing National Letters of Intent with MSU the first week of February.
In the coming weeks, Skyline Sports will print a series of stories about each of those commitments to Montana State. This is the fourth installment of that series featuring Aledo, Texas 3-star defensive tackle James Williams.
PART I: Montana State’s loyalty helps Bobcats land Eastside Catholic star Putney
PART II: Washington Gatorade Player of the Year Ifanse eventually chooses Montana State
James Williams credits his drive to observing his mother’s perseverance through a decade of raising him and his siblings on her own.
So when the recent graduate of Aledo (Texas) High School floated the idea of moving 1,500 miles north to play defensive tackle for Jeff Choate at Montana State, the thought of living so far away weighed heavy on the teenager.
Sondra Williams raised James and his four siblings since he was “seven or eight” after his parents got divorced. As James began high school in Everman, he “started running with the wrong crowd” according to an article by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Sondra decided to move the family to Aledo, a suburb of Fort Worth that boasts one of Texas’ top football programs.
The 5-foot-10, 300-pound Williams rose quickly, sticking in the starting lineup as a stalwart who coaches called “Big Game James” from his first varsity appearance his freshman year, a campaign that ended in a state title.
As a junior in 2016, Williams piled up 116 tackles and 11 tackles for loss as the Bearcats posted a 16-0 record that culminated with a 24-16 victory over Calallen High at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington in the 5A state title game.
Six months later in July of 2017, Williams gave his verbal commitment to Choate and the Bobcats. In November, James Williams Sr. passed away at the age of 48. The untimely death made Williams start contemplating his future.
“My relationship with my father wasn’t really the best and my family has been through some very tough things, but that got me,” Williams Jr. said in an interview in June. “Family is family. Knowing he is gone hurts but it motivates me. I’m doing this for him.”
By the time he started in the Class 5A state championship game last December, Williams Jr.’s streak of consecutive starts had reached 63. Aledo just missed back-to-back titles, falling 20-19 to College Station in last fall’s state title game to snap a 31-game winning streak.
Off the field, Williams was having serious second thoughts. He missed his father. He was having a hard time rationalizing moving so far away from his family. When Sam Houston State came to the table with an offer, Williams balked, de-committing from Montana State on January 2 and committing to the Bearkats of the Southland Conference shortly after.
But Williams did not forget about MSU. Choate, defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak and defensive line coach Byron Hout continued pursuit. MSU invited him on a visit the final weekend of official recruiting trips to Bozeman less than two weeks before National Signing Day.
Williams was among nine recruits who came to Bozeman that snowy weekend. The recruits toured campus, attended the Cat-Griz rivalry basketball game between the MSU men and Montana’s men’s basketball team. And the group bonded with each other.
By the first week of February, Williams once again believed Montana State was the place for him. The mother and son shared some “real personal talks”, James ensuring Sondra she could come visit him whenever possible and that things “would be OK at home” where his three sisters still live after his brother recently moved out. After a second in-home visit from Choate, Williams returned his allegiance to the Bobcats.
“When I first committed, I liked everything about Montana State,” Williams said. “I loved the coaches. I de-committed because I thought it was too far for my family. Then I went up there and it changed my eyes.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I told Coach Choate I had to talk to my mom because it is far and my mom wasn’t a fan of that. But it’s a great place, a very great place and that’s why I chose it.”
On February 7, the 3-star defensive tackle signed his National Letter of Intent with MSU. He chose Montana State over offers from Sam Houston State, Army, Air Force and Oklahoma Baptist.
“I loved the business center, what they have to offer,” said Williams, who will major in business. “I loved the campus, it was great. I like just the town of Bozeman period. It’s pretty similar to where I am in Aledo. It’s really just based on football. Everybody love Bearcat football, Bobcat football so I got a great feeling of that. The players on the team, I fit right in with them.
“I knew it was a good place with great education, great athletics and a great environment so I had to go with it.”
The first start of Williams’ career came at Baylor’s McLane Stadium in what he estimated to be a crowd of more than 40,000 people. He remembers building confidence by reminding himself that “they put their pants on the same as I do, they put their helmet on the same as I do.”
“I believe going into college with the experience I have and the guys I competed against, it’s a challenge I know I’m prepared for,” Williams said. “I’ve been against some of the top guys in the country. The one thing about me is I don’t let size get to me. I’m just going to go out there, play football, do what I do. I believe that my experience and level of play will maneuver very quickly to college. I think it will take me two or three games but after that, I feel like no one is stopping me.”
During his four years anchoring the interior line for Aledo, the team won 59 games and lost just four. Williams owns two state championship rings. The Bearcats played in the 5A semifinals and in the championship game the two years Williams and his teammates did not bring home a state title.
Williams totaled nearly 230 tackles and 30 tackles for loss over the last two seasons alone, earning all-district and region honors while building a reputation as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the Lone Star State.
“Texas high school football is the best high school football in the world and I played against some great teams during my career,” Williams said. “Being in those big games that I’ve been in and the adversity is definitely going to stick with me when I’m in college. I just don’t panic, I stay calm and wish for the best. And I keep playing until the clock reads zeroes. Having that mindset, playing the coaches and the teams and athletes I’ve competed against is definitely going to help me at the next level.”
Coaches across Texas have echoed the same evaluation: if Williams was a few inches taller, he would be an elite prospect with a glut of FBS offers. Williams has never let his lack of height hinder his ability to control the line of scrimmage.
“My height gives me an advantage because of a low center of gravity, how powerful and explosive I come off the line,” Williams said. “Having that low center of gravity on a lineman that sticks forward, it’s easier for me to beat him because I’m already lower than him. All I have to do is come off low, stay in my gap and I win.
Montana State has had success controlling the line of scrimmage in defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak’s odd man front. Tucker Yates, a 5-foot-11, 290-pound senior who is built similarly to Williams, has anchored MSU’s nose tackle spot the last two seasons. Last season, Elu Leota, a 6-foot, 290-pounder from Euless, Texas, backed up Yates as a true freshman.
“I’m trying to come in and be the guy first game,” Williams said. “I was talking to Coach (Byron) Hout and they have some situations going on this season, before this season, and he told me I might be the guy this season. When I get up there, I have to have the mindset I’m going to dominate. I’m not going to let any guy get the best of me.”
Williams admits he will be nervous moving to a new place far away from home. He said his first practices will certainly spark feelings of apprehension. But with all football pursuits thus far in his life, Williams knows he’ll settle in once he starts showing his formidable skill.
The powerful, mature lineman once had reservations about going far away from home. Now he’s excited to prove his mettle at Montana State.
“I didn’t regret it,” Williams said. “I made that decision 100 percent faithfully. I knew that going that far would be a factor the first week or two but after that, it’s just a great place overall that I know I want to be.
“I know it’s far. But I felt it was the place God sent me and I went with it. I told myself that this is where I’m going and I have to make the best out of it. It’s a full-ride scholarship. I don’t have to pay for anything. I am just making the most of the opportunity.”
Photos contributed by Williams or by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
