DDT Player of the Year: Terrell Williams

GREENVILLE — There’s no doubt about it. Terrell Williams is a one-sport athlete. Don’t be confused; however, because the Greenville-Weston High linebacker could play other sports, but he was built for football – and football alone.
He’s too physical for anything else.
“That’s why I don’t play basketball,” Williams said, “because I’ll probably foul out.”
Thankfully, though, Williams knows his calling. A calling that has transformed the junior athlete from a shy kid on a Coleman Middle School football team in ’06 to this year’s Delta Democrat Times’ Football Player of the Year.
“Of all the players we brought in this summer,” said first-year coach Todd Lott, “(Williams) bought into what we were trying to do.”
Williams racked up 93 tackles on defense and nearly 250 yards and two touchdowns this year while playing fullback.
Williams, along with junior running back Donald Jackson (1,119 rushing yards, 8 TDs), carried the load for a Hornets team that took strides under new leadership – former Washington School coach Lott.
“I owe it all to my coaching staff,” said Williams. “They worked us hard all summer. They had us weight room and we ran for days.”
Apparently it paid off. Since his middle schools days, the 5-foot-10 Williams has always played linebacker. This year he picked up the fullback duties, as well.
On offense, Williams served as the team’s short-yardage back, and started the season with a bang – rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown in his fullback debut.
On defense, Williams really found his groove later in the year, racking up 40 tackles in the last three games against some of the state’s toughest competition.
“Middle linebacker is not an easy position in our scheme,” said Lott. “You have to be aware of what everyone is doing around you – and he was very valuable in helping other players line up right (and) keep their assignments.”
Williams reverted back to the team’s workouts this summer as the credit for his improvement. Those two-a-days from 8 to 11 in the morning 2 till 4 in the afternoon really paid off, he said.
And don’t forget about the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Gatorade, Williams chuckled.
The bruising linebacker still has another year so his college options are still up in the air. So far he said he’s received letters from Ole Miss and Arkansas.
He doesn’t know what his plans are after 2012, but he does have an idea of what position he would like to suit up at in college.
“I’m not tall enough to be a linebacker (at the next level),” said the 5-foot-10 Williams, “but I’ll play fullback.”
This year, the Hornets were just shy of their first playoff berth since 2001. GWHS finished the season 4-7 after winning three of their first five.
Despite playing in a region boasting two of the state’s top 6A teams – Northwest Rankin and Madison Central – Williams has high hopes for his Hornet team in 2011.
“We,” he said, “wanna be state champs.”