SAN JOSE, Calif.– Alabama’s unanimous All America nose tackle Quinnen Williams is the latest superstar to roll off coach Nick Saban’s assembly line. The 6-4, 295-pound red shirt sophomore has surpassed Eddie Oliver of Houston and Clemson’s entire defensive line and has a challenge Ohio State defensive tackle Joey Bosa as the first pick overall in the NFL draft.
Nobody saw this coming.
Williams has been one of the biggest surprises in college football. He spent two years buried on the depth chart as a backup defensive rush end. But after Daron Payne declared for the NFL draft last season, the coaching staff asked him to move inside in spring drills.
Since then Williams has done nothing but create havoc. He has been a singularly disruptive force who has a team high 17 tackles for loss, seven sacks and 12 quarterback hurries to go with a safety and one pass breakup. He has added 66 tackles and 41 unassisted stops, numbers that were good enough to win him the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior lineman on offense or defense.
“I definitely didn’t know I would be on this stage I am now,’’ Williams said. “I feel like, it just happened. I didn’t know it would be like this.’’
Williams will be suiting up for his third College Playoff championship game Monday night when the top-ranked 14–0 Tide plays second-ranked 14-0 Clemson at Levi’s Stadium in nearby Santa Clara. He will potentially the biggest headache for the Tigers’ precocious freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, especially if the game is played in rainy conditions.
“I want to intimate all quarterbacks, so freshman, senior, redshirt, it’s going to be the same,’’ Williams said. “We’re going to see if he can take it. But I know he’s a great quarterback. He can make the throws quick. He can get the ball out quick because he really hasn’t been hit all year because he got the ball out so quickly.
“When you get hit, we’re going to see how you recover from that. Or not recover, but how you shake back and see if it doesn’t change you up.’’
Williams has had personal motivation to achieve his goals. When he was just 12-years old, his mother, Marquischa Williams, a first-grade teacher in Southeast Birmingham, passed away from cancer, leaving his grandmother, Yvarta Henderson, to take care of four children. Williams, whose mother was his best friend, used sports as an outlet to cope with the tragedy and he and two brothers Quincy and Giovanni bonded when they became stars on the same high school team.
When Williams was a senior at Wenonah High. he didn’t even know if he would be at Alabama. Williams grew up as a huge Auburn fan. “I really loved Auburn,’’ he admitted. “I wanted to be a Tiger since Cam Newton and Bo Jackson, all that. When I first got the offer, I committed on the spot. But many people had to tell me like Bro, you are making this decision as a fan and not as a business decision, where I want to be in the future.
“So, I started to visit other schools and I came to Alabama and I just fell in love with it, liked the family atmosphere, the hard work. The thing that really stood out to me is the different guys who are in the NFL and come back. Guys like Don’ta Hightower, Courtney Upshaw, Eddie Lacey. You probably see a new face every day. I was like man, I played with you guys on Madden. I looked up to the guys on Madden and here they were, getting treatment right next to me.’’
“There are so many guys here from where I’m from. Birmingham in general, you got Josh Chapman, you got Marcelle Daries. Daron Payne went to Alabama. So many guys who succeed and were first round draft picks from Alabama came from Birmingham.”
Williams got hate mail and criticism for his decision to de-commit from Auburn and sign with the Tigers’ bitter rival. But he stuck with ‘Bama, even though he knew he might have to wait his turn. Williams came to Alabama as a sleek 260-pound three-star defensive end, surrounded by five-star pass rushers. The transition he had to make to get on the field required him to eat his way over 300 pounds. He didn’t even think he would start in the beginning of the year, but the coaches were impressed that he maintained his speed, helping him destroy offensive lines in the mighty SEC and he was able to use his hands to slip off blocks and wreck double teams.
Williams had his finest hour against LSU Nov. 3 when he had seven solo tackles and two and a half sacks. He has been on fire ever since, which has his professional stock soaring.
Williams has learned to use his overnight success to give back to his community. “I go back to my old high school and just watch film, just like those guys watch film,’’ he said. “I try to teach those guys the stuff I learned, because when I got to college, everything was new. Many people didn’t know this stuff in high school.’
Everything I get a chance to go back to to Wenonah, I just go back to a middle school or high school, somewhere just to talk about the different things outside the neighborhood. I just grab a few guys around the city and mentor him and make sure they go down the right path.’’
His mother would be proud.
