Alabama freshman OL Jonah Williams worked hard to perfect his technique
By Adam Spencer
Published:
QB Jalen Hurts isn’t the only true freshman making big contributions for Alabama this season. He’s been the beneficiary of tremendous blocking from freshman OL Jonah Williams, who has played each of the team’s 13 games at right tackle.
However, the former five-star recruit from Folsom, California, didn’t always take to the position so easily.
In a fantastic ESPN.com profile piece by Alex Scarborough, Williams’ high school coach, Kris Richardson, detailed how much work the Alabama lineman had to do to learn to play the position properly instead of just relying on his natural athletic ability:
“You could see right away he had the physical tools: quick feet, an explosive lower body, a freak in the weight room,” Richardson said. “But he was really raw and didn’t have a lot of technique. … His idea of football was to grab and kick and throw people to the ground. I’m like, ‘Jonah, for one, these are your own teammates. Let’s not throw our own guys to the ground all the time. And two, when you throw kids that’s not really blocking.'”
It’s safe to say Williams quickly picked up on the proper blocking technique. Richardson said every defensive lineman he faced in high school was completely overmatched:
“If you want to entertain yourself, pull up his high school highlight tape,” Richardson said. “He was killing kids. It was not fair.”
The entire ESPN profile of Williams is well worth a read. Check it out here.
Check out Williams and the Crimson Tide in action on New Year’s Eve. Alabama takes on Washington in the Peach Bowl at 2 p.m. Central time on ESPN.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
