The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70101
2012 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE empty-handed. He culled a nut from a nutty cashier, along with further motivation for future border battles. The 6-6, 275-pounder out of Cincinnati made the mis- A.J. Williams can't say he left his home state of Ohio A.J. Williams Escapes Ohio With A Souvenir take of wearing his Michigan sweatshirt into a gas station a few months ago. The man behind the counter quickly delivered a reminder of what Williams is leaving behind. "The guy comes up to me and says, 'You like Michi- gan?'" Williams recalled. "I was like, 'Yes, sir, I'm going there to play football.' For some reason, the guy had a buckeye in his pocket. He was like, 'Here, I want you to take one of these, and let you know what you're doing to your state.' "I'm like what? Why would you keep a buckeye in your pocket? Who was this guy, and why does he have a buck- eye in his pocket?" Williams eventually wrote it off as just another nut in a pocket of Ohio that has more than its share. Even though the big tight end/tackle grew up in the state, he's never been highly attuned to the mindset. "I really never was a big Ohio State fan," Williams ad- mitted. "I went to their camp and everything, because I wanted to get the exposure. But I've never been a big Ohio State fan. Now that I'm committed to Michigan, I see a lot of Ohio State fans come out around me. I'm in an Ohio State-infested area, believe me." Williams insisted he became comfortable right away with Michigan head coach Brady Hoke, who is from Ohio and "knows what we go through." Needless to say, Wil- liams took plenty of pleasure in attending Michigan's final regular-season game this year. But he was also in the stands for the night contest against Notre Dame, and got an early indication of how special Michigan's season was going to be. "That just shows you they have a great coaching staff, down, I was like, no way. I was thinking, oh man, no. That was crazy. Then they came back and won." Williams is already preparing for the time when he can bolster the U-M effort in just such a cliffhanger. "I think about it every day," he said. "I throw little out that Williams can catch passes. He just wasn't called upon to do so in his high school team's run-based offense. "We had a quarterback who was a running back, and we didn't throw the ball too often," Datillo said. "If we threw it six times a game, it was a lot. Our tight end the past few years has been more of a blocker." The fact that Williams moved easily and effectively to offensive tackle in his senior season says plenty about 76 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 more High School in Cincinnati. He caught one as a junior and two in his sophomore season. That doesn't sound like the lead-up to a reception-studded career at Michigan. Sycamore coach Scott Datillo, though, quickly points passes to myself in my bedroom. I can't wait to be in my winged helmet, with my Michigan jersey." Williams didn't catch a single pass as a senior at Syca- with a lot of great things to come," Williams said. "The Notre Dame game, when they had to come back and win, was incredible. "Oh, my goodness. After that [late Notre Dame] touch- Williams is rated by Rivals.com as a three-star prospect, the No. 26 player in the Buckeye State and the No. 22 tight end nationally. him, the Sycamore head coach insisted. "Him moving to tackle shows a lot about his character do. If they're looking for a big, power-blocker on the edge, that's how they'll use him. If they're looking for a line- man, he can certainly do that as well." Datillo noted Williams possesses exceptional feet and a and his willingness to put the team first," Datillo said. "Being a Michigan recruit as a tight end, and having to put No. 78 on his back, really says a lot about what he represents and what he's willing to do to make the team better. That's what we needed this year. He did it, and earned all-state honors. "I think he could do either. It's what they want him to very good pair of hands as well — but neither of those at- tributes stood out the most. "The first thing that stands out to me is his dominance," Datillo insisted. "This year, he was an eraser. When we're game planning, we can just erase the guy on paper who is across from him. "The plays we would run in the past that would include double-teams or team blocks, we didn't have to strategize for. We just let A.J. handle it." Williams wants to do some erasing in November, the next few seasons. He'd like to make the man at the gas station remember him. "I tell Ohio State fans personally how it's going to go," Williams said. "I tell them like this — I don't plan on Ohio State players getting any gold pants any time soon, I can tell you that." PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL — John Borton