By KEVIN MOBLEY – Contributing Writer
Despite a productive football career at Clarke Central High School, senior receiver Amir Williams is still uncertain about his future.
We often hear about the high profile football players that come out of high school, excel in college and translate their talent into millions of dollars at the professional level.
Senior receiver Amir Williams runs the ball in the 2012 CCHS vs. Flowery Branch High School football game. Williams is still unsure about his future as a football player. Photo by Porter McLeod.
But what about the players who fly under the radar? The ones who wait in angst for that one call, that one offer that could completely revolutionize their entire life.
There are many players for which this scenario is a reality, and Clarke Central High School senior receiver Amir Williams is one of them.
Williams has been playing organized football for around 10 years. When he earned varsity playing time as a sophomore, football became one of his top priorities.
“(I started to focus on football) probably about the ninth or tenth grade,” Williams said. “Because in the tenth grade I started getting playing time with varsity and the games started to come easy, and I realized I could play on the college level.”
Amir had his most efficient season in his junior year, in which he accumulated more than 500 receiving yards, becoming the premier receiver for the Gladiators.
But during the off-season leading up to his senior year, Williams sustained a collarbone injury that cut his season three games short. However, he felt that the effect was minimal.
“I don’t think it affected (my recruitment) too much,” Williams said. “A lot of coaches knew what I could do based on my eleventh grade season, and when I came back from my injury I finished my senior year pretty well.”
Williams still had a highly productive season, catching 30 receptions for 478 yards and seven touchdowns in eight games. He garnered attention from several schools such as Georgia State University, Gardner Webb University and Mars Hill College, but he did not receive any scholarship offers.
However, he remains positive.
“(The recruiting process) has been good. A lot of teams have been recruiting me,” Williams said. “For me, it was my size; I’m only 5’9” and I play receiver, so a lot of schools, at least the ones that were recruiting me, wanted me to come play cornerback.”
Williams attended numerous football camps during the summer including ones at the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and GSU. He and CCHS head football Coach Leroy Ryals worked to keep in contact with interested schools, and to show scouts and coaches what he could do.
“Coach Ryals has helped a lot; he’s been in contact with a lot of coaches,” Williams said. “He sent my highlight tape to a lot of different schools, and they’ve been in contact with me. I’ve also been doing some of it on my own.”
Williams is persistent, hoping for that one scholarship.
“I tell Coach Ryals to get in touch with them. I send my highlight tape to pretty much everybody, and I probably call three or four schools in a week hoping they’ll pick up or to get information,” Williams said.
Williams also believes that the rules, in regard to player-coach communication, are far too restrictive.
“I wish that coaches could be able to get in contact with players a little more often,” Williams said. “I don’t think they can text or call players after a certain period of time. The only thing I would want is that they could contact players all the time.”
However, according to NCAA Division II Bylaw 13.17.3, Williams’s recruitment is in a “Contact Period,” where coaches are able to meet with him, visit him at his high school, and get in touch with him through phone calls.
In the end, the recruiting process is stressful for players of all talent levels. Williams plans on signing, but the fear of that offer never coming is imminent. He feels that in the world of recruiting, exposure is essential.
“Just get your film out there early, because you can’t wait until the last minute, you can’t depend on anybody,” Williams said.
