Seriously, the guy cannot make the big play when it matters. Guy would be a shoo-in for the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. – Oregon football message board post
The knock on Jaison Williams started as a whisper. His first year in the fold at wide receiver, Williams’ problems were just freshman mistakes. Dropped passes – who didn’t do that? Then a breakout sophomore season came, and Williams finished in the top 20 in the nation in yards and receptions. Everybody knew his name. With his enormous talent came sudden, enormous expectations.
It’s hard to argue he hasn’t met them. Williams is 17 catches and 370 yards from breaking Oregon’s receiving records for yards and catches. But those drops – they never went away. Everybody remembered his mistakes. A fumble against USC last Saturday, which led to a Trojan touchdown and a breakdown on offense and defense by the Ducks, didn’t help shed his mercurial tag. Now, when those mistakes happen, they’re met with vocal disdain, with the volume turned all the way up.
“If he can get through that, he can get through anything in life,” receivers coach Robin Pflugrad said. “Whatever he chooses to do, he’s going to be very successful because he’s faced a ton of adversity and he’s had to turn the other cheek and keep working.”
Williams’ solution is neither perfect nor the long-term answer. But at this junction in his Oregon career, with six games left, it’s as good as any.
Just block it out.
“I don’t particularly pay a lot of attention to them,” Williams said. “I don’t even listen to FM or AM radio. I don’t even listen to my own radio. I don’t even care for people’s opinion if it doesn’t help. A negative vibe, it does nothing for confidence, for motivation and getting a team prepared.”
For possibly the greatest wide receiver in Oregon history, at least on paper, it’s quite the treatment. In answering these questions, he’s been open and honest; however, the final half of his senior year might not be enough time to change the minds of Oregon fans, even if he rewrites the record book.
He looks great getting off the bus. But give me a non-NFL prospect like Mael (sic) any day. Tonight’s gaffe goes into the long lowlight film of Jaison’s. – Oregon message board post
It wouldn’t be a problem if Williams weren’t so talented. At 6-foot-5 and in the vicinity of 240 pounds, he came to Eugene from Inglewood, Calif., as one of the 30-best wide receivers in all of high school football. He’s started 28 games in his career, the second most of any offensive player.
“He can go the distance on any given play,” Pflugrad said.
He has – often. The two Washington defenders he sprinted past down the left sideline in August can attest to that. The last time an Oregon wide receiver caught 150 yards or more, it was Williams. The same goes for the last time a Duck caught 10 passes. His 24 catches and 319 yards this year are all Oregon bests. What draws the frustration of fans and coaches is his continued mistakes, like his drops against Purdue, and the fumble in Los Angeles.
“I give them a lot of reasons to think otherwise from what I remember,” he said. “But I’m human like anybody else. Sometimes some people forget that.
“It’s good when it’s good, but when it’s at its worst it’s at its worst.”
He also knows that this year, his senior year, he’s been far from dominant.
“I’m underplaying my role on the team. I’m settling just for being a contributor and role player instead of being a leader.”
Williams is still trying to find the answer for why he’s not taking over games like he’s used to. He hasn’t compiled 10 games with 100 or more receiving yards – second most in school history – as a fluke. He and his coach believe confidence has a lot to do with it, but they have no doubt he’s their top threat in the passing game.
“Every person is different and some players are really private with their confidence level,” said Pflugrad, a former wide receiver at Portland State. “I think confidence is … some of it’s knowing the coach has faith in you. Once that line is crossed where you lose faith in a player, I think their confidence will always struggle.
“And he knows I have faith and confidence in him.”
What every Oregon coach and fan wants to know is whether Williams will have enough self-confidence to return to his form from two years ago before his play mirrored the team’s November swoon. His roller coaster career continued last year, where he caught 13 passes for 126 yards against Arizona and Arizona State, albeit with Dennis Dixon throwing the ball, only to finish with a combined six catches for 60 yards two weeks later against Oregon State and UCLA with freshman fourth and fifth-stringers starting.
He keys on finding a good play and building off it for the next. He has his coaches’ backing, and knows his teammates are behind him in his bid for his records. But keeping the white noise out is still the hardest part.
“There’s maybe once or twice some of that nonsense gets in,” he said, “and then I just hear it and it’s in one ear, out the other.”
Fourth down and five, here’s Masoli to throw, pressure comes. Here’s the screen, Jaison Williams gets it upfield, he’s going to score! Jaison Williams at the five, he’s in the endzone! – Jerry Allen’s play-by-play from Washington State
And now, the million-dollar question:
What’s next?
In the long run, it’d be a career in the NFL. He says it’s “the fastest way to make over six figures” and help take care of his family, his mother Theresa and his two brothers and a sister. He’s willing to do anything to get on the field at the next level.
“I don’t care, I’ll gain 50 pounds to play tight end, I’ll gain 100 pounds to play tackle,” he said. “I’ll lose 20 pounds to play safety!”
And although he says he doesn’t play to break records, there’s no doubt it would go a long way toward restoring the kind of legacy he envisions for himself.
“If I can speak for someone else, I’d be like, ‘You remember that Jaison Williams kid? He was pretty good, broke some record while he was here, silently. All in all I think he’s a pretty good player. He just had some difficulties at parts but he had a pretty good tenure.’”
Time will let the pundits decide. Whether he hears what they have to say is another question.
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