At an early spring practice, the Oregon offense is lined up for a play. One running back, two wide receivers, a tight end on the line and a tight end split wide.
Eddie Pleasant, the junior convert from linebacker to safety, creeps up to the line of scrimmage. He stops directly in front of Brandon Williams, the tight end split out.
Darron Thomas receives the snap from center and fakes the handoff. Looking up, he sees Williams, wide open, streaking down the middle. Williams has burned Pleasant, one of the team’s fastest players, at the line of scrimmage, leaving him playing catch up.
Thomas throws the ball a little behind Williams, but otherwise well-placed. Williams drops the ball.
The junior from Merrionette Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, is far from a finished product. Regardless, Williams’ package of size (6 feet 4 inches, 226 pounds), speed, and yes, hands, have impressed coaches and teammates alike.
“He’s a real athletic guy, eager to learn,” tight end David Paulson said. “If he continues to learn the offense and really understand the offense, I think he can really help the team out. I think he can develop (into) a physical blocker.”
“We’ve still yet to see his best ball (because) he’s so new here,” offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. “Very athletic guy — that’s what you want a guy to look like. The mental part will come.”
Oregon lost just one offensive starter to graduation, but Ed Dickson was one of the nation’s best tight ends and one of the most dynamic receivers in the Pacific-10 Conference at times (ask California). Redshirt junior David Paulson developed into a reliable target, but with just 12 catches for 185 yards last season he too has room to grow. Williams, a two-to-play-two transfer from Joliet Junior College, should contribute immediately for the Ducks, especially out of two-tight end sets.
“That’ll be a good little mix there,” Helfrich said. “That’ll be a good battle.”
Williams played football and basketball at Eisenhower High School in Merrionette Park and found an opportunity to play both sports at Joliet. In 2009, he pulled double duty as a bruising post player and NJCAA All-American first-teamer. Williams caught 56 passes for 908 yards and seven touchdowns in his sophomore season and earned all-league honors in the Midwest Football Conference.
He had been receiving looks from Kansas State, Wyoming, Baylor, Toledo, Central Michigan, Florida State, LSU and Auburn before the Ducks jumped into the mix.
“My head coach from my junior college called me and was like ‘Oregon’s looking at you,’” Williams said. “He told me that they were going to call me but they weren’t going to call me until after USC, because they were playing USC (on Oct. 31).
“They called me the very next day. They expressed their interest, and the following week they flew Coach (Scott) Frost out. A week or two later, I was down on an official visit.”
The official visit was an eye-opener, in large part because Williams had never before ventured to the West Coast.
“It was a complete difference,” Williams said. “It’s beautiful out here.”
“It was amazing,” he said of the official visit. “Of course, the facilities and stuff are great, but the people, you can’t beat the people. The people are amazing. The coaches, the players — I loved it.”
The people convinced Williams to be a Duck in the end, and he’s rewarding their faith with his play. As spring practice continues, Williams is receiving plenty of repetitions with the first- and second-string offenses. Special teams coach Tom Osborne has also enlisted Williams as an interior blocker in punt protection, extra point and field goal schemes.
“All the previous schools I was at never really took special teams as serious,” Williams said. “I’ve done a little special teams, but not to this extent. I’m willing to do whatever they want me to do.”
“He’s always wanting to get better,” Paulson said.
Williams believes he can contribute. After all, he’s surrounded by the people he wants to be around.
“Talking to the kid, he’s a very bright guy,” Helfrich said. “He’s got a smile on his face.”
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