QB isn't too small to lead Oscar Smith to big success

CHESAPEAKE

"You're too small."

Since J.J. Williamson can remember, he heard those words.

"All it did was give me the motivation to work even harder," said Williamson, a 5-foot-9 senior quarterback at Oscar Smith. "You know you have all the talent and a good work ethic and to have somebody say that about you, I was like 'Wow.' "

If that wasn't difficult enough, Williamson also had to replace star quarterback Phillip Sims, who now plays at Alabama.

He not only won the job, but threw for 3,244 yards to set a school and Southeastern District single-season record in 2010, his first year as a starter. He also threw 36 touchdown passes to help lead the Tigers to another Southeastern District title.

Now he wants to lead Oscar Smith to a Group AAA state title. He's thrown for 2,245 yards and 29 touchdowns this season.

"It would mean that all our hard work and effort paid off," he said.

Williamson's quest continues when Oscar Smith (11-1) plays Salem (11-1) at 7:30 tonight in the Eastern Region Division 6 championship game at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

Tigers coach Richard Morgan remembers the different quarterbacks who came in to challenge Williamson.

"They thought they were going to take his spot because he was the JV quarterback the year before," Morgan said. "They thought he didn't have any experience, so they all tried transferring in to see if they could take his spot.

"We'd go to passing league games and it wasn't even close. He had a mastery of the offense and the other kids didn't know what they were doing. And they all decided to leave."

What college coaches like about Williamson is his arm strength, accuracy and mobility. They also like his understanding of defenses. The only thing they couldn't seem to get past was his height - or lack of it.

"That's the first thing people want to look at," Morgan said. "There are guys who aren't as good as J.J. who have offers from other schools. But they're a certain height."

College coaches have even wondered if Williamson can play another position.

"Why would you need him to do that if he throws for 3,000 yards?" Morgan said. "But that's what colleges unfortunately do. They look at the size and potential of a prospect instead of looking at whether the kid can play."

Williamson received interest from several schools, but his only offer was from Hampton. He jumped on it.

"It was kind of surprising that I had one offer after breaking Phillip's records," Williamson said. "But I'm at a good school. And they want me to be a quarterback, not like other schools that wanted me to play other positions."

Last week, he threw for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Grassfield in the region semifinal. Morgan said the Tigers need more of that.

"He was kind of in a lull there for a little while and didn't look like himself for a few games," Morgan said. "We had to get him back to doing things that we wanted him to do. And once we were able to do that, he's thrown 15 touchdowns and no picks.

"We just need him to play within himself and play his game. Distribute the ball, don't take sacks and don't throw interceptions and we'll be OK."

Larry Rubama, (757) 446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com