AU star Carnell Williams learns from injuries while teaching others to achieve
Sunday, August 08, 2004
By PHILLIP MARSHALL
Times Sports Staff pmarsh9485@msn.com GADSDEN - Sweeping to his right, Carnell Williams took the pitch from quarterback Jason Campbell and turned upfield. He cut to the outside, eluding two Alabama defenders. He ran for his school, for his brother who taught him to be tough, for his mother who worked hard to raise a large family, for his father who was there when he needed him most, for all the kids who never got the chance. He ran for them all.
"I broke out, they kind of took a bad angle and I didn't see anything but green grass," Williams said. "My eyes probably got real big. I said 'Man, I think I'm about to go the distance.' "
As the Auburn crowd rose that night on Nov. 23, 2003, Williams lived the dream of thousands of little boys. He ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to start Auburn's march to a 28-23 victory. All those days of playing football with his brother in the back yard, all the hard work, had brought him to this moment.
"Growing up in this state, watching the game, watching Bo (Jackson) break long runs, watching other guys do their stuff, to do that on the first play was a feeling I can't describe," Williams said. "It was the highlight of my football career."
It came after two frustrating years. He'd broken a collarbone after five runs as a freshman. A broken leg kept him out of the game as a sophomore.
But on this night, those days of pain seemed long ago and far away.
Michael Williams, seven years older than his brother, saw the play unfolding and jumped to his feet. It was happening just the way they'd imagined it on those afternoons back home in Attalla.
"A rush went through my body like I was out there with him," Michael Williams said. "It's a rush you can't explain. It was like a script. God put him to the test like he put Job to the test. God wanted to see how he was going to handle adversity."
Going home
Eight months later, the anticipation is rising inside Gadsden Convention Hall. It's almost time for the highlight of a day-long workshop for residents of public housing. "There he is," someone says. Carnell Williams is walking toward the door. Williams stops to do an interview with a television reporter. Before he can get to the door, he signs numerous autographs.
The man known to all here as "Cadillac" has come home.
Williams quickly agreed when he was asked to talk at the workshop. These are his people, especially the young ones. One of Sherry Williams' six children, he lived in public housing as a child. He saw his mother work three jobs to try to make ends meet. He knows their struggles. And he knows what they want most.
"My mom was one of those parents that was willing to do anything and everything for us," Williams said. "My sisters had to take care of the house while she worked. That's where I got my work ethic from. I would see my mom work all the time and how she would be tired. I used to always tell her, 'Mama, one day I'm going to build you a house and get you off your feet.' Maybe one day I might have a chance to do that."
For more than an hour, Williams signs autographs. The line is still long when he is called to speak. The room goes quiet.
"I know times are tough and I understand the environment you are growing up in," Williams tells the crowd. "Just stay focused. Keep God first and stay focused in life."
Soon, Williams is sitting again. He signs autographs for another hour, until the line is gone. He poses for photographs with anybody who asks. Williams laughs and says his arm needs a rest. When children are around, Williams is never too busy.
"When I was young, I just saw the guys on TV," Williams says. "I was like, 'Man, I wish I could be like them and do that.' I would have loved for one of those guys to come in and talk to me."
A star is born
At Etowah High School in nearby Attalla, Williams was a hero long before he was a Heisman Trophy candidate at Auburn. They still talk about the moves he made, the touchdowns he scored. Michael Williams saw it long before that, when his little brother would play with tears in his eyes but never back down.
"He used to take us out to the park and we played tackle football," Carnell said. "At first, when guys would tackle me, they would just kind of grab me and put me down. He would say 'No, no, no! He's not a little boy. Hit him like anybody else.' I think that's where I got my toughness."
Michael Williams was a promising football player in his own right until he underwent knee surgery in middle school. After that, he concentrated on basketball.
"God came along and blessed my little brother and passed it down to him," Michael Williams says. "I get a joy out of seeing him do it. I had him in the back yard knocking him around. He'd get his knee cut and I'd say 'Get up and run.' I molded that toughness, but he has a gift."
Williams was 11 when he played organized football for the first time for the Attalla Roadrunners, and that gift was on display for all to see.
"I remember it like it was yesterday," Williams said. "I tried out for the team, made it and took it from there. I was a running back and wore No. 24. I think I scored like 40 touchdowns that first year."
By his freshman year of high school, Williams was playing on the Etowah varsity, though he had to wait his turn behind Derrick Nix, who would become a star at Southern Mississippi. Raymond Farmer, then the Etowah coach, became a major influence in Williams' life.
"It's a blessing that I went to Etowah and was around the kinds of coaches that pushed me as a player," Williams said. "I've talked to other players, and their coaches didn't even make them practice. Coach Farmer treated me like I was Joe Blow."
Farmer knew Williams was no Joe Blow. After Williams' freshman year, Farmer called him in for a talk.
"He told me he'd never coached a player like me, with my attitude and skills," Williams said. "He said if I continued to work hard and do everything full speed, he felt like I could be one of the best players in the nation. Ever since then, I've just been a worker."
Williams had one of the great careers in Alabama high school history, rushing for more than 6,000 yards. He was an All-American and one of the nation's hottest prospects. But to those who knew him best, he was still the easygoing little boy with the friendly smile, a loyal son, brother and friend.
Family ties
Though Williams' parents parted when he was young, his football career has brought his family closer. Between his mother and father, Aaron Turner, he has eight brothers and sisters.
"We all get along great - his brothers and sisters, his mother, my wife," Turner said. "They go places together and do things together. That's pretty much unheard of."
Williams' family is proud of the man more than the athlete. They look forward to seeing him graduate as much as they look forward to seeing his name called in the NFL draft.
"I've always taught him to be humble in everything you do," Sherry Williams said.
Mrs. Williams encouraged her children to be active, but academics came before sports and faith and family came first.
"I'm the type parent that, if you don't get your books, you can't play," she said. "I'm not going to have an airhead out there running the ball."
As signing day neared in 2001, Williams struggled to decide where he would go to college. He'd grown up an Alabama fan, but others had made more of an impression. In January, he visited Tennessee and was overwhelmed. He returned home and told his parents he was going to be a Vol. Though Auburn's coaches were scheduled for an in-home visit, Williams called assistant coach Terry Price, who had recruited him, and gave him the bad news.
"I said 'Tennessee is the best place for me. I'm through with the process, so don't call me anymore,' " Williams said.
Price told him he was going to call coach Tommy Tuberville and give him the news. "I said 'Tell (him) thank you, but I'm going to Tennessee,'" Williams said. Minutes later, Tuberville was on the telephone.
Williams finally agreed to the in-home visit but told his parents Tuberville was wasting his time.
Tuberville arrived with most of his coaching staff. Williams, impressed, went to Auburn for a visit the following weekend. He called an unhappy Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer and told him he was wavering. He visited Alabama. In the end, Auburn was his choice.
Williams was lost for the season against Alabama just as he seemed to be coming into his own as a freshman. He went down in the seventh game at Florida as a sophomore. Finally, as a junior, he stayed healthy, rushing for 1,307 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Making a choice
He had another decision to make. He could go to the NFL and become wealthy overnight or stay for another year at Auburn and get his degree.
Sherry Williams didn't hesitate to offer her opinion. She told him he'd always finished what he started and that he had an opportunity to be an example for others by finishing his education.
"My belief is if it is there for you, it's going to happen," Mrs. Williams said. "What God has for you, nobody can take away."
Turner, a minister at Original Grace Church in Ashville, told his son to rely on his instincts and his faith and to do what felt right in his heart.
"My father always taught me that every man has to go his own way and make his own decisions," Turner said.
Williams and Ronnie Brown, his friend and running mate, decided the NFL could wait for a year. They made their decisions separately, but they announced them together.
"I think the competition between us is really unique," Williams said. "He's a great back. I think he's one of the best backs in the country. I know he feels the same way about me."
Brown, who arrived at Auburn in 1999, knew Williams had come in 2000 to win the job he wanted. But he reached out anyway. A friendship that goes beyond football was born.
"With all the hype, I thought guys were going to be kind of jealous and not show me things," Williams said. "He took me under his wing. He told me how I had to get through."
And now Williams goes into the 2004 season as a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, a bonafide superstar.
"I really wouldn't change anything, including the injuries," Williams said. "I think the injuries have made me a stronger person and a better person. I used to take things for granted.
"Everything came so easy, but all that woke me up."
Though winning the Heisman would be the achievement of a lifetime, he says he'd rather celebrate a championship with his teammates. His brother is not surprised.
"He's been humble all his life," Michael Williams said. "He's a good example for young kids. He doesn't get into trouble and always tries to do what is right. He has God in his life.
"I want my son to grow up to be just like him."
