Niagara Falls' Emmanuel Willams is using intelligence as a ticket to play college football
Oct. 10—Emmanuel Williams is electric when his hands grasp a football. He can stop and accelerate in a blink and attempting to tackle him in the open field is a futile task.
If Niagara Falls was at the top of the standings, every high school football fan would view Williams as one of the best players in Western New York. But the Wolverines have been stuck at the bottom throughout Williams' tenure at the school. That doesn't matter, though. He just loves football.
Since he was 8 years old, Williams has loved football. The collisions and frenetic energy that come with the sport soothe him. The senior running back has designs on playing football in college, but the game is a different tool for him.
Along with family who can be heard joyously cheering during games, football has kept Williams out of trouble and attentive in the classroom. Unlike so many other Niagara Falls athletes attempting to stiff-arm the clutches of the city, football is not his ticket out. Education is Williams' ticket to playing more football once he leaves.
"I've been watching football since I was a little kid," Williams said. "It keeps me calm. It keeps me out of trouble and I just love it for that. ... It's a best friend. A lot of kids are stuck in the streets."
Williams has seen friends and teammates succumb to the temptations of the streets, but football is his vice and he hasn't strayed from it. Even amidst a stretch that has seen Niagara Falls go 2-13 over the last two seasons, Williams has found ways to stand out, like attempting to trap electricity in a bottle.
But Williams' talent between the lines isn't his most valued attribute in the eyes of coach Don Bass. He relies on Williams to help teammates fall in line with his actions on the field and in the halls at school.
"Manny's been here four years and I've never had to check his grades," Bass said. "I knew automatically he was going to be in the 90s. ... It teaches (teammates) Manny's no different than you. He's from the same city you are. He had a different upbringing, but for the most part, he's from the same city. If you want those things, you have to go get them."
When Bass directs his ire toward Williams, it's not because he necessarily made a mistake. The standard is simply different.
"I told him to whom much is given, much is required," Bass said. "When he became captain, I told him, 'You need to be me when I'm not around.' That was hard for him at first, but he's starting to grasp it."
Even when Bass shouts at him, he's often not actually speaking to Williams. Some players respond better to an arm around the shoulder than a kick in the pants. Sometimes a team requires an extra jolt and Bass knows Williams won't wilt or pout when it happens.
"I'll shout at Manny because he can take it," Bass said. "But I'll also shout at Manny when he's standing next to a (teammate). I'm actually shouting at the (teammate), but Manny can take it. If I shout at the (teammate), he'll shut down. Manny will just level up."
Williams has academic scholarships on the table and is currently interested in three schools, including Ohio University and Michigan. Plus, he took an unofficial visit to Michigan. Listed at 5-foot-4, 140 pounds, Williams would certainly have a swath of schools knocking on his door and trunk full of interest letters if he were a little bit bigger.
Size may limit his options at bigger football programs, but Williams is built like a tree trunk. He can bench press 250 pounds and squat more than 300. Regardless, he's going to get a chance to prove himself as a college football player and his grades are the vehicle.
Even when his playing days conclude, Williams won't quit football. He wants to be an athletic trainer, an avenue to keep him in the game when he's old and his body won't allow him to push any further.
"I just love being around football players," Williams said. "... I would have quit by now if I wasn't in love with football. I could never quit football."
Nick Sabato can be reached via email at nick.sabato@gnnewspaper.com or on Twitter @NickSabatoGNN.
