After the 2002 signing day, Brandon Williams was likely to be the only person to imagine he would have an integral role as a Division I wide receiver on an offensive unit laden with talented wide-outs. After all, the school he chose returned All-American Lee Evans, who decided to stay for his senior season, while sophomore Darrin Charles was expected to be a dominant force down the field as well.
Despite those odds, Brandon chose Wisconsin and felt he would get his chance to play. He has certainly been ready to play from the moment he arrived at training camp last summer.
“I was recruited to play and not to just sit around,” said Williams. “Somebody got hurt, so I stepped up.”
Fast-forward to the present day, and Williams, a true freshman, is starting for the Badgers. He is second on the team, with 14 receptions and 216 receiving yards through four games.
Despite Brandon’s recent success, his journey into the spotlight has not been easy.
Williams is only 5-foot-11 inches tall and weighs only 165 pounds. Take a look around the Big Ten at prominent receivers, and those stats seem more like the vitals of a place kicker. Defenses he has faced are more physical than in high school and have worked to prevent him from getting off the line of scrimmage quickly. This was no surprise to Williams; he has been expecting it from the time he was recruited.
“It’s everything I expected,” said Williams. “I have to put in a lot of extra work to be at the top of my game.”
Williams has a desire to study defenses harder and overcome the frequent obstacles that smaller wide receivers confront. So far, that is exactly what he’s doing. Brandon’s work ethic and determination to progress has overshadowed his lean stature.
While Brandon continues to get stronger in the weight room and attend practice during the week, he must find time to fit academics into his busy schedule like every other freshman at UW.
“My schedule is the hardest thing. I have to get to [weightlifting] on time,” said Williams. “I have to get to class on time.”
Though he has several responsibilities here, Brandon has always valued achieving excellence in the area of academics. In high school, he recorded a 3.1 GPA and was an honor-roll student for all four years he attended Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis. Hazelwood is the same high school where former Wisconsin defensive back Jamar Fletcher and current defensive back Scott Starks went to school.
Brandon was highly recruited by several universities as a result of an outstanding high-school career. With 2,157 yards on 97 receptions, Williams was named to the All-Midlands team by SuperPrep and Prep Football Report. Though other colleges sought after Brandon to play for their respective teams, Wisconsin always remained high on Williams’ list. He liked the coaching staff and was hopeful that he could be reunited with Starks again.
“Scott and I are best friends,” said Williams. “It just happened that we liked the same school. It worked out pretty good.”
In addition to rekindling an old friendship, Brandon has established strong ties with other players on the team. More specifically, he has become close to redshirt freshman Jonathan Orr.
“When I first came to visit [Wisconsin], I met [Orr],” said Williams. “We’ve been really close since.”
They should be close, too. After all, the two wide receivers have one major thing in common — they have unexpectedly marched their way into the forefront of Wisconsin football’s air attack.
Orr and Williams have emerged as the early season playmakers. One reason is they have been taken under the wing of NFL prospect and fellow teammate Lee Evans, who is currently battling back from a torn ACL.
Williams credits Evans with helping him adjust to competing as a freshman.
“[Evans] keeps me focused, especially during the games,” said Williams. “I’ve learned from Lee that the highs in football are never too high, while the lows are never too low.”
In a time where college athletes celebrate exceptional plays by dancing around on the field and taunting the other team, Williams has remained grounded despite his success. After all, he is chasing a life-long dream — making it to the NFL.
Brandon is fully aware of how difficult it is to make it to the NFL, but it’s something he’s dreamt of since he was a kid, and he’s not willing to give it up for anything.
“It’s been one of my goals since I was a kid,” said Williams. “I feel coming here would give me a big-time chance to accomplish that. With the conditioning program, type of offense and the confidence [the coaches] have in me, I feel that I have a springboard to the NFL.”
The other great thing for Wisconsin fans to know about Brandon Williams is that after this season, he will be wearing the Badger uniform for three more years.
