When he switched positions early in his college career, from quarterback to receiver, Tyler Williams sacrificed touches and the individual glory that comes along with them.
Of course, when you play football at the Air Force Academy, sacrifice is a relative term.
As a cadet, you learn quickly about working toward the greater good. As a receiver for the run-first Falcons, Williams rarely has the ball thrown his way. He has only three catches for Air Force, which faces South Alabama in the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Arizona Stadium.
Williams does have 228 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Still, it’s a far cry from his days at Ironwood Ridge High. As a dual-threat quarterback for the Nighthawks, Williams earned the Star’s Offensive Player of the Year award in 2012.
His current role features more blocking than rushing or catching. But as long as he’s helping Air Force win — the Falcons are 9-3 — Williams is OK with that.
“At the end of the day, it’s really not about personal accolades,” Williams said after a Falcons practice this week at the Kino Sports Complex. “Blocking is something I really take pride in, being able to set up your teammate, put him in a position to score. You don’t have to be the one running in the touchdown.”
No one wants the ball less. But if it meant being able to contribute right away, Williams was all for it.
That’s how offensive coordinator Mike Thiessen framed the position switch when he approached Williams about it. If he moved to receiver, Williams could play as early as his sophomore year. If he remained at quarterback, the wait could be considerably longer.
“At the end of the day, I wanted to help the team win as soon as I could,” said Williams, who’s about to complete his junior season. “So I decided to make the switch. The rest is history.”
It wasn’t the first time Williams made a decision belying his youth.
As a high school senior, Williams strongly considered attending San Diego State. But as signing day approached, he had second thoughts. After sitting down with his high school coach, Matt Johnson, and his father, Williams realized what was most important to him. This choice couldn’t be about football and only football.
Williams’ dad, Tyrone, remembers counseling his son about “the opportunities that will await him if he made a decision based on other factors, other than athletics.” At Air Force, Tyler would “graduate with an A-1 education,” his father said, and a job “as soon as he shakes the hand and receives the diploma.”
The academy also would be the ideal place for Williams to cultivate his leadership skills.
Tyrone Williams — a worship pastor and professional musician — describes his son as engaging and outgoing. He has a vibrant spirit about him — “an aura that draws people to him,” his father said.
There was no talk at the Williams’ dinner table about any of Tyrone and Sharon’s three boys — Tyrone II, Tyler and Tyus — joining the military. But the Air Force Academy suited Tyler’s personality, even if he didn’t fully realize it at the time.
“Him adjusting to military life was a concern. But I know Tyler is an innate leader,” Tyrone Williams said. “That’s one of the things the Air Force is about —building leaders. I knew he had the fiber to handle that. Whatever pressure or difficulties would arise, those qualities would come to the forefront.
“It’s definitely tapped into the things that his mother and I deposited in him. It has shown him some things about himself that he didn’t know were there, or they were just developing. Those challenges have enhanced, or maximized, that hidden potential.
“Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we know that’s Tyler’s future — to be a leader of some kind. He embraces that. He sees it. He knows it. He doesn’t shy away from it. He understands that God has placed him there for a purpose. And not a selfish purpose. He can be a help to others, an asset. He can be a difference in their lives.”
Tyler Williams has witnessed selflessness and sacrifice up close. His mother left her job as a counselor at Amphitheater High to take care of her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. His father is just as big a source of inspiration. Tyrone, 52, suffers from sickle-cell anemia, diabetes and pulmonary hypertension.
“He’s been through a lot,” Tyler said. “But to see him persevere and fight every single day … he never uses it as an excuse. Never. Not once. That really instilled that discipline in me. Him and my mother, they’ve invested their whole lives in growing me and my brothers up the right way so we can succeed in life.”
The Williamses were preparing to host Tyler and his fellow receivers Tuesday night. El Molinito catered, and they got Eegee’s to wash it down, to give Tyler’s teammates a true taste of Tucson. About 100 family members and friends are expected to be at the game.
They probably won’t see Tyler Williams with the ball in his hands very often; he averages fewer than four touches per game. They’ll undoubtedly see him block. In a way, it’s exactly what he and every cadet sign up for.
“It tells you an awful lot about the kind of young men they are — to be that unselfish, to be able to contribute in any way possible to help our team,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “Ultimately, when you go serve in the Air Force as an officer, it’s going to be the same way. You’re part of a team.”
