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Ex-Brandon Standout Takes The Long Road To Success

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By NICK WILLIAMS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 20, 2007

Last month, football accolades were coming in one after another for Mike Williams.

The former Brandon High standout and current University of Charleston defensive back received two national Division II awards and was named the defensive player of the week in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after recording three interceptions - two returned for touchdowns - in a 49-32 win against West Virginia State.

Two years ago, however, football was the furthest thing from Williams' life.

After completing his final year of football at Butte Community College in California, Williams worked odd jobs in Tampa, wondering what could have been.

Since he graduated from Brandon in 2002, Williams had played for two out-of-state junior college programs. He had an offer to play Division I football at Tennessee Tech, but saw his scholarship revoked when he couldn't produce the required transcripts on time.

'I guess everything happens for a reason,' he said. 'Most people wouldn't have dealt with it. I just took it as it was.'

Williams was supposed to play at Butler Community College in Kansas after high school, but he waited too long to take the SAT and Butler didn't want to wait on the results. He sat out a semester before enrolling at Dodge City Community College in Kansas and transferred the following year to Butte, where he played two seasons and caught the attention of Tennessee Tech.

But again a late test score stood in the way of football.

'It was taking so long for my AA degree to get processed and Tech dropped my scholarship,' Williams said. 'Camp was over by the time it got there.'

Williams moved back to Tampa and was without football for a year.

'I was mad,' Williams said. 'I really didn't know what I was going to do after that.'

But Williams received yet another opportunity.

Keynodo Hudson, the University of Charleston defensive backs coach, played on the Hillsborough High team that played in the 1996 state championship game. He scouted Williams during his two years at Brandon.

'I tried to get him then but he already signed with Tennessee Tech,' Hudson said. 'I just waited on him.'

It took a year, but Hudson got Williams, who leads the Golden Eagles (6-2) with four interceptions, three of which he has returned for touchdowns.

'Mike is a tremendous athlete,' Hudson said. 'He is the Division II version of Devin Hester. He's on fire right now. He makes it happen on defense.'

Hudson said he believes Williams will hear his name during the 2008 NFL draft. But if Williams doesn't make the NFL, he plans on being a physical education teacher. If so, he'll have valuable lessons to pass down to his students.

'Don't wait too late to take tests,' he laughed.

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 865-4848 or nwilliams@tampatrib.com.

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