Isiah Williams

Infobox NCAA Athlete
name = Juice Williams


caption = Juice Williams at the 2007 Fighting Illini Fan Appreciation Day
college = Illinois
conference = Big 10
sport = Football
position = Quarterback
jersey = 7
class = Junior
career_start = 2006
major =
nickname = Juice, Juicey Juice
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 223
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1987|11|19
birth_place = Chicago, Illinois
highschool = Chicago Vocational Career Academy (Chicago, IL)
former_school(s)=
awards =

Isiah John "Juice" Williams (born November 19, 1987 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American football quarterback for the University of Illinois football team.

After his Senior year of high school in 2005, Williams was considered a top recruit for the quarterback position. [cite web |url=http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=169&p=8&c=1&nid=1882763 |title=Scout.com Isiah Williams Profile |accessdate=2008-05-19 |format= |work=Scout.com ] [cite web |url=http://illinois.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=37568 |title=Isiah Williams: Football Recruiting |accessdate=2008-05-19 |format= |work=Rivals.com ]

Personal

"Juice" Williams is the son of Stanley and Anita Williams. Williams nearly died at birth due to his large size of 13 pounds and 8 ounces.cite web |url=http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/williams_juice00.html |title=Juice Williams Player profile |accessdate=2008-05-19 |format= |work=Fightingillini.com ] He has two brothers and four sisters.

Williams was dubbed "Juice" by his grandmother because of his large size as a child. "I was kind of big … you know, big and juicy, I guess." [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2612413 |title=Illinois' Natural: Juice's offense powers Illini |accessdate=2008-05-19 |format= |work=ESPN.com ]

He was a high school honor student and attended the same school as former Illinois star Dick Butkus. Williams is active both in his church and local community.Fact|date=May 2008

College career

2006: Freshman year

Williams played in the first four games of the 2006 football season, splitting time with senior quarterback Tim Brasic. He threw his first collegiate touchdown pass (a 76-yarder to Rashard Mendenhall) in the third game of the year against Syracuse. In the 4th game of the season, Williams made his first collegiate start in a losing effort vs Iowa.On September 30, 2006, Williams led the Illini on a game-winning 4th-quarter drive for a 39-yard field goal that gave the team a 23-20 upset victory over host Michigan State. Illinois came into the game as 26-point underdogs. It was the team's first conference victory since the 2004 season. Williams finished with 122 yards passing, one touchdown pass, and 103 yards rushing. Illinois could not keep the momentum from the Michigan State game, losing the remainder of their games (several by less than a touchdown and a two on last second field goals). Williams displayed inconsistency in his game finishing the season with a completion percentage below 40 and passing for fewer than 100 yards in the season's final three games.

2007: Sophomore year

Williams was injured in the second quarter of the season opening loss to Mizzou and keot out of the second half for precautionary reasons. Williams showed improvement in his accuracy in the 3+ drives he was in, throwing 9 balls, 6 of which were caught for 59 yards. Williams had mediocre games in the Illini's first 3 victories over Western Illinois, Syracuse, and Indiana. Williams' had average numbers in Illinois' back-to-back victories against ranked teams, defeating Penn State and Wisconsin.

It seemed as if Illinois' promising 5-1 start may have been a fluke, as they proceeded to drop their next two games, a 10-6 loss at Iowa and a 27-17 defeat against Michigan in Champaign. Williams threw for a combined 168 yards and 1 TD and 1 INT in the two losses. The Illini, however, turned it around in their next two games in victories over Ball St and Minnesota. Williams' had perhaps his best game to that point vs Minnesota totaling over 300 yards on offense (203 passing, 133 rushing) and scoring 3 touchdowns (2 passing and 1 rushing).

Yet, the best was yet to come as Williams' had what some consider his greatest game at Ohio Stadium versus the top ranked Buckeyes. Williams led Illinois to a 28-21 upset over Ohio State, its first win over a #1 ranked team since 1956. [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=273140194 |title=Illinois shocks top-ranked Ohio State in Columbus |accessdate=2008-08-30 |format= |work=ESPN.com ] During this game he threw for 4 touchdowns and completed 12 passes of 22 attempts. He threw a total of 140 yards and rushed for 70 yards. Williams amassed over 350 yards of offense en route to a 41-22 victory over in state rival Northwestern in the regular season finale. Williams totaled over 2200 yards of offense and scored 20 touchdowns, as he led the Illini to a 9-3 record and their first bowl birth since the 2002 Sugar Bowl. Illinois was selected to play against perennial power USC in the Rose Bowl, the Illini's first time playing in the Rose Bowl since 1984. Illinois would lose the game 49-17, with USC scoring 28 points off of 4 Illinois turnovers (2 interceptions and 2 fumbles on runs after completions. Williams threw for his highest passing yard total to date (245), but had no touchdown passes and 2 interceptions.

2008: Junior year

Illinois entered the 2008 season ranked as the #20 team in the nation, despite the loss of Big Ten MVP Rashard Mendenhall. Williams and the Illini opened the season vs. Missouri, and despite one of the best passing games in Illinois history where Williams threw for 451 yards and 5 TDs, the Illini lost to 6th ranked Missouri 52-42. The Illini would pick up their first win of the season vs Eastern Illinois, where Williams amassed 174 yards rushing with 2 TDs in the 47-21 victory. Williams and the Illini struggled in a 20-17 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, in which Williams amassed just over 180 yards of total offense. After a bye week (the first at Illinois under Ron Zook), the Illini traveled to Penn State and fell 38-24, with Juice passing for 183 yards and rushing for another 64. Illinois next traveled to Michigan and amassed 431 yards of total offense (310 passing, 121 rushing, 4 total TDs), which is both the most total yards in Michigan Stadium history and the most given up by any Michigan team, as the Illini won 45-20.

Career stats

:"Statistics up to date as of October 10, 2008". "High School stats from Rivals.com" [cite web | url=http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/spt/highschools/leaderboard/football/2003/HSFB-teamleaders-545.html | title=Isiah Williams | format=HTML | publisher=Rivals.com | language=English | accessdate=2006-09-17] . "College Stats from ESPN" [cite web | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/stats?playerId=189249 | title=#7 Juice Williams QB | format=HTML | publisher=ESPN.com | language=English | accessdate=2008-01-19] .

Passing

Rushing

References

External links

* [http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/williams_juice00.html Juice Williams, University of Illinois Athletic Department website biography]
* [http://www.juice-williams.blogspot.com/ Juice Williams Info]