Thunder corner finds a home

By Joe Scalzo

Ray Williams has gone from Jamaica to Youngstown, with several stops in between.

YOUNGSTOWN — Raymond Williams was 15 when he traded “Ya Mon” for “Yo, Paisan.”

Seeking a better life, he and his family moved from Jamaica to New York, then New Jersey, where his father worked for a shipment business.

“I was excited, nervous, scared. ...” said Williams, now a defensive back for the Mahoning Valley Thunder. “I was going somewhere where I didn’t know anyone. I was leaving all my friends and basically starting all over.

“It was really tough.”

Williams had visited the states a few times — he had uncles and cousins that lived here — but this was different. For one thing, it was colder. Also, there were more resources, more opportunity, more of everything.

“Life was a lot better,” said Williams. “School was way better. You had video games. Everything was a little easier to come by.”

Perfect? No. (Or, as they say in Jersey, Fuhgeddaboutit.)

The kids in his high school were, for the most part, Jersey born and bred. Williams had a different accent (which is almost undetectable now) and a different background and it took awhile to fit in. But he soon got attention for what he did, rather than where he came from.

Blessed with natural talent, Williams emerged as one of the best track athletes in New Jersey history, setting state indoor records in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and twice winning state titles in the outdoor 400. He also emerged as a terrific wide receiver — although Jamaica is a soccer-crazy country, Williams always preferred football and basketball and rooted for the Dallas Cowboys growing up.

His success was due to hard work, good coaching and hours playing video games like “Madden,” which helped him pick up the game much quicker than one would expect.

“I fell into a place with real good coaching and I pushed myself to the limits in workouts,” he said. “I set goals and I kept going until I reached them.”

Williams had offers to play football from several Division I colleges coming out of high school, choosing Purdue due to his comfort with the coaching staff and the offense.

“It wasn’t a real hard decision,” he said. “This school throws 80 times a game and there’s only four receivers.”

He was a four-time letterwinner for the Boilermakers, but never found a permanent role. He split time between receiver, defensive back (he switched to corner early in his senior season and, despite having just two practices, started every game the rest of the way), running back and kick returner.

After graduating with a criminology degree, he spent time in training camp with the New Orleans Saints in 2006, then played for the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos in 2007 and the AFL’s New Orleans VooDoo this winter.

A few months back, a VooDoo coach recommended Williams to Thunder coach Mike Hold, who invited him to Youngstown.

“I wanted to play a lot,” said Williams. “A lot of times, it’s not about how good you are. There’s a lot of politics involved.”

Williams has started both games at defensive back this season, recording eight tackles and three pass break-ups. He’s got the talent to play at the next level, but he’s still learning the game, Hold said.

“Talent-wise and speed-wise, he’s an NFL body,” Hold said. “If he didn’t have the talent he has, he wouldn’t have been where he’s been.

“He’s still learning the game. He’s learning the angles. He’s learning you have to take away the inside route. He’s going to be a great player and I don’t expect him to be in the af2 for more than a year.”

Williams appreciates the praise, but said he’s not thinking about his next stop. Yet.

“My plan is to win a championship with this team,” he said. “I’m so happy right now. I’m with a great group of guys and it’s fun for me every day.”

scalzo@vindy.com