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It was a nice surprise to see him and he had a smile on his face as he always had in the past. Joseph Williams was a freshman when I first came to T.R. Miller to coach on Mike Sasser's staff in 1983. He had been kind of a trouble maker in middle school but football changed all of that. (He once told me that football got him the attention of the girls and he liked that better than getting in trouble.) In the fall of 1984 we lost our first game and our starting fullback quit on Monday of the next week. We were short on backs and suddenly a skinny sophomore was handed the starting fullback role. And 1700 yards later Joseph Willams had helped lead his team to its second state championship. He certainly had talent but what I remember about him was his great courage and how he loved to compete. I also got the privilege to be his track coach and he was a great hurdler and sprinter. We won the indoor track championship in January of 1986 and he was an integral part of that team. He always had a smile on his face and he never seemed to have a bad day. When I left to become the new head coach at Opp in the spring of 1986 I missed seeing him, his great attitude and work ethic. He was always so humble.
All of you guys who are old remember James Weaver's catch to give the TRM Tigers the 1984 State Championship in the cold weather of Centre, Alabama against Cherokee County. But it was possible only because of the greatest play of the game. Down 18-13 with little time left, Kevin Ladnier hit James Weaver on a hook route. Weaver suddenly lateraled to a streaking Joseph Williams who ran down the sideline to set up the winning pass. An old wise coach once told me that when the heat was on and it was a crucial time in the game, always think about players not plays.
He spoke to the players for just a minute on Friday which I appreciated. He also spoke to the M Club on Thursday night. It was a fun time then in the 1980's. I was learning to be a coach and he was a great player. We were both young and full of enthusiasm. I would take him home after practice in my old red Datsun pick up and we would talk about stuff. It was a fun time.
He still takes great pride in being from T.R. Miller. And he was certainly one of the greatest players and greatest people to ever wear the red jersey.
