Gold Rush: Great Expectations
8/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 13, 2003
When Demon Deacon senior defensive back Quintin Williams discusses "Great Expectations," he covers much more than a reading assignment in one of the courses required for him to complete his undergraduate degree as an English major at Wake Forest.
In football...
"Our team is not happy with six wins like we had two years ago, or even six wins and a bowl victory like last season," he says with assurance. "We want to win more games than that, and we expect to keep making progress."
In the classroom...
"I want to graduate next May with better than a 3.0 average. Academic success is a big part of being successful on the football field. The commitment carries over. One compliments the other."
In the community...
"Working with kids and taking an active role in community programs (such as Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity, two organizations for which he has volunteered) is part of my personality. I enjoy it, especially when I can help provide opportunities for young people that I didn't have growing up."
Williams has been nominated by Wake Forest for the American Football Coaches Association "Good Works" team and expects to continue to be a leader in that capacity throughout his senior year, just as he expects to be an All-ACC safety on the field and repeat as an Academic All-ACC selection in recognition of his work as a student.
That's a lot to expect of any individual, but Deacon head coach Jim Grobe knows if anyone can achieve it all, Quintin Williams is the one.
"There's not a better kid in the world," Grobe told Dan Collins of the Winston-Salem Journal. "You can't find a better character kid, and you can't find a harder worker. He's a good student, a good talent. He's a good leader.
"Everything you want in a player from an intangible standpoint, he's got. Then he's got all the tangibles, too."
It has not come easily.
The Quintin Williams story of a childhood fraught with uncertainty and obstacles that developed into his position as a leader in the Deacon program involves a plot that would rival any Dickens novel.
He grew up in the small community of Rosewood just outside Goldsboro in eastern North Carolina. His parents were never married and his father has never been a part of his life. He does remain close with his mother, but since the age of 7 he was raised by an aunt and uncle, Jacqueline and Martin Holden. Even their house would not always be his home, however, after severe floods devastated the area. He lived with friends for an extended period of time as well.
Still, he excelled. A four-time all-conference player primarily as a defensive back and running back, class valedictorian, class president of Rosewood High.
"My aunt and uncle were important to me, but there were a lot of people in my life throughout my community that made a difference for me, too," he says. "I had teachers, friends, my high school coach - they all had an impact."
It didn't take long for Williams to have an impact at Wake Forest either. He played in his very first game in a WFU uniform versus Appalachian State in 2000 and eventually started six contests as a true freshman at cornerback. The year was not a happy one, however, because the Deacs were struggling to a 2-9 record.
"I was learning under fire, and that was difficult, but what made the year so tough was the losing," Williams recalls. "We had some guys that year that accepted losing too easily, I thought. That's something I'm never satisfied with and I wanted it to change."
A change did come following that season. Coach Jim Caldwell and his staff, the coaching staff that had recruited Williams to Wake Forest, were released. Grobe and a whole new group of assistant coaches assumed control, and Williams credits the discipline that the new staff instilled, along with the leadership of 2001 seniors such as Walter Simmons and Nate Bolling, as being pivotal in the turnaround.
"The coaching change was hard for me," he says. "It's an anxious time for both players and coaches. No one really knows what to expect from the other.
"But I knew after the first week of winter conditioning that these coaches were ready to win. They brought discipline, hard work and developed in us an attitude that we were going to succeed."
The past two seasons, of course, are a testament to Williams' prediction. Back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1987 and 1988, capped off by last December's convincing victory over Oregon in the Seattle Bowl, are proof that Wake Forest Football can indeed win.
Williams has been an integral part of that success, too.
He retained his starting cornerback spot at the opening of the 2001 campaign, then after four games moved to free safety where he immediately became a big hit - in more ways than one.
He was fourth on the '01 squad in tackles with 72 and quickly earned the reputation as one of the team's most punishing hitters.
"My goal is either I hit you hard, or if I miss you, you're going to be glad I missed you," Williams says.
Last fall, he again was credited with 72 stops despite playing most of the season with a broken right thumb.
Dean Hood, the Deacon defensive coordinator and safeties coach, calls Williams "the heart and soul of our defense."
"He is a leader and more importantly, he is a leader that guys like to follow," Hood says. "He's honest, he doesn't try to pretend he's something he's not, and he is reliable.
"Quintin is an unbelievable worker. He has a great passion for football and is a great student of the game. As players get older, they start to recognize the importance of preparation and studying tape, picking up things on their opponents. They also grow more confident in what they're doing. That's what we expect of Quintin this season, and we really feel he is going to continue to get better and better."
Just like the Demon Deacons as a team. Those expectations just keep growing.
