Post by Sly Fox on Sept 29, 2005 12:58:42 GMT -5
Williamses shine for LU, UVa
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 29, 2005
The crystal clear sounds of another video game-induced scuffle would seep upstairs, alerting whatever adult figure happened to be within earshot to race downstairs to separate the two brothers before things got too heated.
Competition was that serious for the Williams brothers, Lauren and Deyon, two speedy wide receivers for Liberty University and Virginia, respectively.
Football. Track. School. They pushed and prodded each other to get better at almost everything.
But when a video game fracas would break out in the basement of their grandmother's Washington D.C. home, they literally pushed each other.
"He would get so mad when I beat him at a video game, he'd get up in my face and I'd push him and he'd push me and we'd start fighting for real," Deyon said. "It would be real competitive."
Don't get them wrong, though. It's a loving competitiveness, one that has pushed both to be successful in their current lot. They don't compete with each other now as much as they do with their current circumstances.
Lauren, a 22-year-old senior at Liberty, has been the leading receiver for the Flames the last two seasons. Deyon, a 20-year-old junior at Virginia, is in the process of emerging into the Cavaliers' go-to receiver.
Both have NFL aspirations. You can be sure they'll be pushing each other when that time comes around.
"I don't want him being better than me or he doesn't want me being better than him," Deyon said. "We were always battling with something. That's why we are so successful now."
Getting on track
It was inevitable, it seemed, that Lauren and Deyon would be fast. Their mother, Debra, ran track at St. Augustine's (N.C.) College. Their father, Ricky, ran track at Hampton University.
Naturally, the Williams brothers ran track through high school. Lauren, 2? years older than Deyon, started around the third grade. Deyon prodded his mother endlessly to follow in his brother's footsteps.
And voila! A competition was born. It wouldn't be the last.
They motivated each other in school, though Deyon said the competition wasn't close. Deyon struggled in elementary school, attending nine different schools. Their father was overseas in the Marines. That put the onus on Lauren to put Deyon on track in his own special way.
"Just having my brother around, being a competitive thing, (he'd say), 'You ain't going to be able to stay in this school this time' or 'You ain't going to be able to make the grades,'" Deyon said. "That just made me work even harder and overcome the diversity in my life."
Their track coach also coached football and directed the brothers toward the gridiron. Weight differences and the age gap prevented them from playing on the same team until they were together at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Md.
Lauren was a senior, Deyon a sophomore. Lauren played wide receiver and Deyon slot receiver. Both played safety, both were over 6-foot-2 and could run.
"It was fun," Lauren said. "We posed a threat because we were the tallest people on the field. I was always getting on him and we used to always go at it, telling each other what to do and trying to get each other to play well. I kind of miss it."
Teammates on the playing field, they were often rivals on the practice field. The coach was fond of pitting the brothers against each other in the "Bull in the Ring" drill.
"When you've got two brothers going against each other and everybody seeing us kind of taking each other's head off, that kind of got us hyped," Deyon said. "I recall sometimes I used to run him over and he would get mad, but I used to tell him that's how it is."
Encouraging words
Lauren, a top recruit at receiver his senior season in high school, drew mild interest from Connecticut. Maryland also was interested before Ralph Friedgen was hired and had his own recruiting preferences.
Realistically, his choices were narrowed to Norfolk State, Tuskegee and Howard. He settled on Howard, a Division I-AA school in the Williams' backyard.
Things didn't go as planned. Lauren played sparingly (he caught two passes for 90 yards). He had academic troubles, which he eventually corrected. But the biggest blow was when the coaching staff was replaced. He looked into transferring and settled on Liberty.
"I saw the teams that Liberty played and I looked at their offense and I just kind of said, 'Wow, I should fit right in with this,'" Lauren said.
He fit like a glove. He led the Flames in receiving his sophomore and junior seasons, earning all-Big South honors in 2003. He's even gotten looks by NFL scouts from the Bills and Colts this year.
Deyon had his choice of Division I schools after playing at Suitland High during his senior year. He chose Virginia over Pittsburgh and Penn State and played as a true freshman, catching eight passes for 122 yards.
He seemed primed for a breakout season in 2004.
It didn't happen. A starter, Deyon caught 19 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown, respectable numbers, but not the eye-popping stats some had expected. In the MPC Computers Bowl against Fresno State, Bud Davis started in Williams' spot.
Lauren related to the situation from his time at Howard.
"I went through the frustration that he went through," he said. "I had a little experience and knowledge of what he was going through, so I could talk to him and help him through that situation, basically encourage him."
Deyon committed himself to football in the offseason.
"He really stayed after hours and asked me to come out and throw with him and he really took the initiative," UVa quarterback Marques Hagans said. "And it's paying off."
This season, Deyon leads the team with 16 receptions, 189 yards and two touchdowns, both caught last Saturday against Duke on his 20th birthday.
While Deyon has excelled, Lauren has had to deal with Liberty's sputtering offense.
Shut out by their last three opponents, the Flames have had little success throwing the ball. He has eight catches for 148 yards in four games.
Suddenly, the younger brother is the one dispensing words of encouragement.
"There's not really much I can really tell him to do but to keep his head up," Deyon said. "Make sure you go extra hard."
Race against time
The brothers have watched each other play in college on a few occasions. Lauren saw Deyon at the Continental Tire Bowl two seasons ago. When UVa plays early and Liberty is late, Deyon makes the hour-long drive to Lynchburg to watch Lauren play.
Their parents have to map out which games they'll attend. Even though Virginia plays at Maryland near the Williams' home in Upper Marlboro, Md., there is no doubt where Debra and Ricky will be this weekend - Lauren's final Homecoming game when Liberty hosts VMI.
"I told my parents just make sure they go to all his home games because it's his last year," Deyon said. "Don't worry about me. I've got one more year left."
That's about the only thing Deyon will concede to his brother. That's not the case when it comes to speed. Just which brother is faster, you ask?
"The question of all questions," said Lauren, who was a touch faster when the two last had a timed race against each other in high school.
"I know I'm faster than him. He's going to say that he's faster than me, but it's a brother thing."
Deyon suggested they race once the season is over.
"I don't think he can beat me no more," said Deyon, the competitiveness in him coming out.
You can already picture a relative having to separate them.
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 29, 2005
The crystal clear sounds of another video game-induced scuffle would seep upstairs, alerting whatever adult figure happened to be within earshot to race downstairs to separate the two brothers before things got too heated.
Competition was that serious for the Williams brothers, Lauren and Deyon, two speedy wide receivers for Liberty University and Virginia, respectively.
Football. Track. School. They pushed and prodded each other to get better at almost everything.
But when a video game fracas would break out in the basement of their grandmother's Washington D.C. home, they literally pushed each other.
"He would get so mad when I beat him at a video game, he'd get up in my face and I'd push him and he'd push me and we'd start fighting for real," Deyon said. "It would be real competitive."
Don't get them wrong, though. It's a loving competitiveness, one that has pushed both to be successful in their current lot. They don't compete with each other now as much as they do with their current circumstances.
Lauren, a 22-year-old senior at Liberty, has been the leading receiver for the Flames the last two seasons. Deyon, a 20-year-old junior at Virginia, is in the process of emerging into the Cavaliers' go-to receiver.
Both have NFL aspirations. You can be sure they'll be pushing each other when that time comes around.
"I don't want him being better than me or he doesn't want me being better than him," Deyon said. "We were always battling with something. That's why we are so successful now."
Getting on track
It was inevitable, it seemed, that Lauren and Deyon would be fast. Their mother, Debra, ran track at St. Augustine's (N.C.) College. Their father, Ricky, ran track at Hampton University.
Naturally, the Williams brothers ran track through high school. Lauren, 2? years older than Deyon, started around the third grade. Deyon prodded his mother endlessly to follow in his brother's footsteps.
And voila! A competition was born. It wouldn't be the last.
They motivated each other in school, though Deyon said the competition wasn't close. Deyon struggled in elementary school, attending nine different schools. Their father was overseas in the Marines. That put the onus on Lauren to put Deyon on track in his own special way.
"Just having my brother around, being a competitive thing, (he'd say), 'You ain't going to be able to stay in this school this time' or 'You ain't going to be able to make the grades,'" Deyon said. "That just made me work even harder and overcome the diversity in my life."
Their track coach also coached football and directed the brothers toward the gridiron. Weight differences and the age gap prevented them from playing on the same team until they were together at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Md.
Lauren was a senior, Deyon a sophomore. Lauren played wide receiver and Deyon slot receiver. Both played safety, both were over 6-foot-2 and could run.
"It was fun," Lauren said. "We posed a threat because we were the tallest people on the field. I was always getting on him and we used to always go at it, telling each other what to do and trying to get each other to play well. I kind of miss it."
Teammates on the playing field, they were often rivals on the practice field. The coach was fond of pitting the brothers against each other in the "Bull in the Ring" drill.
"When you've got two brothers going against each other and everybody seeing us kind of taking each other's head off, that kind of got us hyped," Deyon said. "I recall sometimes I used to run him over and he would get mad, but I used to tell him that's how it is."
Encouraging words
Lauren, a top recruit at receiver his senior season in high school, drew mild interest from Connecticut. Maryland also was interested before Ralph Friedgen was hired and had his own recruiting preferences.
Realistically, his choices were narrowed to Norfolk State, Tuskegee and Howard. He settled on Howard, a Division I-AA school in the Williams' backyard.
Things didn't go as planned. Lauren played sparingly (he caught two passes for 90 yards). He had academic troubles, which he eventually corrected. But the biggest blow was when the coaching staff was replaced. He looked into transferring and settled on Liberty.
"I saw the teams that Liberty played and I looked at their offense and I just kind of said, 'Wow, I should fit right in with this,'" Lauren said.
He fit like a glove. He led the Flames in receiving his sophomore and junior seasons, earning all-Big South honors in 2003. He's even gotten looks by NFL scouts from the Bills and Colts this year.
Deyon had his choice of Division I schools after playing at Suitland High during his senior year. He chose Virginia over Pittsburgh and Penn State and played as a true freshman, catching eight passes for 122 yards.
He seemed primed for a breakout season in 2004.
It didn't happen. A starter, Deyon caught 19 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown, respectable numbers, but not the eye-popping stats some had expected. In the MPC Computers Bowl against Fresno State, Bud Davis started in Williams' spot.
Lauren related to the situation from his time at Howard.
"I went through the frustration that he went through," he said. "I had a little experience and knowledge of what he was going through, so I could talk to him and help him through that situation, basically encourage him."
Deyon committed himself to football in the offseason.
"He really stayed after hours and asked me to come out and throw with him and he really took the initiative," UVa quarterback Marques Hagans said. "And it's paying off."
This season, Deyon leads the team with 16 receptions, 189 yards and two touchdowns, both caught last Saturday against Duke on his 20th birthday.
While Deyon has excelled, Lauren has had to deal with Liberty's sputtering offense.
Shut out by their last three opponents, the Flames have had little success throwing the ball. He has eight catches for 148 yards in four games.
Suddenly, the younger brother is the one dispensing words of encouragement.
"There's not really much I can really tell him to do but to keep his head up," Deyon said. "Make sure you go extra hard."
Race against time
The brothers have watched each other play in college on a few occasions. Lauren saw Deyon at the Continental Tire Bowl two seasons ago. When UVa plays early and Liberty is late, Deyon makes the hour-long drive to Lynchburg to watch Lauren play.
Their parents have to map out which games they'll attend. Even though Virginia plays at Maryland near the Williams' home in Upper Marlboro, Md., there is no doubt where Debra and Ricky will be this weekend - Lauren's final Homecoming game when Liberty hosts VMI.
"I told my parents just make sure they go to all his home games because it's his last year," Deyon said. "Don't worry about me. I've got one more year left."
That's about the only thing Deyon will concede to his brother. That's not the case when it comes to speed. Just which brother is faster, you ask?
"The question of all questions," said Lauren, who was a touch faster when the two last had a timed race against each other in high school.
"I know I'm faster than him. He's going to say that he's faster than me, but it's a brother thing."
Deyon suggested they race once the season is over.
"I don't think he can beat me no more," said Deyon, the competitiveness in him coming out.
You can already picture a relative having to separate them.
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