MOBILE, Ala. – Emotions normally run high before a football game, even more so when it's the start of a new season.  But for one member of the University of South Alabama football program, the start of the 2013 campaign was more special than usual after what he had to overcome in the previous 10-and-a-half months.

"There were a lot of emotions before the game — I almost wanted to cry a little — because it had been a long journey; there was a lot of joy," said junior offensive lineman Ucambre Williams.  "Once I got through that first play, I said to myself, 'Good, it's just football.'"

Last fall, Williams was in the midst of an all-Sun Belt Conference caliber season having already twice earned the coaches' award on the offensive line through the first five games.  But that all came to an end in an instant, on the third snap of the Jaguar's first-ever league road game at Arkansas State on Oct. 13.

"As soon as my knee jerked I knew what it was because I did the same thing to my other knee, so I was thinking, 'Oh God, not again,'" he recalled.  "I told [head] coach [Joey] Jones and [assistant] coach [Robert] Matthews that I didn't think I could go through it again, but they said they would help me through it and here I am now."

"He was playing at a very high level," Matthews commented.  "He was our best offensive lineman last year at the point of his injury, he had played very well against N.C. State and Mississippi State.  When it happened at Arkansas State early in the game, that was a huge blow to us and a huge blow to him, so I'm just happy for him that he is back playing the game of football and that he is doing what he loves to do now."

Where Williams is now is back starting on the Jag offensive line at left tackle.  After earning an 83 percent grade in his return, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound native of Phenix City, Ala., was part of a unit that rolled up 465 yards and 25 first downs last week in a 41-39 victory at Tulane that snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to Oct. 27 last fall, two weeks after Williams' season came to an end.  He earned the coaches' award on the offensive line Sunday following the win.

"I missed half a season last year and the whole offseason, so I think I played decent, but I think I can play better now that I got my confidence back," he said after his return against Southern Utah.  "It was a relief, because in camp I had a little setback with swelling in my knee.  I knew that wasn't a good thing and thought I might not make it, but I went out there, played well and when I finished the whole game it was a good feeling."

"For the most part Ucambre played pretty well; he graded in the 80s and played hard," added Matthews.  "It was good to see him back on the field."

"We couldn't wait to get Ucambre back, we knew that with the first half of last season that he had he could be a great player," Jones stated.  "He worked his tail off to get back, I'm so proud of the way he has worked through the injury.  Every few days the knee may get a little sore and he'll have to rest a few plays, but other than that he has been 100 percent."

Entering the year, there was cautious optimism regarding Williams' return.  "Coming into camp I just wanted to be durable, I didn't want to get labeled as injury prone," he explained.  "My number one goal is to make it through the whole season, and the second goal is to be a good offensive lineman for my team.  Another goal I have is to get better each game — I have a lot of things to get better at with my technique."

"I knew if he was healthy — if he could get his knee back to where we wanted it to be — that he could be a really good player," Matthews observed.  "Going into fall camp I was cautiously optimistic, and now that he has been able to respond and get through practices, knock on wood, I don't see any issues as the season goes on.  It seems like it's doing really well."

And Jones believes that Williams can only get better as he continues to work his way back from the injury with more playing time.  "Ucambre is a great player, but he can become even better with more experience on the field," he said.  "I think he could play any position on the line, but we feel he is an all-Sun Belt type of player.  His versatility is the best thing about him, we could put him in a lot of places."


It wasn't the first hurdle that Williams has needed to clear in his time as a Jaguar.

He arrived on campus in the fall of 2010 after starring at Central High School in Phenix City, where he was selected honorable mention all-state as a senior after helping the Red Devils go 10-2 after advancing to the second round of the state 6A playoffs.  As a true freshman, Williams saw action in four games, although he actually debuted for the Jags on the defensive line.  He was credited with six stops — five of which came in a 64-0 win over Edward Waters (Fla.), a team-high total — as well as a pass defensed.

"He was an offensive lineman in high school, but we thought he might not be big enough to do that here and we were trying to find depth on the defensive line that year," Jones said of moving Williams to the defensive side of the ball upon his arrival.

Although he showed the potential to be successful, the USA coaching staff decided after that first season it was time to shift Williams back to where he thought he more naturally fit.

"In high school I played on both the offensive and defensive line, so they told me they might try me on the defensive line when I came here," he recalled.  "I did pretty good, but I wasn't as technically sound as I am on the offensive line — it didn't come as easy to me — so in the spring of 2011 they moved me because they needed more depth.  I was third string, and they told me I might have a chance to start with the switch; I wanted to get on the field, so I told them I would do anything to help the team.  I was excited."

But, it turned out that Williams would have to sit out the 2011 campaign.  "That was hard, probably one of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome in my life — to sit out and watch my team," he said.  "There's something about wanting to be out there with your team, you take it for granted when you're playing but once you see it from the sidelines and can't go out there it's frustrating."

While helping the Jaguars as a member of the scout team he still managed to earn a coaches' weekly award after USA played at North Carolina State, but things got worse the final month of the season when Williams injured his left knee in practice to bring an end to his year.  It was a tough end to a long fall, the first that he hadn't played in a game in years.

Williams first participated in a youth recreational league in Phenix City when he was five years old, continuing each fall as much for the love of being with his friends on the field as for the sport itself.  "My mom just signed me up, I don't know why," he remembered.  "I guess she decided I was just going to do something.  I grew up in a small town where everybody knew everybody else, so my friends and I played together through high school; there was a camaraderie because I wanted to be out there with all my friends.  There was something about growing up with them and then having all of us sign our letters-of-intent on signing day together."

He would play baseball as well, quitting the sport after middle school to focus on football, and also competed in field events at track meets, but football is where he would start to draw attention.  First it was from his coach on the varsity, who moved Williams into the starting lineup midway through his sophomore season.  A little over a year later, it would be from college coaches.

"The end of my junior year, that's when the letters started flooding in at my house — I still have two big bags of them to this day," Williams stated.  "It was a new thing because none of the schools had been doing that with me.  There is something about being wanted, so it was a little overwhelming when someone else was recognizing your talent.  And I was thinking that I could go to school for free just for playing football."

Williams caught the attention of the Jaguar coaching staff despite his lack of size for a lineman.

"When we first saw Ucambre we noticed he had great feet and balance, he was never on the ground," explained Jones.  "He was undersized at the time, about 260 pounds, but we felt like if he could put on 30 pounds he could be a great [NCAA] Division I lineman.  There is no doubt he is probably turning into more than what we thought he could be, he is a great football player."

Although he drew interest from established programs in the area including Troy and Southern Mississippi, there were two factors that were key in his decision to come to Mobile.  "There was something about this school," Williams observed.  "[Former assistant] Coach [Kurt] Crain recruited me, so I had a mentor that played in the NFL, and I wanted to be a part of something new.  I didn't want to go to an established school."


Offensive linemen rarely find themselves in front of a camera when the game is over and interviews begin, but that's something Williams hopes will change in the future.  A communication major — one who was named to the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List after the 2011-12 academic year — he hopes to one day land a television job.

"I want to be a sports anchor, my idols are Stuart Scott — I love what he does — and Stephen A. Smith.  I just want to talk about sports," he said.  "When I was younger I used to always watch ESPN, my parents would tell me they wished I knew about books as much as I did sports.  We always have arguments, whether it's stats or what school someone went to, it's fun."

It's a role that Matthews believes Williams has the personality to excel in.

"Ucambre is a quiet guy, but he has a really good sense of humor," he observed.  "He's the guy who makes jokes that make you say, 'Wow, that really came out of his mouth?'  Ucambre is sneaky about how funny he really is."

But there's a long way to go before Williams needs to focus on his future career.  After all, the Jaguars still have nine contests remaining following tonight's match-up against Western Kentucky, plus the 2014 season as well.  As Williams looks to stay healthy and remain on the field during that time, he knows he's got a lot of people he can fall back in if another hurdle arises.

That's one of the reasons Williams has fought to overcome all that he has to this point.

"It's the people you meet," he said of his love for being part of the program.  "The guys on this team are people who I will know the rest of my life.  We're brothers basically, who have sweat and bled with each other through the workouts.  You know they are going through the pain of [strength and conditioning] coach [Justin] Schwind's workouts, and if we can do that we can do anything together."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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