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Molding Mario
June 19, 2006
By Carmine Pirone
HoustonTexans.com
Over the past few months, the Texans have learned what most of North Carolina already knew: Mario Williams is a pretty special person. Most of that credit goes to Mary Williams, Marios mother. Mary raised Mario and the rest of the Williams family by herself and, by all accounts, did an outstanding job. The matriarch of the Williams family was glowing Saturday as Richlands N.C. honored her son. Strength and independence abound from the elder Williams, two qualities that are vital in any single parent.
But to say she shaped her son all by herself would be to discount the influence of two of Marios male role models.
Kevin Wilson is a humble man. Sitting quietly Friday night at a dinner in honor of his most prized football pupil, he said little unless asked. He kept his distance, making sure Williams was the star of the day.
Wilson took over a floundering Richlands football team in the late 90s. That all changed one day when Wilson made his way over to Richlands middle school to talk to eighth graders that were interested in playing football the following season. It was then that he first met the future Texans number-one draft pick.
Right there you could see he had the size, Wilson said. I gave him the summer workouts. He came. He was pretty agile for his size and at that time our football program was in its infancy.
Wilson made a decision. Williams would play varsity football as a freshman in high school and soon he found himself at the doorstep to the Williams home.
I went to his mom and said, I realize hes only 14 years old, but I want to play him against 17-year olds.
After some convincing, Mary relented and soon Richlands went from a two-win team to 11 wins in Williams junior season, and 10 wins during his senior campaign.
Williams not only played as a freshman, he started. Through his career at Richlands, there were not many positions he didnt play under Wilson s guidance: defensive line, linebacker, tight end and even running back. Whatever the coach needed, Williams was willing to do it.
One of things that he did was that he was a tireless worker, Wilson said. A lot of kids saw this kid with a lot of talent and he was really working hard and he inspired those around him. He just didnt elevate his teammates on those Friday nights, but probably during the most important time, during the week, during the offseason.
That doesnt sound like a player who was critiqued by some for taking plays off in college. Wilson doesnt buy it.
Different people have different perceptions," he said. "A lot of it has to do with egos, jealousy. They were saying the same things about him in high school, that he doesnt play as hard when the balls not coming at him. It was all basically a bunch of bull. People didnt know what they were talking about.
With such a talent, conventional wisdom would suggest that Wilson had to do little to improve a player that garnered visits from the likes of Ohio State and Tennessee . Think again.
I constantly looked at different ways to try and get him to improve as he got stronger, Wilson said. We had somebody (Mario) here that had real long legs and long arms. I think when he put that weight on his senior year, he went from about 215, 225 to 250 (pounds). That elevated him to All-America status.
Most guys get redshirted as a freshman, thats just standard. He finished school early, got to go train at N.C. State and have an opportunity to start in the fall and thats the vision that we had for him.
Enter N.C. State head coach Chuck Amato. If Wilson built the foundation for Williams football frame, it was Amato who sculpted him into one of the most intimidating athletes in college athletics. Unlike Wilson , Amato is easily noticeable. Casually sporting designer sunglasses on the sideline and a colorful personality that endears him to the Raleigh community, Amato is not one to sit in the shadows.
His coaching resume speaks for itself. Widely recognized as one of the best defensive minds in college football, Amato spent 18 seasons under Bobby Bowden at Florida State, helping the legendary coach win two National Championships. In 2000, he returned to his alma mater where hes produced five first-round selections, including three this past season.
Like Wilson , Amato quickly took notice of the first number-one overall NFL draft pick in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
It was right after his 10th grade year, Amato said. It wasnt hard to notice him. Then he came to our camp and the rest is a lot of work.
Amato made the trek to Richlands twice to watch Williams in action, once each in his junior and senior seasons. The proximity of Raleigh and Amato brought Williams to the Wolfpack. He graduated early and began his college career like he had his high school career, by starting.
He was there," Amato said. We put him there right away. We wanted to see what he could do and how much he could absorb. The first day of spring practice, he was there.
A highly touted prospect and a hand-picked starter, Williams had every excuse to get comfortable and coast into his freshman season. His work ethic, however, wouldnt allow it.
The thing about it, he knew he was going to get the job, but he knew he would be pressed and he worked at it, Amato said. He really worked at it. Was he ready right away as freshman? No. But what he learned in his battles helped him tremendously by the end of his freshman year.
Even then, Amato said, Williams wasnt necessarily destined for NFL greatness. But Williams grew and grew some more and three years and 30 pounds later, he found himself anchoring the best defensive line in college football. Still, the top selection was something that even the veteran coach never envisioned.
Thats hard to imagine, Amato said when asked if he thought Williams would go number one. Im not naive, I knew he was leaving. Next year was going to be our year. John McCargo was going to be a senior, Mario was going to be a senior and theyre both in the NFL now. And to think to go number-one overall. I was at Florida State for 18 years and we never had one to my knowledge and hes the first in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Its something that will live with him forever.
Amato's and Wilsons work is done now. They, like so many others in Williams home state, can only watch as their prodigy takes his skills to the next level.
Williams was picked first and handed a starting spot. Thats a lot of pressure for a 21-year old from a town of less than a thousand, but its nothing new to Mario Williams.
