rb Jason Williamson, Owatonna

It is fun to watch him run. Like most of the other comments about him here, I would be surprised (but pleasantly surprised) to see him remain on offense for the Gophers. He is playing 5A ball now and his numbers (and I assume carries) have gone UP during the playoffs so it isn't as if he has been doing this against bad competition. Ya hold yer breath every time he touches the ball.

Not to threadbend but this is highly debatable. 6A competition in MN isn't that great to start with
 

I honestly don't care what his claimed 40 time is, he looks slow against small white kids.
 

Not to threadbend but this is highly debatable. 6A competition in MN isn't that great to start with

The top 6-10 teams of 5A could beat the bottom half of 6A

But of the 8 teams on Owatonna’s regular season schedule only Northfield would have a chance to win a game playing against Eden Prairies schedule this year.

The bottom of 5A is awful. It is literally why 6A was created.



Hastings is the number 7 team in 5a. The only 6A teams they could beat are Eagan, Anoka, and Forest Lake.
 
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I honestly don't care what his claimed 40 time is, he looks slow against small white kids.

Watched Williamson against Elk River. First time seeing him. What struck me most is his excellent vision and ability to adjust. Reminds me a lot of Parc Williams from Zumbrota who played RB and DB in High School and eventually played LB for the Gophers, I believe under Wacker.
 

Cobb pulled up at the combine due to his bad hamstring. He was a 4.6ish type guy when healthy. Fast enough but not a breakaway runner.

Cobb outran a few guys his senior year, including a few 30-40 yard TD runs against Ohio St. He definitely had more speed than Ibrahim.
 


After the last game or the game prior, he was averaging, AVERAGING 268 yards per game, including playoffs up to that point. Unless he is playing against grade schoolers, these numbers are impressive.

My mistake... checked the Minnesota Football Hub... 175 ypg. Still an awful lot of mileage.

No disputing that the numbers he is putting up game after game are mind blowing but that still doesn't mean he is going to be a RB at the next level. I am not going to look at the rosters of the teams Owatanna played but I feel very confident saying he has had to face very few D1 level defensive players this season.

I'm thrilled he is going to be a Gopher and if he ends up being a RB all the better. But I wouldn't read much into the numbers a kid puts up against 5A level Minnesota football teams because he is not going up against teams loaded with D1 recruits. Heck, beyond the top few teams in 6A the talent of most teams is very average. I do some work with a local 6A team, they were ranked in the top 10 all year and it was not a strong team by any stretch of the imagination.
 

We certainly need help on the defensive side at safety or LB where Williamson can step in. If Brooks and Smith both return along with Ibraham and Williams, we should have good depth at RB and be able to redshirt incoming freshmen.
 

The top 6-10 teams of 5A could beat the bottom half of 6A

But of the 8 teams on Owatonna’s regular season schedule only Northfield would have a chance to win a game playing against Eden Prairies schedule this year.

The bottom of 5A is awful. It is literally why 6A was created.



Hastings is the number 7 team in 5a. The only 6A teams they could beat are Eagan, Anoka, and Forest Lake.

Oh I’m not even arguing the completion level between 5A and 6A. Neither one is anything special. 6A in Minnesota is (theoretically) the top level but even there, they don't face much actual competition (players who are going to play D1 or even 1AA), which in turn makes it even more apparent at the 5A level.
 

Oh I’m not even arguing the completion level between 5A and 6A. Neither one is anything special. 6A in Minnesota is (theoretically) the top level but even there, they don't face much actual competition (players who are going to play D1 or even 1AA), which in turn makes it even more apparent at the 5A level.

I haven’t seen all the good running backs in Minnesota but he is heads above any other that I have seen.. Thanks to P.J. Fleck, we have the best running back in Minnesota committed to the U.
 



The next Bronko Nugurski is coming to the U! [emoji41]
 

The top 6-10 teams of 5A could beat the bottom half of 6A

But of the 8 teams on Owatonna’s regular season schedule only Northfield would have a chance to win a game playing against Eden Prairies schedule this year.

The bottom of 5A is awful. It is literally why 6A was created.



Hastings is the number 7 team in 5a. The only 6A teams they could beat are Eagan, Anoka, and Forest Lake.

As a Northfield alum and having watched them play everyone but New Prague, Rochester Century was also decent. They split with each other, each team winning on the road. Looking at Eden Prairies schedule, 2 wins would have been ceiling for either Northfield or Century.

Regarding Williamson, Northfield held him to 116 yds on 31 carries and really did not do any damage until the 2nd half. 2nd go around, he put up over 450 yds. Made the Raiders look like the Gophers vs Illini. Several runs over 40 yds without being touched.

I'd like to see him get a shot at RB, but the Gophers seem deep there and also really need help on defense. Regardless they are getting a really nice athlete.
 

It is fun to watch him run. Like most of the other comments about him here, I would be surprised (but pleasantly surprised) to see him remain on offense for the Gophers. He is playing 5A ball now and his numbers (and I assume carries) have gone UP during the playoffs so it isn't as if he has been doing this against bad competition. Ya hold yer breath every time he touches the ball.

Does he have moves? See the holes? Make people miss? Or just run fast and strong?

If a guy has the innate skills to make people miss, I don’t care as much about sprinter’s speed (although that would be nice). Rodney Smith and David Cobb are great examples. They are not going to win a foot race, but boy can they pick up yards when there isn’t much there. That’s the situation 95% of the time. The gaping hole in the line (with a path to the end zone) is a rarity. While it would be nice to have another Maroney, that’s just not very likely.


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Does he have moves?
He's got mad skills...
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After the last game or the game prior, he was averaging, AVERAGING 268 yards per game, including playoffs up to that point. Unless he is playing against grade schoolers, these numbers are impressive.

My mistake... checked the Minnesota Football Hub... 175 ypg. Still an awful lot of mileage.

Minnesota football hub is not accurate. He is on Max Preps. In 12 games he has rushed for 2828 yards, 9.8 yards per carry, and 44 TDs.

Sure the competition isn't great, but it's the same for many thousands of running backs across much of small town America and in MN over time,and not many have a year like that. He does run track and his 100 Meter times are on the web. Athletic.net has his best 100M as a sophomore at 11.36 then 11.10 as a Junior. Not spectacular but pretty good. Maybe he can drop it again over the next 2 years.
 


With his size and speed, I can see him being more of a Harrison Smith style safety than a linebacker. I'd take that in a heartbeat.
 

So he is either a transcendent, game changing RB or an all-pro level safety. Great commit!
 

With his size and speed, I can see him being more of a Harrison Smith style safety than a linebacker. I'd take that in a heartbeat.
Or maybe a Jason Sehorn type cornerback?

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Real Speed or High School speed

Or maybe a Jason Sehorn type cornerback?

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Glad to see that he ran a 11.1 in a timed track event. Those events usually are legit.

A 11.3 on the track is a 4.7 40 time, so I would guess he runs a real 4.6 and possibly even a real 4.5

Also he will get faster and stronger once he enters the Gophers program. Jason Williamson will play somewhere on the field for the Gophers because he is an Athlete. Good get by Fleck

All comments about MN 5A football, however are true. MN's top level isn't great competition, so tough to know what he is going to do as a running back at the U until he shows up. Still like the accumulation of fast athletic players though!
 

The only way we will find out is when he gets to the U where almost everyone are just as athletic.

What will differentiate him at RB is if he is an instinctive type runner who waits for blockers and has good vision.

But, the biggest it factor is does he have the strong will and desire, and willingness to put in the work.
 

Watched Williamson against Elk River. First time seeing him. What struck me most is his excellent vision and ability to adjust. Reminds me a lot of Parc Williams from Zumbrota who played RB and DB in High School and eventually played LB for the Gophers, I believe under Wacker.

Signed under Wacker, played mostly under Mason I believe.
 

I would like to keep Williamson at back and if it doesn’t work move to linebacker. I think Cameron Wiley could play dback for us with his athleticism
 

I haven’t seen all the good running backs in Minnesota but he is heads above any other that I have seen.. Thanks to P.J. Fleck, we have the best running back in Minnesota committed to the U.

Completely different point than I was making but ok
 

per Shooter:

With running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks returning to the Gophers next season, alternating with sophomore Mohamed Ibrahim, it wouldn’t be surprising if Owatonna star Jason Williamson redshirts if Minnesota keeps him as a running back. Otherwise, he is expected to switch positions to safety.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/12/...shares-bond-with-cordarrelle-flash-patterson/

Go Gophers!!
 

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 

per Shooter:

With running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks returning to the Gophers next season, alternating with sophomore Mohamed Ibrahim, it wouldn’t be surprising if Owatonna star Jason Williamson redshirts if Minnesota keeps him as a running back. Otherwise, he is expected to switch positions to safety.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/12/...shares-bond-with-cordarrelle-flash-patterson/

Go Gophers!!

So just to be clear he will either stay as a RB or switch to another position huh.....hard hitting stuff there. I would say odds are pretty good he is redshirting no matter what position he plays.
 

Great problem to have! That only means the coaches are starting to build some good depth on the roster. Not only that, but they locked up the Player of the Year for Minnesota (2x winner) to play at the U.
 

Great problem to have! That only means the coaches are starting to build some good depth on the roster. Not only that, but they locked up the Player of the Year for Minnesota (2x winner) to play at the U.

I really like this kid. I think he's grossly underrated and could blow up for Minnesota in the coming years. He may have a real shot of seeing the field as a DB next year and I could see him getting some snaps as a RB at times in the future.
 

Kill used to say he likes to sign QBs and RBs from HS because they are usually the best players especially from smaller school programs.
 




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