Scottie Williams  

Childhood Years

To start from the beginning, I was born in Columbus, MS to Scottie and Mary Williams. My father is a pastor, and my mom has worked in the education system for most of my life. I am the oldest of four children. I have lived in 3 different states and moved 9 times total in my lifetime. The average American moves about 11.7 times in their lifetime according to the United States Census Bureau in 2012, so I'm already on pace to surpass this statistic.

As a kid my mom did not really want me involved in sports, but to rather focus my energy on my studies. After convincing her that I could play non-contact sports like flag football and track while maintaining my grades I was eventually able to persuade her into letting me play contact sports. It wasn't until I was in the 6th grade that she would allow me to play football (full contact) for the Bill George Youth Football League. I only played two years in that league until thinking that I could be better at basketball. That thought ended quickly after the first year of playing. I played for two years at Jefferson Junior High School in Woodridge, IL. Once I got to high school I knew I was done with basketball and it was time to get back on the gridiron. 

High School Years

I attended Downers Grove South High School after graduating from Jefferson Junior High School. While in high school I was a part of a plethora of clubs and activities. I played football, ran track, a member of A.C.E (Athletes Committed to Excellence), acted in  the school's first Black History program, member of DECA (Distributive Education Chapters of America), and a member of the school's first Principal-Student panel. I stayed pretty busy throughout my high school years. I did this because I understood that if I wanted to avoid the peer pressures of high school that staying involved in activities would definitely help. During my high school years I was able to enjoy many successes. 

Every competitive activity I was involved in I was able to be successful with emphasis on teamwork, hard work, and commitment. Although it is very cliché all these variables were a great formula for success. I was a 3-year letterman on varsity for football and won conference three out of four years. I was also a three-time all conference selection, two-time academic-all conference, and an all-state selection my senior year at the RB position. I only did track for two years, which were my freshman and senior years. I was on varsity each year and our team won conference my senior year in indoor and outdoor. I was also a two-time all-conference selection, and my senior year the 4x100 relay team that I was a part of made it to State. When it comes to DECA, which is a business club it took me three years to join this club. I had heard a lot about it, but I never thought that it would be able to fit into my schedule. Once senior year came around I knew it was my last chance to join the club and I wanted to capitalize on it. I decided to do a Sports Marketing partner project, and my partner and I made it to Internationals for the competition in both of our first years in the club.

College Years

After graduating from Downers Grove South I decided to attend Elmhurst College. While being involved in the recruiting process for football, if you know anything about this process you understand that it is a very time consuming process and takes a lot of patience for some, but I decided to commit to Elmhurst College. Coming out of high school I was recruited from the entire spectrum of collegiate football in the nation from Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, and NAIA. After being criticized for my size at the running back position; my best option to play and get a good education came down to Division 3. I met a young coach, who had taken over a team who had not won a conference championship in almost 30 years, but I saw his dream/vision and wanted to be a part of it. I was even criticized for not pursuing a "bigger" school or even wanting to go to a school that had not had much success in football. I made those criticizers very aware that I trusted my instinct, going to a place where I would not be another number, ensuring them that the football program would become better than in years past, and that I could prove doubters wrong about my ability to produce as a RB at my size on a college platform.

When I entered college my first obstacle I had to overcome was being considered a "contract" student. A contract student is a student who was accepted into the college, but not meet all the college's requirements/averages. This was basically like living life under a microscope. I had to meet with a faculty member twice a week for the entire semester to make sure I was on top of homework, projects, and exams. Initially this was very embarrassing, but I decided to put my pride aside, embrace this help and take advantage of all the tools that were presented to me. After the completion of my first semester the faculty member and I would decide if I needed to go another semester with help, but after earning a 3.67 GPA in my first semester we both felt that was unnecessary. I never thought that I was a bad student, but this was a very humbling time in my life. It showed me that even if you are not the best at test-taking that through hard work, dedication, and prayer that all things are possible.

Besides the success that I was having off the field; things were not going accordingly from a team perspective  as to what we could do on the field after my freshman year at Elmhurst College. The team ended up going below .500 and I knew that I would get a lot of flak for this. I vowed to myself that I would never let this team go below .500 ever again. This task would not be easy, and would not be taken lightly. I dedicated my off-season to making sure I was in the best shape and equipped with the right tools to put my team in the best positions to win games. Anyone who understands football knows that it is definitely a team effort, and not one man can win a game by himself. With that said my teammates and I all focused a lot of our energy into taking Elmhurst College to the next level. We were above .500 for the rest of my career at Elmhurst College. In fact, in my senior year we enjoyed the most success as a team by posting the best record in school history at (10-2), win a share of the Conference Championship, which had not been done in 32 years, attain a playoff berth for the first time in school history, and win a playoff game for the first time in school history.

Not only was this the most successful year as a team, but also my most successful year as an individual. I owe a lot of my success to my teammates and coaches for pushing me to be the player that I was. In my senior year I broke the school's record for all time rushing yards in a career, most rushing touchdowns in a career, and re-set the most yards in a single-season. Not only was I able to enjoy this success and get many team awards, but I was also awarded the Gagliardi Trophy. This trophy is considered to be the equivalent to Heisman Trophy from Division 1, but it encompasses even more. It is awarded to a player for excellence in academics, athletics, and community service. After winning this award I had several speaking engagements, I have a proclamation in my name in the city of Elmhurst, IL where March 16th is declared Scottie Williams Day, a workout with the Chicago Bears (NFL), a tryout with the Edmonton Eskimos (CFL), and most importantly graduating from college.