‘Big Game James’ a force in middle for defending champ Aledo

There’s an adage in coaching circles that goes something like “a good coach makes players see what they can be rather than what they are.”

In James Williams, Aledo coach Steve Wood saw a varsity starter at defensive tackle from the very first day he stepped foot on the high school campus.

“When I first saw him, I said ‘James, you can play defensive end on Thursday night on the JV or freshman team, or you can play defensive tackle with the varsity on Friday night.’

“He said, ‘Coach, you know I want to play on the varsity.’ I said, OK, let’s go.”

Given his unique chance as a 14-year-old freshman, Williams – better known as “Big Game James” – jumped at it.

And he has never stepped aside.

The Bearcats’ Class 5A Division II state championship game Saturday morning against College Station will mark the last of 63 consecutive starts by Williams over four years.

That is 16 games in each of his freshman, junior, and senior seasons. And 15 his sophomore year.

That’s iron man material at this level of play.

“It started with Coach Wood,” Williams said. “He gave me the opportunity. I honestly didn’t think I could do the job my freshman year, but I knew he knew what he was doing. He put me in the right position.

“I just try to do the best I can. I give my team, my coaches, my town, my family, and myself the best I can. I’m just trying to do all I can to win a state championship.”

At 5-foot-9, 300 pounds, he is a load and a disrupter in the middle of the action, who wreaks havoc and changes games on the interior.

Through the first 15 games this season, Williams has 100 tackles, including 58 solo, and 19 tackles-for-loss.

What Jonathan Gray did during a record-breaking career, Williams does on the other side of the ball.

“He’s a kid who has it all,” Saginaw coach Dane Johnson said. “He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. He’s a God-gifted young man. And he plays hard. You’re going to get his best effort on every play.

“He’s smart. You’re not going to fool him. He’s one of those guys: You put two guys on him and run away from him.”

Wood said something very similar, calling Big Game James “sports savvy.” The coach said Williams was ahead of his time as a student of the game. Williams is a great anticipator, making accurate judgments before the snap through the look of the formation or even how heavy a guy’s stance is.

“He is into the game,” Wood said. “He’s passionate about what he does. He loves to play the game as much as anybody I’ve coached.”

No one at Aledo is getting ahead of themselves. There’s one game left and no on is taking anything for granted.

Afterward, Williams will make a final decision on his next step.

He is committed to Montana State. That is thought to be a hard commit.

One day, he might step back and think about his role in the one of the most dominant programs in Texas high school football history.

And, make no mistake, he has played as big a role as anybody in his very humble way.

“Just thinking about the history and the things done before, and what it became and play a big role, it’s an honor,” Williams said. “It’s special to be here and play here. It definitely is.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "‘Big Game James’ a force in middle for defending champ Aledo."