Narbonne Quarterback Troy Williams Commits to Washington Huskies

Harbor City, CA -- College football fans from the Northwest to the Southeast have waited anxiously for Southern California's top quarterback from the Class of 2013 to decide which university he will attend for the next 4 years of his life.  Fresh off his recent unofficial visit to Seattle, Troy Williams of Narbonne High School has announced today that he has decided to venture north and pursue his football dreams at the University of Washington.

As a junior last season, Williams earned CIF City Section Player of the Year honors, passing for over 3,200 yards with 34 touchdowns and rushing for close to 600 yards with 11 additional touchdowns on the ground.  Such efforts led to a City Section championship for the Gauchos.

In addition to City Section honors, Williams was named First Team All-State by Cal-Hi Sports.  This is fairly remarkable considering he bested several seniors headed to major Pac-12 universities, including Zach Kline (Cal), Jake Rodrigues (Oregon), and Travis Wilson (Utah).

According to Narbonne’s Offensive Coordinator, Tim Kaub, “coaches from every Pac-12 school with the exception of USC have been by campus during the recent spring evaluation period to check him out.”  In addition to the Pac-12 interest, Williams had offers from SEC powers Florida and Ole Miss.

One of the major factors leading to his decision was head coach Steve Sarkisian’s  successful tutelage history with quarterbacks.  According to Williams, “He puts people in the league.  Jake Locker, Mark Sanchez, John David Booty.  He knows how to coach quarterbacks.”

Another major factor is the familiarity Williams has with many of the current Huskies who also hail from the Los Angeles area. Williams not only grew up with many of these players, but also competed with them as well.

One such player is safety Sean Parker, a returning starter in the Huskies’ defensive backfield.  Williams said that he likes “the family feel of the Washington program and joining former friends and teammates will be fun.”

Coach Kaub noted that Washington was the first school to offer Williams a scholarship, stating that “they offered when Troy was a sophomore and I know that means a lot to him.” Williams himself commented on that same fact, making it clear that the early recruitment stood out for him.

For each of the last three seasons, Head Coach Manuel Douglas, Coach Robert Gill, Coach Kaub, and others on the Narbonne staff have visited with coaches from the University of Oregon to glean knowledge from their scheme and coaching habits.

As a result of those meetings, 2012 will be Williams’ third year in a no-huddle, spread offense, and it shows in practice.  While Kaub barks out instructions to the sophomores and juniors in practice, Williams takes a quick look at his wrist-band and carries out a well-executed bubble screen to the slot receiver.  “We’ve given Troy the keys to the car, and he’s taken them and moved into the fast lane,” remarks Kaub.

As fans of the Pac-12 know, the offensive schemes of Oregon and Washington are dramatically different.  However, the tempo at which Narbonne practices emulates that of Oregon, which should help Williams' transition to Sarkisian’s more traditional pro-style attack that allows the offense to catch its breath between plays.

Washington also secured 2012 commitments from two other elite high school signal-callers in Jeff Lindquist of Mercer Island, Washington, and Cyler Miles of Denver.  Miles was the offensive MVP of the US Army All-American game in January, but Williams isn’t deterred, stating, “I’m not afraid of competition.  I will work hard.”

Williams' plans for the summer include leading Narbonne in the Dana Hills Nike Air Strike 7on7 tournament on June 9; competing in the ESPN Elite 11 Quarterback regional in Las Vegas June 16-17; and competing with his 7on7 club team, the 1925 All-Stars, in the national championships in Florida.

Narbonne Program

While Williams garners most of the attention from the college coaches, Narbonne is far from a one-trick pony, as there are at least three other players from the Class of 2013 on the roster with Division I scholarship offers. Those players include linebacker Keishawn Bierra (San Diego State and Colorado State), wide receiver AJ Richardson (SDSU, Houston, Hawaii, and Nevada), and offensive tackle Alanta Toussant (SDSU).

All three plan to attend various camps throughout the summer, including those at SDSU, UCLA, and Oregon State.  Additionally Bierra and Richardson, along with fellow Gaucho teammate, linebacker Marquis Lomax, will compete this summer for their B2G club team with the goal of increasing their profile to college coaches.

The offseason preparation and the presence of 17 returning starters figure to help Narbonne achieve its goal this fall. That goal, in the words of Bierra, is to “Win CITY.  And hey, Let’s win STATE this year too!”

By Chris Harker
Contributing Writer for The Daily Sports Herald