It didn’t take Jameson Williams long to start making a name for himself as a wide receiver at Ohio State. Of course, it doesn’t seem to take Williams very long to do anything.
Williams arrived in Columbus this summer as a 4-star recruit battling for a chance to get on the field in a unit loaded with other former 4-and-5-star recruits.
It didn’t take him long to lose his black stripe. On August 8, Williams and Harry Miller were the first of the summer-arrival freshmen to lose them.
Even so, Ryan Day viewed him as something of a work in progress when he was asked about Williams that week.
“He has the mentality that he wants to come in here and play as a freshman, which I can appreciate,” Day said on August 10. “He’s a freshman and still learning. But he’s got the right attitude, and he’s going hard, so we can work with that.”
But it didn’t take Williams long to start pushing for playing time. He saw the field in wins over Florida Atlantic and Cincinnati.
Once he got some extended snaps, it didn’t take long before he had his first highlight reel play.
Williams ran a slant, caught a pass from quarterback Gunnar Hoak, stuck his foot in the ground, pivoted and took off up the field.
It didn’t take long before he was showcasing the speed that has had Tony Gerdeman calling him “Ted Ginn, Jr., Jr.” for months now.
Five seconds later, Williams was in the end zone, celebrating his first career touchdown.
Speed?@OhioStateFB's Jameson Williams has plenty of it. pic.twitter.com/an6KpZmJeo
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) September 21, 2019
“Jameson, on that slant, when he kind of stopped and started running, I already knew right away he was going to score because he’s definitely one of the fastest guys on the team,” said quarterback Justin Fields after the game.
Williams has only been on the field for 15 pass plays in his Ohio State career. He is already the fourth-leading receiver on the team with 74 yards on just two catches.
After the game, Day seemed impressed with what he had seen from Williams and fellow freshman WR Garrett Wilson.
“It’s a good start to see those guys make some plays,” Day said. “It was good to see the older guys like, K.J. (Hill), Austin (Mack), Bin (Victor) and those guys show them the way. That takes a lot of unselfishness on their part.”
Williams has already started making a name for himself in that area as well. In each of the last two games, Williams has shown up looking absolutely thrilled in photos of someone else scoring a touchdown.
This week in "Jameson Williams Is Extremely Excited For One Of His Teammates" co-stars Garrett Wilson, who just made an incredible circus catch for a touchdown. pic.twitter.com/sZ48Ic6Wdn
— Tom Orr (@TomOrr4) September 23, 2019
Wide receivers coach Brian Hartline has talked repeatedly over the last year about building and sustaining a culture of unselfishness in his room. It didn’t take long for Williams to become a part of that, either.
He hasn’t shown up on the depth chart yet, and it won’t be easy for Williams to get regular snaps at a crowded position this season. But Fields knows that there are big things on the horizon for the freshman.
“His explosiveness — he’s going to be a great receiver in the future,” Fields said.
If history is any indication, it won’t take long.