Gophers recruit Jason Williamson overcomes serious leg injury to run free at Owatonna
Owatonna running back Jason Williamson, a Gophers commit, rushes against Elk River in the Class 5A semifinals at US Bank Stadium on Nov. 16, 2019. (Courtesy of Jon Weisbrod/Owatonna People’s Press)
By ANDY GREDER | agreder@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: November 22, 2018 at 3:39 pm | UPDATED: November 22, 2018 at 3:39 pm
Jason Williamson laid in a hospital bed for days last June and wondered if he would ever play football again.
Would the to-be senior running back at Owatonna High School add to his 4,000 rushing yards and help the Huskies defend their Class 5A state championship?
Would he take advantage of his scholarship offer from the Gophers and fulfill a dream of playing for the program he grew up rooting for?
The initial diagnosis: “I was told it was bad,” Williamson said.
Williamson was playing in a seven-on-seven passing camp at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., when he planted his left foot while running a route. He heard a pop in his leg but didn’t think too much of it as the trainer on site diagnosed it as a muscle strain.
But the pain got worse as the day got longer. By 4 a.m., it was so severe that Williamson told his parents, Rich and Julie, that he needed to go to the emergency room. He was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, where athletic exertion can create pressure in an area of an extremity, which affects muscles and nerves. In severe cases, surgery is required before a limb could be lost.
“(The pain) was so bad that I don’t even really remember being there,” Williamson said. He had surgery the next day and the surgical cut in his lower leg had to remain open for four days.
“I was telling myself in the hospital: ‘If I’m able to play, I will come back harder than I was before.’ ”
The prognosis improved to an expected full recovery, but he was not be able to walk for eight weeks.
After missing most of the 2018 season opener, Williamson has since been been the hardest running back to stop in Minnesota. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound all-purpose force has scored 45 touchdowns and rushed for 2,825 yards in 11 games. He averages 9.7 yards per carry.
Williamson and Owatonna (12-0) face their stiffest test yet in St. Thomas Academy (12-0) in the Class 5A state championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Williamson’s performances in the playoffs have gone to another level. In the past four games, he has a remarkable 1,451 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. His eight touchdowns in the Section 1 semifinal game against Rochester Mayo tied a state record. His 477 yards in the section title game against Northfield is the fourth-highest total in state history.
“He’s the best football player, overall athlete, that I’ve had the opportunity to coach,” said Jeff Williams, a coach at Owatonna for 30 years, including the past 23 as head coach.
Williamson and Eden Prairie quarterback Cole Kramer were the first two commits in Gophers’ 2019 recruiting class last December. Kramer will lead the Eagles (10-1) in the Class 6A title game against Lakeville North (12-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, and he and Williamson are expected to sign national letters of intent on Dec. 19 and enroll at Minnesota in January.
The Gophers recruited Williamson as an “athlete,” meaning his collegiate position is to be determined, and the U remains open to him staying at running back or moving to defense.
For Owatonna, Williamson also has been a standout free safety, where he plays about half the time and mostly against teams that pass more.
“He hits like a ton of bricks,” Williams said. “He will come up and fill alleys and make tackles. He’s got a real nice ability to break on the football. Teams don’t throw his way very frequently, so he’s got a total of maybe eight interceptions over three years. He’s a ball hawk.”
Williamson can’t recall his interception total and doesn’t know his gaudy offensive numbers off the top of his head, either.
“I don’t go out of my way to look at them, but I see stuff on Twitter and stuff like that,” Williamson said. “It doesn’t really matter to me.”
Williamson is soft-spoken, “but when he puts the chinstrap on, he plays with an edge to him,” Williams said. “He is very much a competitor.”
Williamson will give up a spot on Owatonna’s basketball team this winter and its track and field squad this spring to fulfill a dream of playing college football, one that seemed to be slipping away last June.
“He’s as hard a worker as we have; we’ll miss that,” Williams said. “… For him to be able to come back and what he did behind the scenes to rehab, and then what he’s done this season in being the hardest worker in practice, he is just a role model for the rest of the kids.”
https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/...s-serious-leg-injury-to-run-free-at-owatonna/
Owatonna running back Jason Williamson, a Gophers commit, rushes against Elk River in the Class 5A semifinals at US Bank Stadium on Nov. 16, 2019. (Courtesy of Jon Weisbrod/Owatonna People’s Press)
By ANDY GREDER | agreder@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: November 22, 2018 at 3:39 pm | UPDATED: November 22, 2018 at 3:39 pm
Jason Williamson laid in a hospital bed for days last June and wondered if he would ever play football again.
Would the to-be senior running back at Owatonna High School add to his 4,000 rushing yards and help the Huskies defend their Class 5A state championship?
Would he take advantage of his scholarship offer from the Gophers and fulfill a dream of playing for the program he grew up rooting for?
The initial diagnosis: “I was told it was bad,” Williamson said.
Williamson was playing in a seven-on-seven passing camp at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., when he planted his left foot while running a route. He heard a pop in his leg but didn’t think too much of it as the trainer on site diagnosed it as a muscle strain.
But the pain got worse as the day got longer. By 4 a.m., it was so severe that Williamson told his parents, Rich and Julie, that he needed to go to the emergency room. He was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, where athletic exertion can create pressure in an area of an extremity, which affects muscles and nerves. In severe cases, surgery is required before a limb could be lost.
“(The pain) was so bad that I don’t even really remember being there,” Williamson said. He had surgery the next day and the surgical cut in his lower leg had to remain open for four days.
“I was telling myself in the hospital: ‘If I’m able to play, I will come back harder than I was before.’ ”
The prognosis improved to an expected full recovery, but he was not be able to walk for eight weeks.
After missing most of the 2018 season opener, Williamson has since been been the hardest running back to stop in Minnesota. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound all-purpose force has scored 45 touchdowns and rushed for 2,825 yards in 11 games. He averages 9.7 yards per carry.
Williamson and Owatonna (12-0) face their stiffest test yet in St. Thomas Academy (12-0) in the Class 5A state championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Williamson’s performances in the playoffs have gone to another level. In the past four games, he has a remarkable 1,451 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. His eight touchdowns in the Section 1 semifinal game against Rochester Mayo tied a state record. His 477 yards in the section title game against Northfield is the fourth-highest total in state history.
“He’s the best football player, overall athlete, that I’ve had the opportunity to coach,” said Jeff Williams, a coach at Owatonna for 30 years, including the past 23 as head coach.
Williamson and Eden Prairie quarterback Cole Kramer were the first two commits in Gophers’ 2019 recruiting class last December. Kramer will lead the Eagles (10-1) in the Class 6A title game against Lakeville North (12-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, and he and Williamson are expected to sign national letters of intent on Dec. 19 and enroll at Minnesota in January.
The Gophers recruited Williamson as an “athlete,” meaning his collegiate position is to be determined, and the U remains open to him staying at running back or moving to defense.
For Owatonna, Williamson also has been a standout free safety, where he plays about half the time and mostly against teams that pass more.
“He hits like a ton of bricks,” Williams said. “He will come up and fill alleys and make tackles. He’s got a real nice ability to break on the football. Teams don’t throw his way very frequently, so he’s got a total of maybe eight interceptions over three years. He’s a ball hawk.”
Williamson can’t recall his interception total and doesn’t know his gaudy offensive numbers off the top of his head, either.
“I don’t go out of my way to look at them, but I see stuff on Twitter and stuff like that,” Williamson said. “It doesn’t really matter to me.”
Williamson is soft-spoken, “but when he puts the chinstrap on, he plays with an edge to him,” Williams said. “He is very much a competitor.”
Williamson will give up a spot on Owatonna’s basketball team this winter and its track and field squad this spring to fulfill a dream of playing college football, one that seemed to be slipping away last June.
“He’s as hard a worker as we have; we’ll miss that,” Williams said. “… For him to be able to come back and what he did behind the scenes to rehab, and then what he’s done this season in being the hardest worker in practice, he is just a role model for the rest of the kids.”
https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/...s-serious-leg-injury-to-run-free-at-owatonna/
