AP/ORLIN WAGNER
AP/ORLIN WAGNER
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Matt Williams has gone from Weatherford High to Tarleton State to an unexpected role as place-kicker at Texas Tech. AP/ORLIN WAGNER
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LUBBOCK ? As the executive director of athletics for the Weatherford Independent School District, Philip O?Neal knows firsthand the impact Matt Williams has had on his small community.
A sophomore walk-on kicker at Texas Tech, Williams has become a cult hero in Lubbock after making his way onto coach Mike Leach?s team by kicking a 30-yard field goal during a radio station promotion Sept. 20. Williams has gained attention from numerous national media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition and the CBS Evening News.
Naturally the attention has filtered down to Weatherford High School, where Williams graduated from in 2006.
"Most people in our community know about it, have followed it and stayed in touch with it," O?Neal said, referring to Williams? Cinderella story. "It is a great story to have your name pulled out of the hat and then be the kicker a few weeks later.
"We?ve been talking about that ? some of our administrators over here. It?s almost like there?s some divine intervention."
O?Neal recalls Williams booting a 49-yard field goal as time expired to tie a 2005 playoff game against Mineral Wells, then winning it with a 28-yard field goal in overtime. Williams wound up at Tarleton State ? where he was a walk-on but didn?t get in a game ? before transferring to Tech and finding fame.
"I?m surprised that something like this hasn?t already happened because Matt is a very impressive kicker," O?Neal said. "He was an excellent kicker in middle school and was kicking 30-yard field goals as a seventh- and eighth-grader."
The NCAA granted Tech a one-time exception to the rule requiring players who transfer to a Division I school to sit out a year. The exception was granted because Williams wasn?t on scholarship and wasn?t recruited by Tarleton State.
O?Neal recalls when Williams used to boom kickoffs so far that they often went through the uprights ? some 60 yards away.
"He has a real good demeanor about him," O?Neal said. "He?s got a real fiery competitive spirit on the inside and he?s very calm on the outside and confident."
In his first shot kicking for Tech, Williams was successful on all nine of his extra-point kicks last week against Kansas. For his efforts, he was named the Big 12 special teams player of the week while also earning a spot in the hearts of Tech fans everywhere.
One of those fans is Elroy Wisian, the owner of Lynnwood Townhomes in Lubbock. Because Williams successfully kicked the promotional field goal, Williams won free rent for a year at Lynnwood.
But the 5-foot-10, 156-pounder had to decline the winnings ? because of NCAA rules ? once he joined the Red Raiders.
Wisian graduated from Tech in 1974 with a degree in accounting. His wife, Vickie, has two degrees from Tech, and their four children graduated from Tech. Wisian is just glad to offer a helping hand.
"Most of the kids who try the kick can?t even get the ball to the goal post, much less kick it through the uprights and high enough to even be looked at by coach Leach," Wisian said. "But it?s great for Texas Tech and it?s great for Matt Williams and the football team.
"And of course, we?re just relishing in the fact we got to be a little part of it through the contest."
Williams has become such a hit with teammates that they?ve already nicknamed him "Lynnwood." In fact, when asked for a comment about Williams? perfect kicking performance following the Kansas game, quarterback Graham Harrell replied: "About who? ... Oh, Lynnwood!"
Leach has shielded Williams from the media, preventing any access to his kicker before No. 6 Tech?s matchup against No. 1 Texas.
"I thought the tough [kick for Williams] was winning the free rent," Leach said. "You come out in your shorts and your street shoes and, 'Here, kick a 30-yarder in front of 55,000 people.? "
Williams? mom, Linda, teaches in the WISD, and his dad, Tommy, used to coach there.
"All of us here are all excited for Matt and his family," O?Neal said. "It?s very well-deserved.
"Good things do happen to good people. They?re good people, and I?m glad this is happening to them."