Ole Miss’ Jayden Williams now has a better understanding and grasp of left tackle
Ole Miss Left Tackle Jayden Williams has a year of protecting the quarterback’s blind side in the Southeastern Conference after starting all 13 games last season.
Never, ever underestimate the power of experience.
Jayden, still just a sophomore after a redshirt season in 2021 and being a starter at an extremely difficult and vital position – taking on the best pass rushers on the opposing team normally, gained a lot of it in ’22 by playing nearly 1,000 snaps.
Those game snaps and countless practice reps have landed the second-year starter in a clearer, more concise space as the 2023 season approaches.
“I just understand the game and my position much better,” Williams said this week. “Last year was my first season to play and this year I have so much better feel for the game and recognize what I am seeing better than last year.”
Most of the offensive room can boast of having that vital component of experience, as Jayden explains.
“All five starters have played a lot of football and so have Victor (Curne) and Quincy (McGee),” he stated. “Our room feels like we are, as a unit, the leaders of the team. We push ourselves and it helps make everyone else push themselves.
“Continuity is critical in offensive line play. If all of us are not on the same page all the time, bad things happen.”
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In a couple of recent practices, Curne has taken Williams’ spot as the number one LT, but it’s still Jayden’s position.
“We are trying to see who can do what and see who can step in and not interrupt the chemistry of the offensive line. Vic can,” Jayden noted. “Here’s the thing with subbing on the OL – if one person is wrong, we are all wrong, so it is vital for the subs to be right too, not just the starters.”
In assessing his play last season, which earned him Honorable-Mention Freshman All-American accolades, Williams said he had a slow start and it all goes back to the theme of this offering, experience or lack thereof.
“Sometimes I was just trying to figure out what was going on. It was an uncomfortable position to be in but you just have to play through it and learn,” he continued. “As the season wore on, I got more and more comfortable and figured out more and more what to do. You really don’t know what it’s all about until you are in games in the SEC.”
Now, Jayden is working on some “little things” in his technique.
“Last year there were times I took the wrong angle in my pass sets or made a bad step in the wrong direction. Just small stuff that amounts to big stuff if you don’t do it right,” Williams explained.
Jayden Williams will have his hands full again this year protecting Dart or whoever the Rebel QB is, but he will be ready for the challenge.
Why? Experience.
