Troy’s Williams now in the spotlight

TROY — The bright lights of MTV’s Two-a-Days cast many different shadows of Hoover High School for two seasons, as television cameras followed the program in 2005 and 2006 for a popular documentary.

Troy’s Cornelius Williams didn’t have to worry about drama. Producers deemed his story too light, void of girlfriend drama and discipline problems.

So, all fans got to see of him was making big play after big play in game highlights. Since his name was mentioned, he got several facebook messages from people he know.

He’s still referred to as “Hoover” or “MTV,” but now he’s stepping into his own as a college football player.

“It was cool, but at the same time you get tired of hearing the same thing over and over,” Williams, now a junior wide receiver for the Trojans, said of the attention. “It’s not as bad as it used to be.”

Williams was an on-the-field star in season one, his senior year. He said he didn’t watch much of the second season.

“I liked (the way I was portrayed),” Williams said. “I didn’t care about the whole spotlight thing.”

But after reaching stardom in high school, including getting four state championship rings, he struggled early in college.

He caught 77 passes as a senior at Hoover compared to just six as a true freshman in 2006. That number improved to 19 for 219 yards and a couple of scores last year, despite playing with a clavicle injury.

“That’s a really painful deal,” offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. “He didn’t back down in practice every day and that speaks for his toughness.”

But with the loss of top leader Gary Banks, Williams is now being counted on to lead on and off the field. Williams is listed as a starter at the Y-position, and those numbers have a chance to at least double now that he’s one of the veterans.

“I think I can take that leadership role and be more vocal,” Williams said.

“The first year I thought I was ready, but I really wasn’t ready. Now, I think I’ve matured a lot and I’ve gotten a lot smarter in game situations, so I think I’m ready.”

Williams is the president in-waiting for the Student Athlete Advisory Council, meaning he’ll be the president his senior year.

He went to a leadership conference in Orlando and learned more about vocal leadership and finding weaknesses as a leader.

His speech that got him selected to the conference was derived from a moment in high school, where he came in at quarterback after the starter got hurt and eventually threw a game-winning touchdown pass on 4th and 20 to give Hoover a win over region foe Thompson.

“We were the No. 2 team in the country,” Williams said. “It would have been a huge upset if they had won.”

The exposure Williams got at Hoover only helped him for the big games Troy plays on the road. This year, he’ll see crowds of better than 90,000 twice — Sept. 6 at LSU and Sept. 20 at Ohio State.

“Sometimes, you wonder how guys are going to do at places like that,” Brown said. “You don’t worry about that with him. It seems like the bigger game we play, the more people, the more pressure, the better he is.”

And now that Troy isn’t the team to beat in the Sun Belt this year, Williams is taking pride in the fact of the weaknesses people see in this year’s Trojan team.

“I think we’re definitely underrated,” Williams said. “We’ve got so many guys who can make plays and I really don’t think people understand that. Once the season starts, they’ll see.”