LINDALE — When Airik Williams’ coaches and teammates speak about him, they mention two things — his confidence and his passion.
The senior defensive back for the Lindale Eagles will take those traits with him to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
“It was the best place that felt like home to me, and it was a real beautiful campus,” Williams said. “I just felt like I could go there and grow as a person and be a better player.”
Lindale head football coach Chris Cochran emphasized what Williams meant during his time with the Eagles and what he will bring to the Crusaders.
“They’re getting a young man that doesn’t just getting care about getting recruited, but he loves the game of football,” Cochran said. “They’re getting a confident guy that’s going to play the game the right way. He cares a lot about pleasing his coaches, making good grades and making good decisions. He’s a high character young man. They’re getting a great young man and a really good football player, as well.”
Cochran said one of his earliest memories of Williams came in a 7-on-7 game when Williams was a freshman.
“We had just lost a couple of safeties, and we were really worried about who was going to play safety for the Lindale Eagles,” Cochran said. “This young man had seven or eight interceptions, maybe even more. We knew without a doubt that we had found our free safety that day.”
Williams went on to start 39 games for the Eagles in three seasons, compiling 315 tackles with 25 tackles for loss and 16 interceptions, returning four for touchdowns.
As a senior, Williams had 153 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, seven interceptions and three defensive touchdowns, to go along with multiple touchdowns on kick and punt returns.
Now, Williams will take those abilities with him to the next level.
“I’ll bring excitement and my ball skills,” Williams said. “Just being able to locate the ball when it’s in the air and be able to go get it whenever I can. I want to be able to fly around and make plays for them.”
Defensive linemen for the Eagles mentioned how they would briefly get upset when they missed a sack until they turned around and realized Williams had intercepted the ball and was returning it the other way.
Williams said he hopes to become a coach and teacher once his playing career is finished.