Latrobe grad Ja’Tawn Williams catching on quickly as redshirt freshman WR for Clarion

Standing alone in the left corner of the end zone, Ja’Tawn Williams waited patiently for the pass from Clarion quarterback Anthony Guercio to float into his waiting hands.

Williams, a Latrobe grad, squeezed the ball, giving the Golden Eagles a commanding 27-0 lead over Wheeling with his first collegiate touchdown. But there was no wild celebration from the 6-foot, 165-pound receiver. He casually turned and flipped the ball to the official.

Looking back, Williams said he wasn’t really sure what to do.

“When I scored, I was like, in shock because I hadn’t scored in a while,” said Williams, a redshirt freshman. “I didn’t know what to do, so I just, like, stood there.”

Williams hadn’t scored a touchdown since his senior year at Latrobe almost two years prior to that Aug. 28 game. So after the surprise of his first college TD passed, surely the second touchdown would be cause for celebration.

That came two weeks later, when Williams opened the scoring of Clarion’s 31-24 win over Shippensburg with a 5-yard TD catch from Guercio. And the celebration …

“Um, not really,” Williams said. “But the third one I did.”

If his season continues on its current trajectory, Williams might have a well-choreographed touchdown dance before too long. Through Clarion’s first five games, Williams had caught 12 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns.

More importantly, Clarion was 4-1, already eclipsing the its win total from each of the past five seasons. The Golden Eagles hadn’t won four games in a season since 2018, and the most recent time they had won at least five games was 2015, when they went 7-4.

“I think it starts with the coaching, getting us all locked in and believing in us,” said Williams, referring to Ray Monica and his staff. Monica is in his fourth season at Clarion. “And we’re all believing in each other, and we’re all working together as a team.”

Williams’ work with the team — at least on a game-day basis — had to wait a year. He took a redshirt last season, not because of an injury but to get an extra year to prepare for college football.

He spent his time lifting, working on his speed, watching film and studying opposing defenses. He said he discovered that running plays was more than following lines on a dry-erase board. He had to learn how to use leverage to get open and how to recognize coverages at the line of scrimmage.

“My freshman self, if I didn’t redshirt, I wouldn’t be open some of the times that I am,” he said.

Williams credited Golden Eagles first-year coordinator Larry Wilson for the offense’s success. Wilson has Clarion playing an up-tempo style that keeps pressure on opposing defenses.

And while the offense has put up 36.8 points per game, third in the PSAC, the defense has been respectable, giving up almost half that many (20.6, fourth in the PSAC). The big tests lie ahead, as three of Clarion’s final six games include perennial powerhouses Slippery Rock (No. 4 in the national rankings), IUP and No. 8 Cal (Pa.).

Williams said the team is confident it can compete and make a bid for the conference title. For himself, he acknowledged there is a long way to go but he believes he is heading in the right direction.

“My goal was to get on the field and start playing again,” he said. “I feel like I can contribute a little more, but I like the way I’m contributing right now.”