Derek Williams ended last football season by kicking a 47-yard field goal that tied Jason Elkins for the longest field goal in Savannah State University's history.
 
Williams was proud to put the 47-yarder he made in the Tigers' season finale against Norfolk State University up against the 47-yarder Elkins kicked against Virginia State in 1999.
 
But Williams wanted more. He wanted to own the school record. Imagine the joy he felt when he began his senior season by kicking a 52-yard field goal against Albany State.
 
“I had the wind a little bit, so I just needed to line it up,” he said. “I knew if I kicked it in the air the wind was going to take it (the distance).”
 
Reliable option
SSU first-year head coach Steve Davenport is not surprised by the success of Williams, whose teammates nicknamed him “Canada” when he was a freshman walk-on in 2008. Williams, now on an athletic scholarship, was not selected to the All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason team, but Davenport said he voted him to the first team.
 
“I can't take credit,” Davenport said. “The kid was here when I got here. I just started evaluating and realized I've got a diamond-in-the-rough. From the first day of spring (practice) he's been tremendous. Strong-leg kid. He's one of the hardest-working kids. I have complete confidence in him. He's honest with me.”
 
On fourth-and-1 during SSU's first possession against Albany State, Davenport said he asked Williams if he could make a 48-yard field goal attempt into the wind.
 
Williams said no, so Davenport decided to go for the first down. Senior running back Justin Babb was tackled for a 1-yard loss.
 
During the second quarter, Davenport said he asked Williams if he could make a 52-yard field goal. Williams responded, “We've got the wind. Let's go get it.”
 
Williams got it.
 
Sharing the credit
Seeking to become more consistent at field goals this season, Williams paid his own way to travel to Memphis and receive private kicking lessons during the summer. He drove from Toronto to Buffalo “because the flights are cheaper,” he said, and took an airplane to Memphis. He stayed there for two days and had a lesson both days with James Wilhoit, a University of Tennessee kicker from 2003-06. Wilhoit kicked a game-winning 50-yard field goal against the University of Florida in 2004.
 
Williams credits Wilhoit for his hot start this season.
 
“Before, being a soccer-style kicker, I had really good ball contact. I was just inconsistent with that,” Williams said. “The way he taught me to kick it is much more consistent and it's a more relaxed posture when you kick the ball. And so, being back there now, I'm more confident when I kick, and it's showing in the games, too.”
 
Wilhoit was referred to Williams by Rob Maver, a kicker for the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders. Maver, who has received instruction from Wilhoit, became friends with Williams when Maver was 16 and Williams was 11.
 
Williams said he plans to attend a CFL scouting combine in March and he hopes to play professionally in Canada.
 
“If that doesn't happen, I'm still going to try in years to come,” said Williams, a business marketing major who plans to earn a master's degree in business administration in Toronto.
 
Williams also credits senior quarterback A.J. DeFilippis and sophomore linebacker Taylor Thompson for his field goal success. DeFilippis, a Benedictine graduate, is the holder for a third consecutive season. Thompson, a Memorial Day School graduate, is the long snapper for a second consecutive season.
 
“It's tremendous when you have that,” Williams said of the trio's experience working together. “The problem that I've always had was with inconsistency with the team of long snappers and holders. My first year, A.J. was the long snapper and Brandon Webster was the holder. And then second year, we had a guy that just came in for one year and was the long snapper and A.J. was the holder. And third year, Thompson came in and he was the long snapper and A.J. was the holder. We finally have some consistency in that, and that gives me more confidence in what they can do.”
 
Student-athlete role model
Davenport said Williams is a valuable influence on the Tigers' other kickers: sophomore Preston McCarthy, of Decatur, and freshman Christopher Bruce.
 
“I knew we had to get another kicker (for next season) and I was recruiting a kicker in Atlanta,” Davenport said. “I was sitting in the den with his parents and told his parents, 'Hey, I've got a guy that will mentor your son.' And the kid ultimately came and signed with us. And that's exactly what Derek's doing. He's mentoring the kid and showing him how hard work will get things accomplished for him.”
 
Williams is the youngest of three sons to his parents, Ted and Susan. They were at the season opener when he kicked his school-record field goal.
 
Williams' brother, Colin, is pursuing a master's degree at York University in Toronto, and his brother, Blake, moved to England to become a FIFA soccer referee.
 
Williams, meanwhile, said he hopes to continue sending the football through the uprights.
 
“When they call my name, I go out there and I tell myself, 'I can make this kick. I've kicked it a thousand times in practice,'” he said. “If you have that confidence, you go on the field with confidence and make the kick.”