Against the Big Ten’s top-ranked team last weekend, Northwestern was forced to play without three of its starters.
One of them was freshman right fielder Quentin Williams.
Unlike with Jake Goebbert and Chris Lashmet, it was not an injury that stopped Williams. He had another game to play – the spring football game at Ryan Field. Williams doesn’t just play one sport for NU – he plays both football and baseball.
“Me and Tommy (Finn) were joking in the dugout and realized while he was batting that he had a football game on Saturday, and now he’s here playing baseball,” senior Tony Vercelli said. “He makes all of our workouts and even the football workouts. He’s doing a great job with the demands.”
Although balancing two Division I sports is not the ordinary life of a NU student, Williams has tackled the challenge and has become an integral part of both teams. On the diamond, Williams has started 22 games, compiling a .222 batting average. On the gridiron, Williams is slated as the second-team defensive end, behind star Corey Wootton.
Williams was a standout football and baseball player for Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, an all-boys school renowned for its athletic programs.
“Pittsburgh is a huge football town,” Williams said. “You live and breathe football out there. High school football especially.”
And Williams thrived in that football atmosphere. His team won the Pennsylvania AAAA state title his freshman year, and again in his senior year. He was also named Pennsylvania’s State Player of the Year and earned first-team all state honors. For his efforts, ESPN/Scouts, Inc. ranked Williams as the 11th-best tight end nationally.
But football isn’t Williams’ only love. After picking up tee-ball at the age of seven, he continued playing baseball. And he thrived at that too.
As a senior, Williams boasted a .578 batting average and recorded 20 RBIs as the team’s captain.
A standout player in both sports, Williams said he loves them equally.
“I wouldn’t say I like one more than the other,” he said. “I always told my parents that whenever it was football season, I like football more, whenever it was baseball season, I liked baseball more.”
With the two sports landing in different seasons, Williams said he knew he wanted to continue playing both in college, which became an integral factor in his college decision.
Oklahoma, Stanford, Boston College, Rutgers and Northwestern were among the schools that offered Williams the opportunity to be a two-sport star.
Among other factors, Quentin said his older brother Nate, who starts at middle linebacker for the football team, had an influence on his decision.
“My brother kind of pulled my leg a little bit,” Quentin said.
Although Quentin knew he wanted to play both sports, he said the transition between the two and the time commitment isn’t always so easy. With spring football practice four days per week for the last month and roughly four games per week for baseball, Quentin was spending seven or eight hours a day at the athletic complex.
“This past month was the toughest, with spring football and having baseball games and practices almost every day, ” Williams said.
When the baseball team made a trip to Minnesota two weeks ago, Williams stayed behind in Evanston an extra day for a football meeting and lifting session. The following day, he drove to Minneapolis with an assistant coach, catching the attention of coach Paul Stevens.
“It’s tough on him doing two sports, but he’s made monumental strides: the more that he’s out here, the more that he plays, the better he’s gotten,” Stevens said. “By the time it’s all said and done, he’ll be an awfully good player for us.”
Coach Pat Fitzgerald said he is proud of Williams handling two sports while juggling a full course load.
“I told him during recruiting that I would let him play two sports, as long as he can handle it academically,” Fitzgerald said. “If he wants to do it, we’re going to continue to do it.”
And Williams plans on doing just that. After missing last weekend’s conference play, Quentin will join the Cats as they face Illinois this weekend.
“I can’t believe the time demands that he has,” Finn said. “The commitment he has given to both football and baseball is unbelievable. … He’s a great kid, and he’ll do great on both levels.”
