Anderson Football has another D1 commitment in the fold as Jake Williford has committed to the University of Incarnate Word in. Williford was a 2-year letter winner for the Trojans, and he started along the offensive line as well as being a prolific long-snapper for Anderson.
Wiiliford told me that he chose UIW “because it is an amazing d1 program that is close to home” and he “really love[s] the coaching staff and winning culture there”. Just an hour and a half down the road in San Antonio, Incarnate Word has just recently made the move to Division 1 football. They’ve been competing at the FCS level since 2014 as members of the Southland Conference.
The road to playing D1 football isn’t easy, but Williford got there through dedication and hardwork. “Over the past year and a half practically my whole life had been dedicated to being able to play D1 football somewhere,” Williford said. He’s spent his time in frequent workouts, snapping sessions with his coach Zach Taylor, and traveling the country trying to get recruited.
Coach Hatcher furthered that sentiment of hardwork. Jake “never gives up, Jake knew he could get an offer he just had to keep grinding.” And that’s what Williford did. Coach Peter Zoumboukos, the Co-Offensive Coordinator and OL Coach at Anderson said that “Jake is an outstanding student/athlete who has worked incredibly hard for this opportunity.”
With these words of praise you can see just how hard Williford had to work to make it to the level he’s at now. He started snapping last Spring, and has quickly turned into a solid long-snapper for the Trojans, earning a 4.5 star long snapper rating from Kohl’s, ranking him as the 73rd best in the 2023 class.
Jake was named co-Special Teams MVP along with kicker Ben Lewis and was also an All-District Honorable Mention in 26-6A. Anderson Football contributed heavily to his success, and Williford spoke of the coaches helping him “through the recruiting process and put[ting him] in the position [he is] today.” He also named his long snapping coach Zach Taylor as his biggest football influence. He’s a former college longsnapper at the University of Oregon, and has been by Jake’s side in his fight to play D1 football.
A passionate and hard working player, Williford has a promising college career ahead of him at UIW. “We as a program are very thankful for his leadership and excited to continue watching him grow” Coach Zoumboukos said.
