Junior To Watch: Derrick Williams One More

Junior to Watch: Derrick Williams

School: Bellflower (Calif.) Saint John Bosco Prep

Position: Defensive Back/Running Back

Size and Speed: Derrick stands 6-foot-0, weighs 200 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. Williams has great strength with 340-pound bench.

Statistics: Don’t let the lack of rushing stats fool you. Derrick is heck of a running back. He shared the ball with two other players last season. Williams rushed for 765 yards with an average of 7.0 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns. On defense opposing teams wanted nothing to do with Derrick, avoiding him as much as possible. Williams still racked up 57 tackles, six pass breakups and two interceptions.

Honors: Derrick was selected team co-MVP with Joe Cowan. Only one other underclassman ever won the coveted MVP award in the 60 years the school has been in existence. Not to shabby. Both Derrick and Cowan are back for an encore in 2002. Williams was also all-league and all-area his junior season.

Favorite Schools: Stanford, UCLA and Tennessee are the early favorites according to St. John Bosco head coach Kiki Mendoza. But Mendoza let Rivals know that the entire Pac 10 and LSU are interested in the talented two-way performer.

The Skinny: Derrick has started at tailback since his freshman year. “Derrick is a very special player,” said St. John Bosco head coach Kiki Mendoza. “He has a dominating presence on the field. Derrick is a very physical athlete and teams tended to stay away from him. We had to create ways for Derrick on defense to get in the action. That’s how much respect the opposition showed him. Though teams stayed out of his area, Derrick was still very productive.”

Derrick is a team first type of guy. He doesn’t care what side of the ball he plays on when he reaches the D1 level, wherever he can help the team most is where he wants to play.

To give an idea of what an outstanding athlete Derrick he won the underclassman of the Nike camp last year at Palo Alto. The kicker is Derrick was 45 minutes last due to his car breaking down on the way there so he didn’t have time warm-up. He is simply amazing.

Williams is also a great baseball player and could get drafted by major league baseball in 2003. He is one of the best center fielders on the high school level and pretty darned good lead off hitter.

Derrick will be at UCLA’s junior day tomorrow with other top players from southern California. He is expected to receive his first offer of the year at the event. Williams attended UCLA’s football camps the last two years, so he’s no stranger to the program…

Saint John Bosco head coach Kiki Mendoza wants you to keep your eye on sleeper wide receiver and free safety Michael Chowthan. Michael stands 5-foot-11, weighs 170 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. Playing in the shadow of super prospects, Derrick Williams and Joe Cowan, Michael should carve out a name for himself this season. “Michael is one special athlete,” said Mendoza. “He’s a great kid who will do anything you ask of him.”

Michael caught 19 passes for 440 yards while averaging 23.2 yards per catch and four TDs. On defense, Michael had 23 tackles, one pick and one caused fumble from his safety position. He also returns punts…