Former ASU QB

moves on to Winnipeg
By Steve Behr

At age 26, Richie Williams is the grand old man of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ quarterback staff.

Williams, the former Appalachian State standout quarterback, is getting a second chance to play professional football after being released by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in April. The Blue Bombers signed Williams in early June and made him one of four quarterbacks in the Winnipeg training camp.

Of the four quarterbacks, Williams has more Canadian Football League experience — three years — than the other three, which includes former Carolina Panthers draft pick Stefan LeFors. Williams is also 2-3 as a starting quarterback, with all five games playing in Hamilton.

“I think (experience) is a concern more with you guys in the media than it is with me,” Winnipeg head coach Mike Kelly told the Winnipeg Free Press. “We were kind of chuckling out there, 'Oh, geez, we don't have a CFL-experienced guy.' I'm not putting a whole lot of emphasis on that. I think we can teach our scheme and we can teach what the indicators are with the defense over the top... as long as the guy is intelligent and poised and possesses the physical skills then playing quarterback is playing quarterback.

“We’ve got guys here that are going to function just fine.”

Just for the record, the other Hamilton quarterbacks went 4-27 during Williams’ three seasons.

Williams passed for 2,077 yards and 11 touchdowns in his three seasons. He completed 60 of 100 passes in 2008 for 984 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 307 yards on 43 attempts.

Another attempt at rebuilding the moribund Tiger-Cats into respectability meant a revolving door of players — including quarterbacks — and left Williams as the odd man out.

But Williams doesn’t dwell on being released by the Ti-Cats, who were 3-15 last season and finished last in a weak East Division.

“It didn’t work out in the long run,” Williams said. “I”m past that point of my career.”

Instead, he looks forward to contributing to the Blue Bombers, who reached the Grey Cup in 2007, but slipped to an 8-10 record in 2008. Gone is quarterback quarterback Kevin Glenn, who led the Bombers to that game, but did not play because of a broken arm.

The 2009 edition features Williams, LeFors, Bryan Randall and James Kilian battling for roster positions and playing time. All four played in the team’s Blue and Gold game last Saturday.

Williams went 2-for-5 for 21 yards in nine minutes of playing time. LeFors went 4-for-11, but also had some passes dropped. They’ll get another chance to prove what they can do Wednesday night when the Bombers host Hamilton in their first preseason game.

“I missed a couple of throws,” he said of the Blue and Gold game. “Other than that, it went all right.”

Williams faced quarterback challenges in Hamilton and still feels confident he can contribute to the Bombers.

He said new coach Mike Kelly runs a much different offense than what the Tiger-Cats used. In Hamilton, the quarterback took the snap out of the shotgun formation.

In Winnipeg, the quarterback is under center more often. Even with the different offense, Williams enjoys the CFL style of play, which has just three downs to go 10 yards for a first down instead of the four played in the United States.

The field is also 110 yards long instead of 100 and the field is also much wider in Canada than in the United States.

It all means that the passing game takes on more urgency than in the American game.

“It’s real fun,” Williams said. “It’s wide open. It’s a passing league. There is lots of room to do some things and move and make good throws.”

Williams has also adjusted to life in Canada, which isn’t that much different than life in the United States. He lives in the Charlotte area and visits his native South Carolina during the offseason, but also likes life in Canada.

“There's really not that much difference,” he said. “They have different color money, but it still spends the same.”

He’s also not concerned about landing on an NFL roster at the moment and instead is concentrating on making the Bombers. Out of college, he had a tryout with the Chicago Bears, but was not invited to the team’s training camp. When he signed with the Tiger-Cats, he joined fellow Mountaineers Wayne Smith (tackle) and receiver DeVon Fowlkes on that roster.

Fowlkes was released and Smith was eventually traded to Saskatchewan.

“I’m not worried about that right now,” Williams said of the NFL. “I’ll cross that bridge if I get to it.”