The last few months have been quite hectic for Jonas Williams.
Williams, rated as a four-star quarterback recruit by Rivals.com as he heads into his junior season, has experienced a recruiting whirlwind this spring, receiving scholarship offers from just about every major college football program. Alabama was added to that list on June 19.
Oh yeah, and Williams is also settling in at his new high school. In January, he transferred from Bolingbrook to Lincoln-Way East.
“I think me and my parents have done a good job balancing it all,” Williams said. “I’m not too caught up in my recruitment. It’s a good thing on my side, but football is a team sport and I’m focused on building that chemistry with my teammates so we can win games.
“I’m balancing it right now, and when the time comes to make a (college) decision, it will happen.”
Williams emerged as a star as a freshman at Bolingbrook, throwing for 2,737 yards and 37 touchdowns. Last fall, the Raiders struggled to a 3-6 record and Williams battled injuries, still ending up with over 2,900 yards and 31 TDs.
Now, he’s ready to help Lincoln-Way East chase a state championship.
“I came here in January, and it was pretty smooth for the most part,” Williams said. “I didn’t have any issues. I got along with my teammates and they welcomed me in with open arms, so it was good.”
Senior tight end Trey Zvonar, who recently committed to Miami of Ohio and is the son of Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar, said it’s been easy to develop a strong relationship with his new quarterback.
“It’s been great so far,” Trey said. “Our connection has been really good since he came early in January. Getting to know him and getting to play with him has been nice.
“Our connection has been great with him and all our receivers.”
Lincoln-Way East’s Cade Serauskis (10) gets congratulated by teammate Trey Zvonar (82) after scoring in the first half against Bolingbrook during a SouthWest Suburban Blue game on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
Williams said when he was a Lincoln-Way East opponent, he respected the Griffins for always being “very tough, physical and disciplined.”
Now, he’s seeing firsthand how that develops, citing 4:30 a.m. wake-ups for 5 a.m. workouts, along with two or three practices on some days.
It’s exactly the environment Williams wants to be in.
“I think this will prepare me for college because this is like a college-run program,” Williams said. “I’ve gone on visits and seen how colleges run practices, and it’s essentially the same thing here. Everything we do is basically replicated off college practices.
“It’s going to prepare me being coached really hard. They don’t care if I’m a four-star with big offers. Everyone is treated the same. It’s making me a better man, too, off the field. It’s making me a better leader.”
Williams’ breakout performance as a freshman came on his new home field when he threw for 402 yards and five TDs in a 42-32 loss to the Griffins.
“He was 14 years old and he came in and did that against our defense when we ended up finishing second in the state,” Rob Zvonar said. “We thought it was going to be a long few years facing him. We had no idea he’d ever end up here.”
Lincoln-Way East has mostly been known as a hard-nosed team that will beat you with running the ball and defense.
With Williams at quarterback, expect the Griffins to open things up a bit.
“We’re not going to write a whole new playbook,” Rob Zvonar said. “But when you have a special talent like that, we don’t ever want to get to the end of the game and think, ‘Oh, we didn’t throw the ball enough.’”
For his part, Williams said he isn’t concerned about his stats possibly taking a hit.
“I’m all about winning,” Williams said. “I don’t care if I throw for 50 yards or throw two passes if we win. I think we might show a little more (with the passing game) than the past couple years.
“But we’ll see what our offensive coordinator calls up on Friday nights.”
