TE Travion Williams no longer on the team

[Irse]

JC basketball player commits to the football team. Hope he develops or it'll be a wasted scholarship. At least he is a 3 to play 2 so he can redshirt and learn the position. Another Antonio Gates? We can all hope.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/06/ ... tight-end/

[kapakahi]

Transfer from DII Cal-State Stanislaus (Turlock, CA.), originally from Fontana, CA., with 3 to play 2.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/06/ ... tight-end/
https://www.mwcconnection.com/2023/6/26 ... ommitments
https://warriorathletics.com/sports/men ... liams/7413

https://twitter.com/StephenTsai/status/1671592840697352192

Warriors sign basketball leaper turned tight end
By Stephen Tsai June 21, 2023

With a 37-inch vertical jump, Travion Williams is making the leap from basketball player to the University of Hawaii football team.

Williams, who is 6 feet 5 and 230 pounds, accepted a scholarship offer from the Rainbow Warriors. Williams, who will compete at tight end, will join UH next month and have three years to play two seasons.

“It feels unreal,” Williams told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Williams was a five-position basketball player for Division II Cal State Stanislaus the past two seasons. At the urging of friends, Williams agreed to attend last week’s Sacramento State-hosted Rising Stars football camp.

“The day before the camp, I bought cleats that night at about 10 p.m.,” said Williams, who had not played football since he was 6 years old. “The next day, the first time ever putting the cleats on, I went to the camp and I did my thing.”

With dozens of college coaches in attendance, Williams impressed with his footwork, physical play and one-on-one skills on routes. “There were a lot of (junior college) players there, and I was catching the ball on them,” Williams said.

Four UH assistant coaches, including co-offensive coordinator Roman Sapolu, approached Williams, who began receiving on-the-spot offers from other schools. On Tuesday, Williams announced his commitment to the Warriors.

“I went from every day working on the court to going out on the field, from basketball shoes to cleats, in 24 hours,” Williams said.

Williams said he was told his build, agility and physical play were appealing to football recruiters.

Williams, who grew up in Southern California’s Inland Empire, joined the Los Osos High basketball team as a sophomore. “I wasn’t good at all,” he said of his initial practices. “With time, I got a little better.”

As a junior, he could palm a basketball and dunk off 360-degree and windmill moves. “In high school, I had some ups,” he said of his vertical jump. “I kept getting bouncier in college.”

This past basketball season, he defended all five positions. On offense, he mastered screen-and-roll plays and postups — skills that translate to a tight end’s block-and-peel role. He was 13th among Division II players in offensive rebounding (3.4 per game). He had more offensive boards than defensive rebounds.

“I don’t want to toot my horn, but I have a knack for rebounding, knowing how to get to the ball,” he said. “A lot of my basketball translates to football. My hand work is pretty decent. I’ve got pretty good hands. I feel like a natural (tight end). When I felt contact (in the camp), I felt like I was at home.”

https://twitter.com/Mike_SBN/status/1673346269215961090

Visit Recap:

TE Travion Williams (Hawaii)

“I’m a basketball player, but am making the switch to football. I committed there after the Sacramento State camp. Hawaii was at the camp and I did pretty good, so they recruited me, the hardest out of the other schools. The coaches showed me the most love and I felt like a priority. I got a full-ride scholarship. So there were a lot of reasons why I choose Hawaii.”

https://twitter.com/travion_1/status/1669210543486566402

https://twitter.com/travion_1/status/1669921588660273153

https://twitter.com/travion_1/status/1669211091371696128

https://twitter.com/travion_1/status/1646147912240594944

https://twitter.com/ReierSavannah/status/1671332310812336129

https://twitter.com/coachsapolu/status/1671336342629019648

https://twitter.com/CoachShoeUH/status/1671354530930503681

https://twitter.com/keikiokalani/status/1671432284166291458

[SundayJam]

Okay...another awesome athlete. What position is he gonna play? Coaches gotta earn their pay: instruct, motivate, and utilize. Welcome, brother.

[My3Cats]

Hopefully a true diamond in the rough, along the lines of possibly Tony Akpan and Ikaika Alama-Francis?

[BigWave96744]

Hopefully a true diamond in the rough, along the lines of possibly Tony Akpan and Ikaika Alama-Francis?

Seeing this guy makes me think he'll make an awesome DE. Need more help on the Dline than another TE which we hardly utilize

[kapakahi]

Hopefully a true diamond in the rough, along the lines of possibly Tony Akpan and Ikaika Alama-Francis?

Seeing this guy makes me think he'll make an awesome DE. Need more help on the Dline than another TE which we hardly utilize

Started on the scout team following Fall Camp....but no longer on the scout team after showing steady improvement. Already has good ball-tracking skills & soft hands (from basketball) which allows him to high-point jump ball passes so will probably stay at TE/SB.

https://twitter.com/GuavaPressMedia/status/1690624442349879296

[TheDuke]

good to hear

[Al from VA]

Maybe he gets some playing time in the last 4-games to not only gain some experience, but preserve his redshirt.

[BigWave96744]

Maybe he gets some playing time in the last 4-games to not only gain some experience, but preserve his redshirt.

Not just him but maybe a few more true Frosh including QB Sagapolutele. I mean can't get any worst once we lose our 7th game

[Irse]

Maybe he gets some playing time in the last 4-games to not only gain some experience, but preserve his redshirt.

Not just him but maybe a few more true Frosh including QB Sagapolutele. I mean can't get any worst once we lose our 7th game

I'm hoping to see Jackson-Carter get into 4 games this year.

[Al from VA]

Maybe he gets some playing time in the last 4-games to not only gain some experience, but preserve his redshirt.

Not just him but maybe a few more true Frosh including QB Sagapolutele. I mean can't get any worst once we lose our 7th game

I'm hoping to see Jackson-Carter get into 4 games this year.

I'd like to see Eddie Osei-Nketia (EON) as well ... can't see Sagapolutele getting time w/the year that Schager's having at least w/NCAA rankings.

[BigWave96744]

I really think TW can be a 2 sport athlete and help the basketball team with someone who can bang in the paint. Guy is a beast

[kapakahi]

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2024/02/ ... iron-gang/
https://hawaiiathletics.com/sports/foot ... iams/21338

Williams went from having hoop dreams to being with a gridiron gang
By Stephen Tsai



Here’s the truth about the dare.

At the urging of friends and Cal State Stanislaus basketball teammates, Travion Williams agreed to attend the Sacramento State-hosted Rising Stars football camp last June.

There was a snag. Williams, a five-position basketball player, had never played organized football. On the eve of the camp, Williams bought cleats just before the store’s closing at 10 p.m. An hour later, Williams practiced running routes and catching passes from his friend Benno Zecic.

“We ended up being late,” Williams recalled. “I didn’t know where to go. One of the guys was like, ‘Just go to the tight-end group, so I went with the tight ends. I was in a wide-receiver stance, and they told me to go into a 3-point stance. I didn’t know what I was doing. But they did like me.”

The dozens of college coaches in attendance were impressed with Williams’ frame (6 feet 5, 230 pounds), athletic ability (37-inch vertical jump), footwork and determination. In basketball, Williams was 13th among Division II players in offensive rebounding, proving his post-up ability against defenders. He also mastered basketball’s screen-and-roll, useful for a tight end’s block-and-peel move.

After the camp, four University of Hawaii football coaches approached Williams. He received — and accepted — a scholarship offer from the Rainbow Warriors.

“I was blessed,” Williams said. “I never played football (before the camp).

Williams redshirted last season but was included on the Warriors’ travel roster for five of six road games. “Going on the trips made everything slow down for me,” Williams said of adjusting to Division I football.

Williams will have a role in the Warriors’ expanding run-and-shoot offense. The traditional run-and-shoot employs “10” personnel (a running back and no tight end). “But we want to make some ‘11’ personnel in there and create some mismatches with a tight end (against) safeties and linebackers,” said Thomas Sheffield, who coaches the UH tight ends.

At their previous coaching jobs at Nevada, UH head coach Timmy Chang and Sheffield used a tight end as one of the four receivers.

“We had a lot of success doing that at Nevada in the Air Raid system with an 11-personnel tight end.” Sheffield said. “We look forward to doing the same thing but in the run-and-shoot.”

In the first three practices of spring training, Devon Tauaefa and Williams received most of the reps when the Warriors replaced a slotback with a tight end. Tauaefa and Williams can align in the slot, wide, flexed in the backfield or attached to the offensive line.

“He’s coming along,” Sheffield said of Williams. “For someone who hasn’t played a lot of football, he’s picking it up fast. He’s doing a good job of putting in the extra work. It’s going to be a process, but if we get him to where we want to get him, he’s going to be tough to defend.”

Williams said he watches the slotbacks and other tight ends running their routes. “Asking questions is probably the biggest help,” Williams said. “Learning plays on paper is one thing. But when you get on the field, there are all these different coverages. It’s basically reading coverages and studying. I have a good environment of positivity around me. I have a really positive coach. Even when I mess up, (Sheffield) helps me focus on the next play.”

Williams said he also has support from the members of the “Wide Receiver House” on Seaview Avenue in Manoa. Slotback Pofele Ashlock and wideouts Alex Perry and Steve McBride invited Williams to live with them.

“It’s a family vibe,” said Williams, whose housemates share tips on routes while also recommending local cuisine. “I love that laulau. I love poke. And musubi? Fire. I’ve got to roll with that.”

[kapakahi]

Seeing this guy makes me think he'll make an awesome DE. Need more help on the Dline than another TE which we hardly utilize

Now listed as #42 in being switched over to DL from TE after wearing #24 just yesterday....

https://hawaiiathletics.com/sports/foot ... iams/21338

[BigWave96744]

Again a better fit than TE. This guy is ripped and could be a shorter version of Tony Akpan (bball player turned DE)