By Chris Hughes
SouthernPigskin.com

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Junior Williams and Tim Buckley are the ultimate diamonds in the rough. Hey recruiting coordinators, take note. Junior and Tim’s got game.

Two special players with a promising future playing on Saturdays will clash this Friday in Raleigh when Fayetteville’s Douglas Byrd High School travels to Cardinal Gibbons High School. This week is the second round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association football playoffs and when you start getting into November, it becomes a realization that some special high school careers are almost over.

Junior Williams is not only the quarterback for Byrd, he’s also the heartbeat of the team. Williams, a four-year starter has played in all but one high school game during his career at Byrd. He shared time in the backfield as a running back as a freshman and sophomore and moved to quarterback his junior year. He’s the spark that ignites the dangerous Byrd offense but he’ll face another player with an equally impressive resume when the Eagles take the field against Gibbons.

Tim Buckley is one of the best players in the Greater Raleigh area and has had medium interest from Notre Dame during his high school career. He’s been rated as a two-star athlete by many of the national services and could find himself at a FCS or FBS school next year.

Buckley is a two-way player who is primarily a hard hitting safety but has also carried his team by running from the backfield. His 142 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns were huge as he led his team past red hot Overhills in the opening round of the playoffs.

Williams has been a relative unknown in recruiting circles but could be a great fit at an FCS school in the South. He also knows that he’ll have to play his best football of the year to beat Cardinal Gibbons and Buckley but also knows that his team is more physical and will be the toughest test for the 10-2 Crusaders.

“I’ve seen them on film and I don’t think they’ve seen anybody with our intensity,” Williams said. “We’ll try to isolate him (Buckley) and see if he can compete with our toughness.”

Williams has been using his physical game to compete since he stepped on Douglas Byrd’s campus in 2007. He rushed for 1,272 yards and scored 11 touchdowns as a running back during his freshman and sophomore seasons in North Carolina’s toughest 4A division, the Mid-Southeast Conference. Since moving to quarterback he’s passed for 1,756 yards with 23 touchdowns through the air and rushed for 2,444 yards and scored 25 touchdowns on the ground while running Byrd’s veer offense.

At 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, Williams is most likely going to be recruited as a running back but he’s also the hardest hitting member of the team and with his 4.5 40-yard dash time he could also play at outside linebacker in college.

However playing in college is the farthest thing from Williams’ mind right now. “I’m not concerned with college recruiting. That will take care of itself after this year,” Williams said. “I don’t care if I play at a big school, a small school, near home or far away. I can adjust to any situation.”

“Right now I’m just concerned with Cardinal Gibbons and getting back to the state championship game.” He added.