Late Bloomer Quad Williams Influenced by Legendary Family, Goalies

The Wingate men’s lacrosse team has a history of winning.

Like most teams, the Bulldogs have had their fair share of offensive stalwarts, the most recent of which was Willie Greico who ended his career with 404 points. Due to the nature of sports in general, offensive players are not only given their flowers. They are inundated with bouquets of accolades.

Wingate’s winning ways were not just because of the offensive end. Wingate has been home to incredibly solid netminders like Siena transfer Johnny Caponi and Belmont Abbey graduate transfer Thomas Sullivan. This season, the Bulldogs went in a different direction and are off to a 6-1 start, conceded 8.3 goals per game.

A big part of that defense is junior goaltender Jasper “Quad” Williams — who might be one of the most interesting characters in Division II lacrosse.

“Do you prefer Jasper or Quad?” he was asked when interviewed for this story.

“Well, Jasper doesn’t stick, I will say that,” Williams said with a wry chuckle.

“I would rather call him Jasper too because I love that name,” Wingate head coach Tim Boyle said. “The last couple of years we went with transfers. It just worked out that way. Quad has been here, and we were watching him grow. I’ve always been hoping that he would take the job. That was fun to watch this year as he came back more ready than he has ever been.”

Williams has started all seven games this season, making 59 saves with a goals-against-average of 8.87. His best game actually came in the Bulldogs’ only loss, a 9-6 rock fight against Lenoir-Rhyne in which he made a career-high 18 saves.

“His confidence and his patience are remarkable,” Boyle said. “I think it’s something that happens with a lot of goalies. They all try to move and save the ball, and it’s hard to teach them to sit when guys are shooting so fast. It’s something that he has been working on, and in the game against Lenoir-Rhyne, his patience was at an all-time high. He sat and tracked the ball better than he had all year.”

The junior has learned to move on.

“He doesn't let things get to him, and I think that’s a huge piece for goalies,” Boyle said. “I think people forget that. He really shakes things off. He doesn't get flustered. Good goal, bad goal, knows he should have made the save — whatever it may be — he stays even-keeled.”

There’s no better example of that than the team's second game when Williams, who had given up four straight goals in the fourth quarter to Florida Southern, shut the door on what would have been the game-tying shot by Brydon Robichaud with 12 seconds left to preserve a 12-11 win.

Williams was a bit of a late starter in the recruiting process. After growing up outside of Atlanta playing for Greater Atlanta Christian School, Williams got onto Wingate’s radar because a teammate on his travel team (and now fellow Bulldog) Kyle Spence was getting recruited by the coaching staff.

“They were at a lot of our games, so I decided to send an email because I thought, ‘Why not?’ It was pretty late into the process, especially as a goalie. A lot of schools were picking up goalies, and spots were disappearing,” Williams said.

A visit to Wingate for a prospect day made all the difference.

“I remember having him at a prospect day the August before his senior year, and I just remember that all the coaches were in agreement that we need to try and get this kid,” Boyle said. “His ability to save the ball and his command of the crease as well as his infectious attitude, we loved all of that.”

A brief dalliance with Salisbury and interest from Berry notwithstanding, Wingate was where Williams wanted to go, even though the campus is over four hours away from home. It’s a small detail to Williams, who isn’t bothered by the distance at all. 

“It’s not really that far,” Williams said. “My parents are still able to make a day trip. They can go to the game and make it back in one day, which saves a lot of money. 

If you assumed the “Quad” nickname came from being the fourth member of his family to be named “Jasper Williams,” you’d be correct. What you might not know is who those other three Jasper Williams’ are.

In an exchange that will either make you feel very young or very old, Williams explained his nomenclature’s significance. 

“Do you know the song “R-E-S-P-E-C-T?” Williams asked. “All of the Jaspers before me were notable pastors in the southern region of America. One of them was my grandfather, who did Aretha Franklin’s funeral. All three of them have been in ministry.”

Williams’ playing style is interesting. He is a mixture of technique and aggression in the net. The farther out the ball is, the farther he will creep off his goal line to cut down a shot angle. But the closer the ball is, the more he stays in tight and on his pipe to cut down any unnecessary space between his net and the shooter.

He’s also not afraid to come out of the net and get a ground ball or even clear the ball himself if the other team is pressing his outlets. His influence on that style will not come as a surprise to any goalie who knows the position’s history.  

“My old goalie coach was Lenoir-Rhyne’s goalie when they went to the championship for the first time several years ago,” Williams said. “He was the one who made me watch tapes of the old Virginia goalie Tillman Johnson. I watched how he played and took notes from his game.”

Recruited late, and then influenced by his legendary family members and goaltenders, Williams wouldn't be a goalie if he didn't have one more interesting quirk to explore. He has a separate Instagram page dedicated to his culinary pursuits called @QuadsOnlyPans.

“It was a fun hobby for me,” Williams said. “I like cooking, and I got tired of posting on my story. I wanted to keep a menu for my own personal sake. And my friends like to look at it as well.”

“I like to look at it, too. He doesn’t post enough,” Boyle said. “I need to see more.”

In Williams, Boyle has found a more fixed solution in net than he’s had in years. In Wingate, Williams has found a team that allows him to play lacrosse and be a leader on and off the field.

But unlike his well-documented ability to get a perfect sear on a flank steak, the job isn’t finished.

“I think there is only one goal that we should have in mind,” Williams said. “And we have things that we know we need to fix and correct. We need to cross our T’s and dot our I’s, but I see us going pretty far.”