BYU cornerback Shamon Willis (32) looks to the sideline during the Cougars’ 28-25 win over then-No. 14 Boise State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. | Jaren Wilkey/BYU
BYU sophomore Shamon Willis, a Weber State transfer who made his first career start against Boise State, ‘has been our smartest corner,’ says assistant head coach Ed Lamb
PROVO — As former BYU running back star Jamal Willis watched his son, Shamon, make his first career start, at cornerback, in the Cougars’ victory over No. 14 Boise State on Oct. 19, he felt a strong sense of fatherly pride.
“Sometimes I’m a hard critic. But he played awesome. He played with intensity and played like he understood what he was doing,” Jamal said. “I’ve always known he has the talent. The kid amazes me. Since he was 6 years old, he’s always had athletic ability. He’s put it all together and I was really impressed. I was proud of him.”
Of course, Jamal knows everything his son has gone through to make that first start possible.
Shamon Willis’ ascension up the depth chart at cornerback this fall has been one of the surprises of BYU’s 2019 season.
“Shamon’s been fantastic. We had him here in (fall) camp. At that time, we didn’t feel like he was ready to join the team then,” said assistant head coach and linebackers coach Ed Lamb. “He’s either developed a lot or it was a mistake on our part because he’s come in and shown to play a critical role for us. In my mind, Shamon has been our smartest corner at this point. He’s the one that understands the techniques, the speed of the game, the flow of the game, the tendency of the offense. He’s been Johnny-on-the-spot with his play.”
How did Shamon feel about his performance in his first start?
“It’s something I’ve always dreamed about since I was younger. It was like, ‘enjoy the moment but take advantage of the opportunity that I was given,’” said the 5-foot-10, 180-pound sophomore. ”I feel like I did pretty good. There’s obviously things that, now that I’m getting more experience, I can do better. I learned a lot from the first game. But overall I feel like I was able to do what I wanted to do but there’s obviously things I can get better at.”
Shamon credits his dad for helping him develop as a player.
“He’s been an influence on me since I was in diapers. I remember him taking me outside and we’d do footwork drills, football drills, anything,” he said. “Then when I got older in high school, he was the one I’d go to for everything. He’s taught me probably the most about football than anybody has. I’ve definitely learned a lot from him.”
Out of high school, Shamon received scholarship offers from Weber State, Air Force and Navy. He attended Weber State, where he redshirted in 2018.
“After he redshirted, he decided that BYU was where he always wanted to be and where he needed to be,” Jamal said. “That started the journey where he had to get an associate’s degree (at Snow College) so he could go right to BYU and play.”
“It’s been a long process for me, individually. I’ve had to work so hard,” Shamon said. “Things aren’t given to you, obviously. You’ve got to work hard. I’m enjoying the moment but not being satisfied with where I’m at. I just want to get better each and every time I come out here to practice. I just want to get better and help my team out.”
Shamon played running back, like his dad, as well as wide receiver when he was younger. Then circumstances led him to play on the defensive side of the ball.
“He’s always been an offensive-minded player. As time went on, that was the biggest concern from coaches, that he was athletically gifted but he didn’t have my size,” said Jamal, who stands 6-3. “That’s why a lot of schools in the recruiting process said, ‘Yeah, he’s athletic but he’s small.’ For the majority of his high school career, he was 5-8. It kind of dawned on me that for him to play at the next level, he was going to have to play receiver or corner. When he started to play corner, in high school, it came natural to him. He realized that to make a splash, he needed to focus on corner. He’s really coming into his own. He’s always been a student of the game. He’s a lot smarter football player than I ever was. I relied on my talent, my size and my speed. He’s always relied on his knowledge. That’s what is intriguing. When you put skill with knowledge, then you get a player.”
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Tom Smart, Deseret News
Jamal Willis was the Cougars’ all-time leading rusher from 1993 until 2006, when he was supplanted by Curtis Brown. Harvey Unga took over the top spot in 2009 and then in 2016, Jamaal Williams eclipsed Unga to lay claim to that title.
Jamal currently serves as associate director of BYU’s multicultural student support services. He also started a youth football league called NYFL and he owns Cutback Elite Training.
One of Jamal Willis’ teammates at BYU was running back Kalin Hall and the two teamed up in the Cougar backfield from 1992-93. But their connections go much deeper than that. For Jamal Willis and Kalin Hall, their legacies have extended to the next generation.
Jamal Willis and Kalin Hall both married BYU gymnasts. Kalin’s son, Jaren, is a BYU quarterback and he made his first career start Oct. 12 at South Florida. Jaren and Shamon are marrying their fiancees in November.
“Our wives are gymnasts. They were friends. We came to the same school and we both came from Las Vegas,” Jamal said. “Our two boys are getting married next month. It’s funny. It’s not like we’re planning it. It seems like it’s just happening. People say, ‘Are you copying each other?’ It’s amazing how lives evolve, including with our kids. It’s a great opportunity for Jaren and Shamon to have a friendship through this. I think it’s great. The good thing is, their future wives don’t know each other. That would be real weird.”
Not surprisingly, Shamon and Jaren have known each other for years.
“We actually played little league against each other a long time ago. We’ve been football buddies throughout our whole lives,” Shamon said. “It’s fun to relive those old times and talk about our dads and their experiences together.”
Do they watch old BYU games of their dads playing?
“We haven’t watched them together,” Shamon said. “It’s getting hard to watch those tapes nowadays. But we talk about it a lot. It’s fun.”
While Jaren has been getting healthy after suffering an injury at South Florida, Shamon is becoming a contributor on BYU’s defense.
“Shamon has been the biggest surprise to me. There’s no way to know in recruiting a guy how intelligent he is on the field. Shamon brings good speed and good ability and good technique and skills,” Lamb said. “But the best thing he brings to our defense right now and our cornerback room in particular is, he just knows where to be. He’s an incredibly smart player and it’s starting to show up more and more each week.”
Jamal instilled plenty of positive qualities in Shamon, including toughness.
“He kind of gave everything to me,” he said. “I’m a different body type and I’m a different type of athlete but he tried to instill that (toughness) in me young. I’m very grateful for that.”
And as Jamal watched him start in his first college game, Shamon said, “He was just excited and proud to be a dad and see my goals come true.”
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