He’s SDSU’s Traveling Lineman : Greg Williamson Seems Settled, Now, at Offensive Tackle

In future years, anyone who asks Greg Williamson what position he played for San Diego State should be prepared to spend the evening.

The answer takes a little longer than a lecture, but not quite as long as a filibuster.

Williamson was recruited from North Bakersfield High School in 1982 as an offensive tackle. The day he arrived on campus, he was switched to defensive tackle for his freshman redshirt season.

That was only the beginning.

In 1983, he was a freshman center. In 1984, he made two round trips between offensive and defensive tackle. In 1985, he stayed on the defensive line.

This year, it’s back to the moving van for the 6-5, 260-pound lineman. Williamson, coming off surgery for torn cartilage in his left knee, is a starting offensive tackle.

“Sometimes I wish I would’ve played one position all the time,” Williamson said. “I’d probably be better at what I do. You have to do what you can to help the team the most.”

Going into this season, SDSU had a need on the offensive line. Four of last year’s five starters were seniors.

Because of Williamson’s playing background, he was considered a natural for switching.

“He had some experience in the offensive line,” Coach Denny Stolz said. “We don’t intend to move him anymore now. He has a home at left tackle. That’s where we want him.”

That’s just what Williamson wants to hear. Though he believes in the anything-for-the-team concept, he never meant to establish a school record for most position changes in a career.

In retrospect, Williamson said he would have chosen offensive tackle, anyway, if he had been given the choice from the beginning.

“That’s what I played the most in high school,” he said. “I liked defense when I was first moved. When I was moved to center as a freshman, it was a shock.”

Even more shocking was when he went from offensive tackle to defensive tackle to offensive tackle to defensive tackle as a sophomore.

“During the year when I did that, I didn’t think it was too good of a deal,” Williamson said. “I didn’t learn as much, and I didn’t get as many repetitions in practice. I think that sophomore year slowed my progress.”

Virtually everything has been a cultural shock for Williamson since leaving North Bakersfield.

Going from a small community to a big city is a difficult enough transition. Switching positions adds to the adjustment.

At North Bakersfield High, nobody ever questioned where Williamson would play or what he would do. He earned awards as team most valuable player and the South Yosemite League’s Lineman of the Year in 1981.

Back then, the football atmosphere was much different.

“Everyone went to the high school game on Friday night and the JC game on Saturday night,” Williamson said. “When I came here, nobody was too interested in football except the people around it. I don’t feel like I’m on top of the world anymore, so to say.”

SDSU coaches say Williamson is on top of his game again. His preseason performance at left tackle has helped lessen the concern about whether the line will be able to protect quarterback Todd Santos.

“He has done a good job of going with the flow,” said Ulima Afoa, an offensive line coach. “He’s valuable in the sense that he will do a good job wherever you ask him to play. He has a mean streak in him, too. He’s one of those kids who will switch it on and off. On defense, he has a defensive temperament. On offense, he still has a defensive temperament, but he turns it off a little bit.”

The torn cartilage slowed Williamson considerably. He suffered the injury in the second-to-the-last game of 1985 and was unable to participate in this spring’s practices.

Trainer Don Kaverman described the injury as a “degenerative condition” in which the cartilage under the surface of the kneecap has roughened.

“His knee is in good shape--perfectly functional,” Kaverman said. “It’s really no problem. The knee will be sore periodically. But whose knee isn’t who plays football?”

Williamson said he considers the knee 85% recovered.

“I’ve mainly had problems with swelling,” he said. “It’s something you have to deal with when you play football. I’ll guarantee you there’s not one guy out here without an injury or pain. What I’m faced with becomes second nature on the field. I don’t even think of it.”

Aztec Notes The Aztecs will have their annual kickoff banquet tonight at Sea World. There will be no-host cocktails at 5:30, dinner at 6:30 and a pep rally at 8. Cost is $25. Season ticket holders with an Aztec Plus card may attend just the pep rally for $1 if they obtain tickets today at the Aztec ticket office.