![]() ![]() A quick shoulder dip and roll off the defender's hands changes that. Repeatedly throughout the tournament, it’s appeared as if Williams has no shot. He noted that he and Williams bring their bodies close into defenders, which not only prevents checks but also allows the attackman to dictate where the defender’s positioning. Rambo, who’s described himself on the NBC Sports broadcast as “a little thicc,” admired how Williams uses his body. ![]() And they certainly couldn’t believe it when the broadcast previewing a Whipsnakes game listed him at 185 pounds. ![]() They couldn’t believe it when he threw around 300 pounds on the squat rack or exploded into box jumps. The first thing Whipsnakes head coach Jim Stagnita said when he finally met Williams in person at the Utah bubble was “Holy s***.” He, like the rest of the Whipsnakes, couldn't believe the size of Wiliams. “I wasn't sure what I was doing but I started seeing results, and I started seeing results in my game too. “I didn't have a trainer or nothing,” Williams said. Just about the same routine every day added 15-20 pounds of muscle onto Williams frame. He biked five miles a day, squatted, and hit every cable machine the gym had. Rather than Google a fancy diet or follow a workout off Instagram, Williams kept it simple. Then a professional lacrosse rookie, Williams realized the daycare crew at Catalyst Fitness in Buffalo could watch his daughter while he worked out for about two hours. He quit his job when his daughter was born two-and-half years ago and became a stay-at-home dad, though he still found a way to work. “It's sort of a cocksure, swagger give me the ball and get out of my way dodging style he has, which just completely isn't his personality."Īfter college, where Wiliams was dubbed Zedzilla by the University of Virginia football players, he married and had a daughter. “He's really playing an initiator role for the Whipsnakes and he's playing a role that would seem to suggest just the opposite (of who he is),” Tiffany said. But he’s not the uproarious goal scorer people may think. He’s played the role of Zedzilla, the 6’2 230-pound goal-scoring machine that’ll flank the opposite of Matt Rambo at attack when the Whipsnakes faceoff against the Redwoods Thursday at 10:30 p.m. Throughout the Championship Series, Williams singles have included brash charges to the cage and quick release goals. He plays lacrosse the way the Whipsnakes preach: Limited talk in the media and always, always, hit singles. He once finished second in the country in ground balls for non-faceoff specialists and served as more of a distributor in college than a scorer. He’s willing to fill any role to win lacrosse games. He really doesn’t care to score the ball, it just so happens he’s really good at it. ![]() Having grown up on the Cattaraugus Reservation just south of Buffalo, New York, Williams appreciates the sport of lacrosse more than most. That’s not selfish shooting but rather smart lacrosse. When he’s asked how he manages to make defenders fall to the turf or tiptoe around the crease, he points out the teammates that set him up. When his old college coach Lars Tiffany congratulates him on a performance, Williams’ deflects the praise and asks about Tiffany’s family. The man who’s had as many goals go viral over the course of the Championship Series as anyone doesn’t even have a following on any social media platform. He’s really not the kind of person to talk about himself at all. He knows his throwing motion sets him apart, but he’s not the kind of person to talk about it. To compare a shot form that’s led to at least a hat trick in four straight games to the infamous throwing motion of one of Hollywood’s worst athletes is as self-deprecating as it gets. The comparison not only explains Williams’ shot releases but also his personality. That short speedy motion has caught goalies off guard in his first season with the PLL as Williams 14 goals currently leads the league in goals. Only the chicken wing works a lot better for Williams than it did for Uncle Rico trying to throw a football “over them mountains.” William’s quick snap of the wrist leads to a faster release. “Like a chicken wing throw,” Williams says. The flailing throw is all wrist and forearms, no legs or body torque. Yes, that Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite. Zed Williams likens his football throwing motion to Uncle Rico. ![]()
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