DAYTON, Ohio — As the North team found the end zone for a first-quarter touchdown in the Ohio North-South Classic two weekends ago, Eric Glover-Williams grabbed the ball from teammate Andy Isabella and headed over toward the sideline. Glover-Williams’ teammates gathered around him as he tossed the football into the air and when it hit the ground, the entire North team fell on its back as if the ball were a grenade.
It was a brief moment of celebration, but it also showcased something bigger: Glover-Williams certainly doesn’t shy away from the spotlight.
He’s flashy and confident on the field and the 2015 Ohio State signee isn’t afraid to show it.
“If that’s best for him then that’s best for him,” future Buckeye teammate Rashod Berry said of Glover-Williams. “Whatever works out there for him, I want him to keep doing it.”
There’s no denying Glover Williams’ talent. He’s a big play waiting to happen and the North-South Classic — the nation’s longest running high school all-star game — was no different.
Glover-Williams, a four-star prospect who was listed as a defensive back on Ohio State’s Signing Day press release, played both cornerback and wide receiver in the North-South Classic. He was targeted on a couple deep balls on offense — though he did not haul any in — and was one of the top cover corners on the field. Glover-Williams also showed flashes of his athletic ability as a punt returner, nearly breaking a couple for long touchdowns.
“He came to Friday Night Lights and that is one competitive dude,” Ohio State cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs said of Glover-Williams on National Signing Day. “I am so excited about coaching him and what he’s going to bring to the room and to the team. He and Damon Webb may be the two most competitive kids on the daggone field in the fall. I’m really excited about that.”
That competitive side sometimes gets the better of Glover-Williams, though, and that appeared to be the case at the North-South Classic, at least on a couple of plays.
The two teams combined for 11 personal foul penalties in the first half of the game and as Glover-Williams was jawing with future teammate Robert Landers on the sideline, the referees threw one of those flags on the 5-foot-9, 170 pound cornerback — his second of the game — and ejected him.
It was only temporary, though, as it was an all-star game and once Glover-Williams had a chance to explain to the refs that it was just friendly trash talk between he and his future teammate (Landers was playing for the South team), he was allowed to return to the game.
“He’s a pretty cool guy, socializing with everybody on our team, no trash talk really,” Landers said of the incident. “He’s got good sportsmanship.”
Glover-Williams was unavailable for comment on the situation following the game, but did offer up his thoughts on Twitter.
I ain't Get thrown out the Game
— EGW (@LastKing_Glover) April 26, 2015
However, incidents like this one — as minor as it may have been — were always part of Glover-Williams' long and winding road to Ohio State.
"You always got eyes looking at you, there’s a lot of things that you don’t really see, there’s a lot of stuff that you’ve got to grow up and mature as early as you can,” he said on National Signing Day. "I’ve grown up so much, it’s kind of surprised myself.”
There’s no denying Glover-Williams’ talent, though. He’ll be a dynamic playmaker for the Buckeyes if everything comes together.
“What I’ve learned about Eric is he’s a great, look-you-in-the-eye-and-listen-to-you guy. He gets it,” Coombs said on Signing Day. “And so far, everything single thing I’ve asked that kid to do along the way and along the journey, he has done. So my expectation is that that’s what he’s going to continue to do here at Ohio State. I’m excited about that.”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The North-South Classic was chippy from the get-go and the refs kind of let things get out of hand. There was a lot of trash talking from both teams that started even during warmups. Not sure why that was the case, it was an all-star game after all, but you could tell things were headed in the wrong direction early and that's why there were 11 personal foul penalties in the first half. The "ejection" of Glover-Williams was, I think, the refs' way of trying not to lose complete control of the game (they had already lost part of it).
I looked for Glover-Williams after the game for an interview, but as I was talking with other players (Rashod Berry, Robert Landers) he may have left the field. It was kind of a free-for-all, wasn't very organized and it was hard to track down some guys. I don't want it to come across like he didn't want to talk about the situation or anything because I didn't have a chance to ask him about it.
