Sam Williams - North Carolina
Sam Williams has pretty much everything you would want in a complete midfielder. With a wide range of skills in his repertoire, he can play in various midfield roles or carry out nearly any assignment. Typically, he’s noted as a defensive midfielder, but specifically, he has more of a regista type role for North Carolina.
Already having played at the professional level on an academy contract, it’s not a question of whether he’ll play professionally one day, it’s more about what heights he’ll ultimately reach.
On the field, he has a notable presence and provides a great deal of involvement and availability, so teammates can usually always find him. His spatial awareness is a big attribute to his game, and for me, it’s also how he moves athletically and confidently around those spaces, covering a lot of ground with his stamina and speed without losing sight of his responsibilities.
In his current role as the main focal point of the midfield, Williams dictates the tempo and possession, and you’ll also notice that he is usually helping direct traffic. Some opponents have even made it a clear point to try to disrupt his influence on the game.
Something that is more evident when you see (and hear) him in person is that he plays with a real intensity. He has an all-action style reminiscent of the kind of midfielders I grew up watching, but with only four cautions over his two seasons in college, he appears to be more mindful and less reckless than the generation of old. For a modern reference, he’s almost like Douglas Luiz within Unai Emery’s system, if that helps paint the picture.
In his defending, he’s always reading the opponents and predicting their decisions ahead of time. In some clips, you’ll see him identify where the opposition is trending and almost arrive out of nowhere to challenge their possession. With great focus and attention, Williams is a ball hawk. He’s always dialed in and can also serve as a ball winning midfielder as a result.
Last season, the Tar Heels were one of the best defending teams in the country. They had a good back line of defenders, but I also tend to give credit for the organization and work rate that is typically undertaken by the midfield unit in which he leads, since I’m all about team defending.
Furthermore, Williams has been recognized as a top player in his age group, but sometimes I think he is overlooked due to being a college player. His initial decision to play in college was even considered questionable by some, but it’s not uncommon for New York Red Bulls teenagers to head to the Carolinas for a few years of collegiate soccer.
After his 2022 season with North Carolina, he was selected for the ACC All-Freshman Team where he played the entire season as a 17 year old, having taken online courses to graduate high school early. Then a few months later, in January 2023, Williams was invited to the Under-19 U.S. Men’s National Team training camp. He was only one of two collegiate players to attend, with Duke University and NYCFC’s Kamran Acito as the other.
If he were in any other MLS organization that was more desperate for midfielders, I imagine he would’ve already signed a professional contract by now, but it’s apparent that education is important to him, so maybe that was a bigger factor in the decision as well.
The New York Red Bulls first team also already has a solid group of young central midfielders in Frankie Amaya (23), Peter Stroud (21), and Daniel Edelman (20). Stroud, 2022 ACC Midfielder of the Year, has been pushed out to the right side of the midfield to accommodate each of them.
Edelman occupies a similar role to what Williams would have if he were with the first team. One year and ten months his senior, Edelman played throughout the 2021 USL Championship season with Williams, who first appeared on July 2, 2021 at 16 years, 3 months, and 15 days. They featured in the line-up together on occasion, but for the most part, Williams came on as a substitute in his first professional season. In the 2022 USL Championship season leading up to his start at North Carolina, he played the bulk of the minutes as a mainstay in the midfield.
There are several current first team players from that 2022 team including Jeremy Rafanello (Philadelphia Union), Serge Ngoma (NYRB), Juan Camilo Castillo (Fortaleza), Jason Pendant (Quevilly), and Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Minnesota).
For an equal age comparison, Ezra Widman was also on that roster. He has since departed Red Bulls for the New England Revolution and is now also in college with Syracuse. Widman was the only freshman on the 2023 roster, but only made cameo appearances for the Orange.
Both Widman and Williams turned 19 years old this March, so it brings up some fun statistics for Williams in comparison. Before his 19th birthday, he had already played two full college seasons with a combined 3,107 minutes with the Tar Heels, and he was named one of the captains as an 18 year old. In one and a half seasons with the New York Red Bulls II team, he set the record for most minutes in USL Championship competitions for an academy player with 2,068.
Heading into his sophomore season, Widman has been tabbed to be a future star, so the anticipation is building, and he’ll certainly be another player to keep an eye on this upcoming season as his potential role expands. North Carolina also has a large, competitive roster, so the difference is that Williams was simply undeniable from the very beginning. He cracked into Carlos Somoano’s starting eleven within his first few games and you couldn’t drag him off the field at this point.
Comparing the tape between Williams and Edelman, I think Williams is the better player and long-term prospect. I’m not saying Edelman isn’t a good player by any means, but I just think Williams has some additional attributes that would make him more exciting to a lot of clubs. He feels more similar to Columbus Crew’s Aidan Morris, with a higher end potential similar to that of former Red Bulls midfielder Tyler Adams.
But it still seems like Williams continues to fly under the radar a little bit. After making the ACC All-Freshman Team, he was only selected for the Third Team for both the ACC and United Soccer Coaches All-South Region in his second time out. People love their goals and assists though, and in his 2023 campaign, he only had one assist. His contributions haven’t shown up as much in those areas of a stat sheet, but make no mistake, he’s an important player. If overall performance data was more readily accessible, I’d be interested to see that.
Looking back, North Carolina were controversially bounced out of the NCAA National Championship tournament after a 1-0 loss to Oregon State in the quarterfinals. The Beavers played with an ineligible Javier Armas, who should’ve been suspended for yellow card accumulation. It’s hard to imagine what could’ve been if the Tar Heels advanced to play against familiar foe Notre Dame. Now with the Atlanta United organization, Armas was an important piece of the season long success for Oregon State. North Carolina probably feel like they could’ve done more in that quarterfinal match regardless of the infraction, but he did have some key defending moments that kept Vician and Huerman from challenging Luis Castillo in the 21st and 29th minutes. Vician also hit the post and Al Qaq had a chance in the early stages of the second half, but they couldn’t equalize.
Looking forward, North Carolina have looked strong in their Spring College Cup appearances against Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. Notable departures include Quenzi Huerman who is with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, now Atlanta United 2 defender Matt Edwards, and Ernest Bawa who transferred to Syracuse for his final season.
An incoming fullback with a similar resume to Sam Williams is Tate Johnson. He also made a professional debut at 16 years old in the USL Championship with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Young forwards Andrew Kitch and Daniel Lugo look to provide the Tar Heels with a little more offense in 2024. Local veteran attacking threat Luke Hille transferred to Chapel Hill for his last season as well. Williams has also been known to have a go from distance, so if he starts to connect on some of those chances, I’d expect a few goals as well as assists this upcoming season.
The highlight video below covers his passing and positioning, range of passing, defending related skills, and it ends with his shooting ability.
Click Here for Sam Williams 2023 NCAA Soccer Highlights with North Carolina