defensive back

Third in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Madden Williams, St. John Bosco receiver.

If blockers are a quarterback’s best friends, what are receivers?

“It’s our job to make the quarterback look good,” St. John Bosco’s Madden Williams said.

Few teams in Southern California start the 2025 season with a better collection of receivers than the Braves.

It begins with the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Williams, a Texas A&M commit who caught 13 touchdown passes as a junior. Then there’s Oklahoma commit Daniel Odom, San Jose State commit Carson Clark, super sophomores Darren Tubbs and Landon Perkins and two highly regarded freshmen.

“Not only is it our best group but deepest,” coach Jason Negro said.

In 2019, St. John Bosco had Logan Loya, Kris Hutson and Beaux Collins at the receiver positions. They ended up at UCLA, Washington State and Clemson, respectively.

Now sophomore quarterback Koa Malau’ulu will be the beneficiary of an electric receiver group that will force defenses to pick their poison. Double team one and you’ll get burned by another.

“Whomever they try to double, the others will go off,” Williams said.

As a freshman last season, Malau’ulu looked for Williams to deliver big plays. And that’s what he did, reinforcing the quarterback’s confidence in him.

“I would say what makes him great is that he has no weakness,” Malau’ulu said. “He’s a go-getter. Whenever we can go get extra work, he’s there. He’ll get any ball in his vicinity. He’s fast, strong and physical — everything you want in a receiver.”

Williams trusts his hands and uses fundamental techniques to make plays. His length gives him an advantage over smaller defenders. And once the ball is near him, his hands find a way to catch it like a magnet attracted to metal.

“Hands are the strongest pieces of my game,” he said. “You make sure you look the ball in. A lot of people are too worried what they’re going to do after a catch. One-hand catches are cool, but only do it when you have to do it.”

As for dealing with defensive backs who are aggressive and strong, Williams said, “The strategy is making sure you don’t let them touch you. That’s what we work, on releases and not let the defensive backs redirect. We know the route we’re running. We have to make sure they do not take us off the route we have. Sometimes they guess right, but most of the time I don’t think they can — at least against me.”

The individual duel between receiver and defensive back is like a football version of cat-and-mouse.

“It’s always you and the defensive back,” Williams said. “You’re on an island and it’s who’s better at the end of the day.”

Defensive coordinator Chris King has called Williams “unguardable.” Williams responded with seven catches for 252 yards and three touchdowns against Sierra Canyon last season.

“He’s got such great route running ability, knows leverage and understands coverages,” Negro said. “He’s super savvy and his football IQ is off the charts.”

Williams also played on the basketball team even though he was a reserve. He said the practices were helpful developing the skills needed for football.

In the end, Williams follows a motto that he hopes will carry him forward in sports and in life.

“What happens in the dark will always be brought to light,” he said. “I’m going to be grinding in the dark and when it’s time to shine in the light, I will play the best.”

Friday: Servite tight end Luke Sorensen.

Receivers to watch

Demare Dezeurn, Palisades, 5-11, 175, Jr. One of the fastest in California should dominate in City Section

Troy Foster, Huntington Beach, 6-2, 205, Sr.: Colorado State commit caught 15 touchdowns

Quentin Hale, L.A. Cathedral, 6-3, 175, Jr.: Caught 14 TDs as a sophomore

Chris Henry Jr., Mater Dei, 6-6, 200, Sr.: Ohio State commit is finally healthy and ready to put on show

Trent Mosley, Santa Margarita, 5-11, 170, Sr.: USC commit is big-play weapon and tough to stop

Daniel Odom, St. John Bosco, 6-3, 190, Sr.: Oklahoma commit has size to be a top player

Vance Spafford, Mission Viejo, 5-11, 175, Sr.: Miami commit has tremendous speed and great hands

Madden Williams, St. John Bosco, 6-2, 190, Sr.: Physicality, strength, instincts make him big-time target

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Mater Dei, 6-3, 180, Sr.: Ohio State commit delivers one big catch after another

Luc Weaver, Sherman Oaks Dame, 6-3, 195, Sr.: USC commit has improved speed, work ethic, aggressiveness

“Welcome home.”

A Long Beach Poly assistant football coach offered a warm greeting to Mater Dei football coach Raul Lara on Saturday morning before the start of a summer passing tournament at Poly.

Lara, a Poly graduate who won five Southern Section championships in 13 seasons as the Jackrabbits’ head coach, was struck by some of the changes he saw, such as an all-weather sports field and bungalows on the old baseball field. The school has begun a $450-million construction project.

“I haven’t been here in a while,” Lara said. “They’re doing a lot of reconstruction. It’s pretty neat. It will be interesting when it’s completed. We didn’t have this. We had a dirt track, regular grass field. We used to have a pole by those two trash cans and we had a coach, Don Norford, that every time he yelled, ‘Hit the pole,’ everybody knew they were in trouble.”

Lara won a Southern Section Division 1 title and state championship last season in his first year at Mater Dei, and his team is a heavy favorite to repeat thanks to strong offensive and defensive lines as well as a receiving group that includes receiver Chris Henry Jr., who has commited to Ohio State, and tight end Mark Bowman, who has committed to USC.

“That group is special,” he said of his receiver group that includes Ohio State commit Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Georgia commit Gavin Honore and senior Koen Parnell.

Still to be decided is who starts at quarterback, with Wisconsin commit Ryan Hopkins competing with Minnesota commit Furian Inferrera. Asked if he could end up playing both, Lara said it was possible.

Asked if he was still having fun, Lara said, “It’s a different kind of fun. It’s more of a CEO fun. I have an awesome staff. All I do is make sure it’s functioning. They do a fantastic job.”

Saturday’s competition featured a rarity in that three outstanding tight ends were in the spotlight — Bowman, a USC commit; Andre Nickerson of Inglewood, an Southern Methodist commit; Jaden Hernandez of Poly, a Colorado State commit. Defensive backs were pushing and shoving and the tight ends were having none of that.

Long Beach Poly tight end Jaden Hernandez makes a catch.

(Craig Weston)

Mayfair has two college-bound defensive backs in Chaz Gilbreath (UC Davis) and Miles Mitchell (Air Force). Mitchell has a 4.5 grade-point average.

Poly’s Donte Wright is a junior cornerback committed to Georgia with a big upside because he’s 6 feet 2 and still growing with track speed. The Jackrabbits made it to the final of their tournament before losing to Mater Dei.

Teams are winding down their summer seven-on-seven passing tournament schedules. Coaches are starting to pass out shoulder pads because official practice begins July 28.