The bright, intrusive Chicago high school sports spotlight focused on Jonas Williams when he was just 14 years old.
That happens occasionally in basketball, but until Williams came along, it was unheard of in high school football.
There were rumors in the fall of 2022 that Bolingbrook, one of the best football programs in the area, was actually going to start a 14-year-old kid at quarterback. And the Raiders were not desperate. John Ivlow, the Bolingbrook coach at the time, had a capable senior ready to play the position.
“[Williams] was overloaded the first week of the summer with us, but as it progressed, you could tell he was going to be great,” Ivlow said. “He just skyrocketed.”
Williams didn’t know he was going to start until the day before the season opener. His parents, Nancy and John, were in California helping one of Jonas’s brothers move into college.
“We knew one of us had to be there so [John] took a flight back first thing Friday morning,” Nancy Williams said. “We knew Jonas was going to compete. But it was kind of amazing to think he was going to start as a freshman.”
Williams lived up to the hype immediately. He was named the Chicago Bears Player of the Week after completing 19 of 23 passes for 407 yards and seven touchdowns against Minooka. That was eight days into high school.
“I got thrown in the fire early,” Williams, a USC recruit, said. “That helped me grow as a player, and I was surrounded by great coaches and great teammates that made it easier for me.
“There is always hate, negativity. I dealt with that all four years of high school. That’s just part of the sport. Part of the nature of society. I don’t really pay that much attention to it. It doesn’t bother me.”
Williams, the 2025 Sun-Times Player of the Year, went on to set state records for career passing yards (11,347) and career passing TDs (147). That’s 20 more touchdowns than any player in IHSA history. Williams transferred to Lincoln-Way East after his sophomore season.
“I’m grateful for the receivers and the offensive lines I’ve had the last four years,” Williams said. “As much as the records have my name on them, as a quarterback, you can never take all the credit for them.
“I want to say this in the most humble way. I’m not surprised that I have those records. I know how hard I’ve worked from freshman year to now. I feel like with the way I’ve worked and the way my coaches have prepared me, that I was supposed to do that.”
Jonas’s mom, Nancy Williams, recorded every snap he took in youth football. Jonas watched and studied them all. He learned the USC playbook this year, worrying Griffins’ coach Rob Zvonar that he might mix up his future college playbook with his current high school one.
“Jonas is a relentless worker,” Zvonar said. “There was one day soon after he arrived here when Oklahoma, Alabama, Michigan, LSU and Oregon were all here at the same time to see him throw. That was late at night. The next day, he had a similar list of schools coming in, and we had team weightlifting scheduled at five a.m. I told him he didn’t need to worry about coming. He said ‘Thank you, coach, but I can’t do that. I haven’t earned my teammates’ respect yet. Can I please come to the workout?”
Williams and his family made numerous difficult decisions over the past four years. There was the transfer to Lincoln-Way East, decommitting from Oregon, choosing USC, and the toughest of all, deciding whether or not to play in the playoffs this year after missing the last two games of the regular season with a foot injury.
“It is just a part of life,” Williams said. “You have to go through things and make decisions that are uncomfortable. Things could be a lot worse for me. These are good problems. I wouldn’t even say they are problems. They are good decisions that I have to make, and I am blessed and fortunate to have them.
“I’m a man of faith. I rely on God a lot and my religion. That also helps me with the decisions, knowing I’m not in control of everything and everything is not up to me.”
Jonas Williams’ passing yards and passing touchdowns
2022 at Bolingbrook: 2,737 yards, 37 TDs
2023 at Bolingbrook: 3,196 yards, 33 TDs
2024 at Lincoln-Way East: 2,926 yards, 42 TDs
2025 at Lincoln-Way East: 2,488 yards, 35 TDs
Chicago Sun-Times Football Players of the Year
1951 – Bob McKeiver, Evanston
1952 – Frank Pinn, Mount Carmel
1953 – John Carroll, Fenwick
1954 – Jack Delveaux, Fenger
1955 – John Swain, Vocational
1956 – Ed Ryan, Leo
1957 – Mike Lind, Calumet
1958 – Jack Strobel, Fenwick
1959 – Dick Butkus, Vocational
1960 – Al MacFarlane, Taft
1961 – Jim Grabowski, Taft
1962 – Jim DiLullo, Fenwick
1963 – John Byrne, St. Rita
1964 – Chico Kurzawski, Weber
1965 – LaMarr Thomas, Thornton
1966 – Randy Marks, Loyola
1967 – Tom Spotts, Maine South
1968 – Carlos Matthews, Evanston
1969 – Barry Cernoch, Downers Grove
1970 – Ken Ferguson, Lane Tech
1971 – Bill Marek, St. Rita
1972 – Jeff Stewart, Elk Grove
1973 – Kevin King, St. Laurence
1974 – Frank Shellenback, Barrington
1975 – Mark Carlson, Deerfield
1976 – Rich Weiss, New Trier
1977 – Chris Boskey, St. Francis de Sales
1978 – Marty Finan, Fenwick
1979 – Tim Marshall, Weber
1980 – Mike Tomczak, TF North
1981 – Tony Furjanic, Mount Carmel
1982 – Eric Kumerow, Oak Park
1983 – Dempsey Norman, Tilden
1984 – Chuck McCree, Romeoville
1985 – John Foley, St. Rita
1986 – Kent Graham, Wheaton North
1987 – Jeff Lesniewicz, Homewood-Flossmoor
1988 – Brian Dunlavy, St. Viator
1989 – Alex Rodriguez, Lane
1990 – Corey Rogers, Leo
1991 – Mike Alstott, Joliet Catholic
1992 – Broc Kreitz, Waubonsie Valley
1993 – Greg Williams, Bolingbrook
1994 – Jason Loerzel, Maine South
1995 – Tim Lavery, Naperville Central
1996 – Mark Floersch, New Trier
1997 – Rocky Harvey, Dunbar
1998 – Philip Macklin, Proviso East
1999 – Ryan Clifford, Naperville Central
2000 – Brett Basanez, St. Viator
2001 – Tim Brasic, Riverside-Brookfield
2002 – Tom Zbikowski, Buffalo Grove
2003 – Sean Price, Maine South
2004 – Chris Jeske, Joliet Catholic
2005 – John Dergo, Morris
2006 – Dan Dierking, Wheaton Warrenville South
2007 – Jordan Tassio, Naperville North
2008 – Charlie Goro, Maine South
2009 – Matt Perez, Maine South
2010 – Reilly O’Toole, Wheaton Warrenville South
2011 – Ty Isaac, Joliet Catholic
2012 – Laquon Treadwell, Crete-Monee
2013 – Justin Jackson, Glenbard North
2014 – Dewayne Collins, Phillips
2015 – Julian Love, Nazareth
2016 – Jake Marwede, Loyola
2017 – Samson Evans, Prairie Ridge
2018 – Payton Thorne, Naperville Central
2019 – AJ Henning, Lincoln-Way East
2020 – Vaughn Pemberton, Loyola
2021 – Jack Lausch, Brother Rice
2022 – Tyler Vasey, Prairie Ridge
2023 – Darrion Dupree, Mount Carmel
2024 – Talyn Taylor, Geneva
2025 – Jonas Williams, Lincoln-Way East
