A QB’s long- lost fan
Sister is now part of Ryan Williams’ life
CORAL GABLES — Julie Saint has no qualms about admitting she’s still an Ohio State That’s what happens when you grow up in the Buckeye State. Your allegiance to one of the most- dominant college football programs in the Midwest is formed early.
Yet bit by bit, shades ofMiami Hurricanes orange and green have crept into Saint’s life.
There’s the jewelry shewears adorned with Miami’s trademark “U.” The UM shirts she and her 6- year- old daughter, Lexie, wear on game days. There’s even a magnet on the back of the motor home she sometimes uses to travel and watch the Hurricanes play when the team is nearby.
Saint never imagined that Miami football would one day be a part of her life, but then again, she never fathomed Ryan Williams, the younger brother she spent most of her life not knowing existed, would become a quarterback for theHurricanes.
This weekend, she’ll be among the legion of fans cheerfan. ing for Williams and his Miami teammates, who are ranked No. 15 in the nation after a 3- 0 start andwill play atUSFonSaturday.
“I am so proud of him and he’s proud to be a part of that team,” Saint said. “He’s a great
kid and he’s really talented. Everyone is just starting to see the beginning of it.”
Like the rest of Williams’ family, Saint was thrilled to see how the junior performed last week when he was unexpectedly thrust into the first quarter of Miami’s 77- 7winover Savannah State.
After starting quarterback Stephen Morris was injured, Williams had just a few moments to throw off his headset, toss a couple ofwarm- up throws on the sideline and take the reins of the Miami offense.
He completed11of13 passes for 176 yards with two touchdowns and earned praise from Miami coach Al Golden for his poise in a tough situation.
UMfans got a good look at their quarterback of the future, withWilliams expected to become the Hurricanes’ starter when Morris completes his eligibility this year.
“He just doesn’t get flustered, for whatever reason,” Golden said ofWilliams. “It’s in his makeup. He went in there, stayed with his reads, and after that, just started letting them rip. It’s not just about being happy for him, I’m excited for him. He’s worked really hard and he’s getting better.”
That poise, Saint said, was a product ofWilliams’ maturity, the same maturity he showed four years ago when he was told an Ohio woman he’d never metwas the sister he never even knew he had.
“The day we met, I was nervous,” Saint recalls. “Here’s me coming in and saying, ‘ By the way, I’m your sister,’ but hewas just so mature about it. He never really gets upset or nervous about anything and I think a lot of it is just who he is. He’s so mature and he’s a really special person.”
Said Ryan, “It’s really different having her inmy life. I grewupwithjustmybrother. I never had that sister aspect. But now, it’s the same as if we’d grown up together. It’s nice having her inmy life.”
Four years ago, Saint, 39, beganthesearchforherbirth mother, not knowing what to expect.
Would the woman who gave herupfor adoptionwelcome her presence? Would her adoptive parents be hurt by her desire to know more about her past?
But driven by the need to know more about the circumstances of her birth, Saint continued her quest.
Saint and her girlfriends scoured the Internet for information and she contacted the court that handled her adoption. Eventually, Saint learned her mother’s name was Jayne Williams and she lived a thousand miles away in South Florida.
During her search, Saint found something else — news articles about Jayne’s son, a strong- armed quarterback named Ryan who was making headlines at Miramar High School.
Though she was excited about the possibility of meeting her mother and newfound brother, Saint wondered if she was doing the right thing by introducing herself.
But inMay2009, theweek before Mother’s Day, Saint made the call that would change two families’ lives.
She reached out to Jayne Williams and when she heard her birth mother’s voice, Saint asked if the name of anOhiohospitalanda particular date in April held any kind of significance inJayne’s life. After realizing it did, Saint toldJaynewhoshewas.
Jayne, who’d been outside when the call came, sank down and let the news sink in. In a twist of fate, the daughter she’d given birth to as a teen, the daughter she’d never had the chance to hold or even see, had found her.
“I had no idea whatwould happen and neither did she,” Jayne said. “She was afraid that I wouldn’t want anything to do with her. Andmy family didn’t knowabout her. My husband didn’t know, my kids didn’t know. It was hard.”
Harder yetwas telling her husband, Rich, and her family about Saint. For 35 years, Jayne had kept her daughter’s existence a secret. Only her parents and sister knew she’d had a child.
The two women, though, wantedto reconnect, andless than a month after that phone call, Saint traveled from her home in Columbus to meet her birth mother and her family.
Their reunion went as well as either could have hoped.
Rich Williams, Jayne’s husband, welcomed Saint with open arms. Ryan Williams did the same.
That fall, Saint and her family returned to South Florida for one ofRyan’s high school football games. They were there again in December when Ryan put together a record- breaking, fivetouchdown performance to help Miramar win the state championship in 2009.
Since, there have been countless other memorable moments, including family vacations and weddings. Julie, her husband Ron, and their daughter have traveled to see Ryan and watch the Hurricanes play.
This past winter,
Ryan Williams and his wife, Deanna, the high school sweetheart who’d been at his side when he learned about his sister, traveled to Ohio to spend time with the Saints.
They all went sledding and played in the snow. Ryan and Deanna got to spend time with their niece, and Ryan jokes the trip gave him one more opportunity to continue converting his Ohio family into bigger Miami fans.
It was one more experience that tied the family together. This year, there will be another when Jayne, Rich andDeannatravel toOhiofor Thanksgiving at Julie’s home. A day later, they’ll all travel together to Pittsburgh to seeRyan before theHurricanes’ final regular- season game against the Panthers.
“It’s amazing to see the ease of the relationship,” Rich Williams said. “It’s like they’ve known each other their entire lives and it’s only been four years. That’s just Ryan’s nature. He’s just so openly accepted her into his life andmadeit so easy. Some kids might have a tough time with all this, but not Ryan. You literally would think they’ve known each other their entire lives.”