Chicago football coach Roosevelt's return from a car accident inspires the team

A new era begins for Roosevelt University athletics after moving from NAIA to Division II.

The Lakers football team is embracing advancement in the competition, reflecting the strength of their head coach Jared Williamson.

The Roosevelt football team is looking to make some noise this season.

“I definitely say we have a chip on our shoulder,” said Luke Desherow, a defensive lineman from Roosevelt. “It’s no secret that we finished eighth out of eight in the conference. We don’t think that’s true and we want to show people that they screwed up and we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

The Lakers will compete at the NCAA Division II level for the first time this season as a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

“The opportunity is great,” linebacker Jaylen Olokun said. “We have a lot of people, a lot of transfers, a lot of new people that have come in and are interested in the program. They want to be interested in the way we do things here.”

The program has been doing things Williamson's way since its inaugural season in 2011. That's when he started the football program at Robert Morris University, which merged with Roosevelt in 2020.

“As a kid, I don’t know why I always wanted to be a coach,” Williamson said. “I think originally it was a competitive thing. You just love competition. When I play cards with my children, when I play table tennis, I want to win.”

But a few seasons ago, winning suddenly had to be put on hold for the Lakers head coach.

“After our home game in October 2022, I was about ten minutes from my house and was hit by a drunk driver in the center lane,” he said. “I am so grateful for the amazing first responders who were able to get me out of my truck and flown me to a hospital. I spent 40 years in a hospital and a rehabilitation facility and had seven surgeries.”

Williamson spent last season on crutches, but he said he feels great now, in his second full season as backs coach, after undergoing hip surgery in May.

“He can walk now, everyone was so happy to see that,” Desherow said. “For example: 'Coach Willie is leaving!' As if you don't know how long he had been here, he was in a wheelchair when I visited him.

Receiver Keonta Nixon added: “I love being around him. He never frowns. He's always kind of boosting my energy, kind of joking, but he's also serious about learning what we need to learn and executing our plays.”

But overcoming adversity is just one of the things the Lakers team is learning from its head coach every day this year.

“Don’t take every day for granted,” Olokun said. “Keep a positive attitude every day, every day, because there is always someone dealing with something more difficult.”

Desherow added: “There are a lot of people on this team who would run through the wall for him. We've seen how resilient he is, the things he struggles with, and if we can replace a fraction of that, we'll be in good shape.”

It's a team grateful to be tackling the Division II schedule with a coach who feels the same way.

“The Lord has really blessed me and allowed me to learn things along the way that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise,” Williamson said. “So it's been a huge blessing and it's my job to pass that on to that realization. So if it slows down a little bit, that’s a good thing.”

Roosevelt is still looking for its first win after starting 0-4 in the Lakers' first D-II season, but two of those losses came against top-five teams.