Williams says he's lived up to expectations
STATE COLLEGE — Derrick Williams is like that movie sequel that was really good but never quite lived up to its predecessor.
Instead of becoming "Rocky" — as some unreasonably predicted — the Penn State wide receiver turned out to be "Rocky II." Which isn't such a bad thing if you never saw the original.
When Williams committed to Penn State four years ago, it was seen as a turning point for the moribund program. The Lions were able to attract the nation's No. 1 overall recruit and the type of athlete who had avoided State College.
Penn State had been cast as some silent-era team, but the recruit from Greenbelt, Md., was expected to carry the Nittany Lions into the CGI world of modern college football.
That was a lofty, if unfair, expectation. But Williams had similar aspirations.
"When I was getting recruited, I had the chance to go pretty much wherever I wanted to," he said. "My main goal was to make a mark on the program, leave my legacy, and do some special things to turn the program around."
Four years later, with Williams and 16 other seniors set to play their final game at Beaver Stadium when seventh-ranked Penn State hosts 17th-ranked Michigan State Saturday, it can be said he accomplished those goals.
With a victory, the Lions will have won their second Big Ten title and gone 40-10 during Williams' tenure. In the five previous years, Penn State compiled a 26-33 record and finished no better than fourth in the conference.
Still, there will always be the tinge of what might have been. With Penn State nearly eliminated from the national championship race, Williams will graduate without having played in a title game. If he had chosen Florida, one of his runners-up, he would have likely played in one and been on the verge of competing in another.
And despite an electrifying freshman season cut short by a broken arm, Williams, individually, never seemed to live up to his billing.
"I knew there was going to be a lot of pressure on me, which there should have been," Williams said. "But I think if you asked anybody in our program, I definitely lived up to everything expected of me."
Williams entered Penn State labeled as an "athlete," a player without a position. He played quarterback at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, but was enlisted to play wide receiver in college. As he learned the position, Penn State found other ways to get him the football, often lining him up in the backfield.
But what was novel as a freshman turned mundane the following two years. Williams' progress as a receiver, meanwhile, was incremental.
"Obviously, I think it's been a little tough for him because he's expected to be a world-beater," wide receiver Deon Butler said. "He can't control the expectations people put on him."
There were flashes of greatness, but such play was never consistent. Still, head coach Joe Paterno, in part out of obligation, kept finding touches for Williams. He also saw how hard the 6-foot, 193-pound player practiced.
"When he practices, he carries people with him on the practice field," Paterno said. "He goes out there, works hard, does everything well."
Toward the end of his junior season, Williams had some of his best outings, and he carried that production into this season as the Lions opened 9-0. Penn State's coaches continued to find ways to get Williams involved, and he didn't appear to be pressing as much.
This season, Williams has touched the ball 104 times, gained 1,223 yards, and scored eight touchdowns.
"He can just about do anything you want him to do on the football field," Paterno said. "There are great athletes and there are great football players. He's a great football player."
