Williams' speed additional weapon
10/7/2011 4:39:00 PM | Football
That doesn't make them any less dangerous.
Defenses not only have to account for the deceptive explosiveness of Flanders, but also the craftiness of Richard Sincere and the blatant speed of emerging wide receiver Torrance Williams.
"We utilize speed. We really do," Williams said. "We have plays for each individual person and we also have plays that combine one or two fast people and it's really tough on a defense to stop that."
It was the combination of Sincere, Flanders and Williams that had the UTSA defense gasping for air last week before the Bearkats prevailed with a 22-7 victory.
In the third quarter of that game, Sincere faked an option play to Flanders while Williams received a reverse handoff to the right side.
There was the running team in its truest form on this play that gave SHSU a 15-0 lead over UTSA.
With the ball in Williams' hands, Flanders is blocking right ahead of him and wide receiver Seth Patterson blocking downfield, as he cuts to the other side of the field around the 35-yard line.
Then the speed takes over. By this point, Sincere has made it downfield as well and Williams has a cluster of blockers yielding him to the end zone. Flanders is still there blocking, along with Trey Diller. But it's just for good measure.
Williams is usually the fastest player on the field. After the initial block from Flanders and the cutback at the 35-yard line, no one was catching the redshirt sophomore from Waco Connally High School.
The score was Williams' first for his college career, and was indicative of what he loves about playing football, with his teammates fearlessly blocking for him downfield.
"Brotherhood is a good word for it," he said. "Of course we're all for one purpose, you know. And there are a lot of unselfish people on the team."
Williams showed promising signs as a key contributor to the offense towards the end of last season, but his game was still maturing, as it is now.
Offensive coordinator Bob Debesse said the best qualities Williams presents are his intelligence and commitment to improving.
"He has really brought himself a long way," Debesse said. "Last year he was kind of a hot-and-cold guy. You weren't sure from day to day what you were getting from him. He was growing up and maturing and he still is. Then towards the end of the year he started showing signs that he might be a player and somebody you could count on.
"I think as much as anything, with his intelligence and speed, experience has given him confidence. I honestly believe he's made a real commitment to improving his consistency, toughness, and all of those things you have to have to be successful."
Towards the end of last season during a home matchup against McNeese State, Brian Bell dumped a screen pass to Williams in the open field. The Cowboys defense was helpless, on its heels, with no player to match Williams' speed.
But this was an open field opportunity that didn't turn out as well as the most recent one. For Williams, it was a sobering moment at Bowers Stadium.
"I figure if I don't get open then this play is busted," he said. "So I do my best to get open and if I catch it, no matter how long it is, I turn around and try to move forward but I'm scanning to see what is the best way for me to get the most yards."
The best way was turning up the left side where Williams only had one man to beat for the score. He knew it, too. Williams said he always tries to make the most of what he can with the ball, so he tried to put a move on the defender.
The ball, however, flew out of Williams' arms as if he had given up. Williams was never touched, or threatened, but the football landed right in the hands of the McNeese defender, as if he was supposed to be a part of the play.
The most bizarre, and unlikely turnover that some who were in attendance, including Debesse, say is the wackiest they've ever seen, was as smooth a pitch one could imagine.
"Looking back on it I just remember thinking, 'why is this happening to me?'" Williams said. " When I finally get a chance to do it, why is this happening to me? That was my longest run up until that point."
But what happened?
"I got loose with the ball and I was trying to put a move on the guy," he said. "I had a half-sleeve on, which I wear every game, but it was a different material. I kind of swung my arm a little bit and I didn't keep it high and tight. When the ball hit my body, it slipped off the sleeve and popped straight up.
"I've never been a fumbler in my life. I never fumbled in high school or anything so that was crazy to me. To fumble without even getting touched, that's just a freak accident."
But Williams said the way he responded to the situation was no accident at all.
Debesse said even though he could not date the change in Williams to that exact moment, he said it was certainly fair to link his improvement with that kind of experience.
"I needed that," Williams said. "That was my third game starting and I guess you could say I was big-headed or too confident. It brought me down right where I needed to be."
Williams said that play made him focus more on ball security, which is always important to a ball carrier. So the 5'8, 170-pound multi-threat receiver is one of the more vocal players on the practice field. He holds his teammates accountable, something Debesse said he appreciates from a leadership perspective.
"The little things, you can't overlook them," Williams said. "When you put all the little things together you get a big thing. Coach Debesse always says the sum of the whole is always greater than its parts. So in every phase of the game, the little things always make the difference. So we have to pay attention to detail."
The Bearkats face off with Stephen F. Austin in the 86th "Battle of the Piney Woods" presented by YP.com at Reliant Stadium in Houston Saturday, then play host to Nicholls on Saturday, Oct. 15 for 2011 Homecoming at Bowers Stadium.
Tickets for all Sam Houston home athletic events are available now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
