Derrick Williams Props Post

by kmblue on Dec 9, 2008 2:08 PM EST

When DWill signed with PSU back in December 2004, four years ago, PSU was in year 5 of the Dark Years. The Dark Years were 2000-2004, 4 seasons of losing seasons with one winning year (2002). That 9-3 team was a senior-laden team that had too much talent to lose to lesser teams but no intestinal fortitude to beat teams that had more talent/more will to win than them. 2004, the team went 4-7, winning the last 2 games after an improbable 4th down stop at Indiana before blowing out Michigan State. All of us point back to that 4th down stop as a turning point but this team needed offensive power. Enter Derrick Williams.

He could have gone anywhere. Many expected he would head to Florida but he decided to come here. PSU, a team that was now living off of its legacy, fallen from the top to the mire. Derrick Williams decided to begin the resurrection of the program and recruited other players to come in with him: Justin King, Sean Lee, A.Q. Shipley. Butler was a redshirt at the time, Norwood came in as a kid that no one else wanted.

With DWill as their leader, these players all played in their freshman year, 2005 as another senior-laden team fueled by the leadership of M-Rob beat OSU, won the Big Ten and the Orange Bowl. In 2006 and 2007, under the non-leadership of Morelli, the team still went 9-4. During these years, DWill was instrumental in recruiting as the 2006 recruiting class was a top 10 class. 2007 and 2008 were good as well, not as highly ranked but filled with guys who were eager to continue putting PSU back on the map.

This year, with a real QB, D-Clark, leading the team, PSU went 11-1 again, finally beating Michigan and OSU and is now awaiting USC in the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl will be DWill's last game but the legacy of what he has done is now part of PSU lore. 40-10 the last 4 years after going 26-32 during the Dark Years. Renewed national profile, momentum going into the future.

I know people have mentioned him a lot in different comments but I feel that he deserves his own post. He's not God or anything but he has meant a lot to this program.

GO STATE BEAT USC!

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Comments

I don't think.......

one can overstate how big a get he was nor can one overstate what his decision says about Derrick Williams as a person. You have one change to play college football and he rolled the dice by coming to PSU.

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Dec 9, 2008 2:17 PM EST reply actions

I remember back in the Northwestern game in 2005

and telling my friends who were at the game with me that D-Will (though I called him Derrick Williams back then) will someday be remembered as the savior of Penn State football, not just for his playing, but for his recruiting. This was even before his Pontiac play at the end of the game. Then 2005 happened, and already I felt validated, though the season ending injury at Michigan hurt. 2006 I was actually a bit disappointed in him, because even when M*r*ll* was able to get the ball to him, he dropped a lot of passes. 2007 wasn’t really much better. 2008 came along and I am willing to have his babies.

Sidenote: I don’t consider the Michigan and Iowa games of 2002 to be losses, since the refs basically stole the wins from us there. If we had instant replay back then (and instant replay is a direct result of those 2 games, which goes to show how blatantly terrible those calls were) then we were basically an easy field goal away from an 11-1 record that year.

by The JuggerNitt on Dec 9, 2008 2:39 PM EST reply actions

Northwestern game

Were you in the endzone where he caught that pass? Half empty, but full crazy…

by JoePaPa on Dec 9, 2008 3:23 PM EST up reply actions

indeed I was

I was about 3 rows from the top. Not because the stands were packed in front of me, but just to give me some space to lounge out (feet on row in front, sittin on my row, leaning back on row behind).

That stadium is kinda fun cuz it is practically another home game for us (since we tend to equal or outnumber their crowd)

by The JuggerNitt on Dec 9, 2008 3:38 PM EST up reply actions

I'd have his babies too.

by kmblue on Dec 9, 2008 9:02 PM EST up reply actions

Your babies sound hot

JoePa for governor

by ReadingRambler on Dec 9, 2008 9:19 PM EST up reply actions

According to you guys, everything about me sounds hot.

by kmblue on Dec 9, 2008 10:33 PM EST up reply actions

Duh

You’re a woman who posts at BSD. Therefore, mega hawt you are. ;)

JoePa for governor

by ReadingRambler on Dec 9, 2008 11:05 PM EST up reply actions

agreed

by The JuggerNitt on Dec 10, 2008 7:29 AM EST up reply actions

I really wanted...

…a NC for him. Amazing kid. But a Rose Bowl victory will be almost as nice.

"Red, it took me sixteen years to get here. You play me, and I'll give ya the best I got."

by Touchdown on Dec 9, 2008 2:39 PM EST reply actions

I agree....

A National Championship would have been a storybook ending for him, Norwood and Butler. I hope he goes on to bigger and better things and we can all point to him as the class act that he is. Too bad ESPN doesn’t talk about him more. Always the bad stuff…..

by PSU Jen on Dec 9, 2008 2:51 PM EST up reply actions

Having

the MNC would have been sweet but you know, the Rose Bowl fits. Getting to the Rose Bowl means you dominated the Big Ten.

by kmblue on Dec 9, 2008 9:02 PM EST up reply actions

also:

to me the Rose Bowl looks like a matchup of 2 of the top 3 or 4 teams, whereas the MNC game looks more like #1 vs #5 or 6

It really depends on what you value for ranking a team, though. I like a team that is dominating on both sides of the ball, but that is my bias I suppose. The media likes high octane offenses that put up a ton of points, and don’t give a damn if their defenses are leakier than a wet paper bag.

by The JuggerNitt on Dec 10, 2008 7:32 AM EST up reply actions

Thanks, Derrick

That’s all I can say. I get misty-eyed thinking about all he gave for this program.

JoePa for governor

by ReadingRambler on Dec 9, 2008 2:58 PM EST reply actions

He could've gone anywhere....

but he chose Penn State. He’s a class act and a great athlete. I hope he does big things at the next level, surprising many I’m sure.

"We are Penn State. We are not normal. We are Legends." - Deon Butler

by Stately NOVA Lion on Dec 9, 2008 3:01 PM EST reply actions

and recruited other players to come in with him: JUSTIN KING, Sean Lee, A.Q. Shipley.

I kept hearing over these last couple of years that D-Will recruited Justin King to come with him to PSU. But wasn’t it the other way around, because I’m pretty sure King committed about a month before D-Will.

I remember watching a recruiting update on ESPN about King’s commitment and they mentioned PSU being in the running for Williams but basically had no chance of landing him.

by nitlions057 on Dec 9, 2008 7:18 PM EST reply actions