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Williamson: Hold Your Breath WR
Wide receiver Troy
Williamson has been a tease ever since Vikings fans heard about the
South Carolina speedster prior to the 2005 NFL draft. At least one
pre-draft expert described Williamson as the best player available in
the entire draft. When the Vikings came to their turn to pick at No. 7,
guess who was still available?
Since his arrival in Minneapolis Williamson
has shown extraordinary speed and ability to make big plays while
sometimes dropping passes and fighting through injuries. At 23 and with
only a small dose of NFL game experience, there is considerable optimism
Williamson will become a consistent shock and awe weapon on an offense
that used to feature the explosive Randy Moss at wide receiver.
In the Vikings’ win over Carolina on
September 17, Williamson had his first NFL 100 plus yards receiving day
catching six passes for 102 yards, including a 30 yard reception. Last
Sunday against the Bears he caught four passes for 39 yards.
As a rookie last season Williamson ranked
third among NFL rookie receivers in yardage and had two of the Vikings’
four longest receptions at 56 and 53 yards. That seemed like a tease
from Williamson’s days in high school and college in South Carolina. In
high school he won the state track championships in the 100 and 200
meters while earning a football scholarship to South Carolina. At run
oriented South Carolina, his opportunities to catch passes were limited
but as a freshman he averaged 28.9 yards per reception.
Williamson has impressed his Viking teammates
including quarterback Brad Johnson. He noted Williamson’s
improvement in coming off “jams” and running more effective routes.
“He has improved tremendously from last year,” Johnson said. “He
has become much more of a complete receiver.”
Viking safety Tank Williams was impressed with Williamson’s work
ethic last summer. “I remember being out here in the off-season when
everybody else was gone and training on their own,” Williams recalled.
“He was here every day with the wide receivers coach, working on routes
and things like that, trying to get back from when he had the off season
surgery (abscess removed from left hip). He is a hard worker (and) wants
to be good. He wants to get better each and every week, and so you can
really see the progress taking place on the field.”
Johnson agrees with Williams.
“He (Williamson) listens,” Johnson said. “He works hard. He’s
fun to play with.”
Trailing the Bears 19-16 last Sunday, Johnson
went to Williamson on two of the last three plays of the game. On
second down Williamson dropped a ball that would have given the Vikings
a first down on the Bears’ 40 yard line. On fourth down and two yards
to go the Vikings surprised the Bears when Johnson tried a long pass to
Williamson but the ball was over thrown.
Dropped balls this season and last have
sometimes characterized Williamson’s play. Williams said there is a
“lot going on in a young player’s head” and that a receiver can become
much more reliable in catching balls through drills, experience and
focus.
“He
really doesn’t let stuff get to him,” Williams said. “You can see on the
field, if one play doesn’t go his way he just keeps battling back and
trying to get another big play later in the game. In this league with
all the great players you got to play against, you really got to have
resolve and he really has shown that.”
Johnson talks about Williamson’s
explosiveness, whether it’s on short or long pass routes, or just the
threat of him making a big play and how that may increase opportunities
for the offense. “Good things
happen when he is on the field and he makes us a better team,” Johnson
said. |
