Michigan State University Athletics
Williams Back In Playing Rotation At Tailback
10/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen
EAST LANSING, Mich. â€" Michigan State running back Delton Williams is at peace with his past, present and future.
After coming off a disciplinary suspension and using the first five weeks of the season to get back into playing shape, it appeared Williams, a junior who played as a true freshman in 2013, would redshirt. He was pressed into duty, however, against Rutgers after starting tailback Madre London was injured and had eight carries for 15 yards in last Saturday's remarkable 27-23 victory at Michigan.
"It was very surprising, but it was a sacrifice I had to make for my team," Williams said of the first time he rejoined the playing group. "Either you're going to redshirt or you're not. You're going to tell your coach, ‘I don't want to play?' That's not a response you're going to give your head coach.
"You came here to play football and wherever the path goes, that's just the way it's got to be."
Despite the five-game hiatus and his first carries since the '14 regular-season finale against Penn State, Williams didn't feel rusty after getting his number called by head coach Mark Dantonio.
"I feel like it's just natural," he said. "I've been playing this game since I was 5 years old and now it's just, you've got to go out there and play and give it your all."
With London on the mend and listed as "doubtful" for Saturday's game against Indiana at Spartan Stadium, MSU's backfield is even more crowded with Williams' activation. Leading rusher LJ Scott, a true freshman, made his first career start against the Wolverines and Gerald Holmes had a team-high 33 yards on eight carries at U-M.
"I've never really prepared myself to redshirt because me and Coach D had those talks," Williams said. "We're just going to take it week-by-week, so I never really looked at it as I was going to redshirt. He told me that anything could happen, so just be ready.
"As he told me that, I just made sure I just stayed focused on taking care of my academics, being on time for meetings and lifts, and still just giving that spark to my teammates, so they don't look at me like I'm down."
Williams' scholarship was revoked for this year as one of the conditions for his return to the squad but the support of his teammates has been invaluable.
"I've had my down times, you know, and they've seen me with my head down," he said. "But my teammates came up to me and said, ‘That's not you; you need to be that person that you are, walking around, yelling and screaming and letting everybody know you're doing good,' because when I'm doing good I feel like everybody else is doing good because everybody knows my story now.
"But it's really not just about me. It's bigger than me and I realize that now. So when I go through things in life â€" and I'm still going through things â€" I appreciate where I'm at because life could be much worse."
Williams, who violated University ordinance 18.01 by possessing a weapon on campus last March, will have his record expunged in December if he fulfills all the requirements set by the court. He purchased handgun for personal protection after his older brother, Jaree Warren, was murdered in his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 6.
"I apologize to anybody that feels like I let them down, but I'm making it right now," Williams said. "I tear up sometimes, I get a little sensitive when I think about it because I know where I could be. But life is about battles, you know? So you just keep fighting."
Williams had a measured reaction when he stepped onto the field at Rutgers.
"It wasn't emotional, but when I did get back there I felt joy in my heart," he said. "I sat back and thought about it for a minute, like I came a long way. But when I look in front of me … I start to think: this is just the beginning; don't get comfortable.
"You're back to where you wanted to be, you aren't where you're supposed to be. I'm supposed to be way farther than where I'm at right now. If things wouldn't have happened how they did, I'd probably be more successful than I am now, but I don't look at it like that anymore. I try to keep myself focused on the task at hand, we're 7-0, we're working to be 8-0 and I'm going to do what I've got to do to make sure my team and I are prepared to get this W on Saturday."
GoG Notes & Quotes: Controlling the ball with a methodical rushing attack could prove to be important against the Hoosiers, who feature a quick-strike, high-scoring offense that's third in the Big Ten while averaging 34.1 points per game. The Spartans are coming off a season-low 58 rushing yards against Michigan.
It would have been easier for co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Dave Warner had one of the four tailbacks emerged as a featured ball-carrier, but it will continue to be ground-game by committee for the foreseeable future.
"We probably did hope for that to happen and had Madre not gotten hurt maybe that would be taking place right now," Warner said. "But I think they all have shown flashes in their own opportunities and we'll see what happens this week, but it's still a week-to-week deal."
Scott's role was limited to eight carries against Michigan because Warner was more comfortable with Holmes and Williams' experience in pass-protection.
"Those guys are a little more experienced at facing a wide variety of blitzes, so that was part of it," Warner said. "They're all very similar guys. That's the thing about it, they're all strong, powerful runners. I don't know what's going to happen here in the next couple weeks, but Delton is certainly in the mix. We took the redshirt off him for a reason; we don't want him sitting on the bench.
"We think he can be very valuable on special teams and I think he can carry the ball as we've seen in years past. He'll get his opportunity as well and as I've said all year I think it's who has the hot hand and those guys will get more reps."
--
MSU's longest play of the season is the 74-yard pass from Connor Cook to fullback Trevon Pendleton, a blocker by trade, against the Wolverines. The Spartans practiced that version of the wheel route for the first time on the Tuesday before the game.
"Like a lot of things, it's something similar to what someone else did," Warner said. "You sort of tweak it a little bit to fit what we do. We had a whole week to get a couple reps at it and felt good about it."
--
Pendleton, a fifth-year senior who got his first career carry three weeks ago in the Big Ten opener against Purdue, rarely gets his hands on the ball but the former walk-on's impact-per-touch is off the charts. His first reception as a Spartan resulted in a 12-yard touchdown against Youngstown State in '13 and five games later he set the tone for a 28-14 triumph over Michigan with a 49-yard catch on the first play. His second touchdown of the season, on just eight catches, came on a 2-yard pass from Cook in the Rose Bowl and cut Stanford's lead to 17-14 just before halftime. The Spartans came back to win, 24-20.
Last season, Pendleton had just one catch for 2 yards, but with his one reception this season is averaging a whopping 20.3 yards reception during his career, which would be fifth on MSU's all-time list if he had the minimum of 30 catches instead of 10.
"He just wants to be on the field and he seems to have knack for making big plays, big catches at certain times," Warner said. "We're fortunate he did a great job (against U-M). The main thing about it is he almost got tracked down there, but it didn't happen. He showed a little speed."
The officials on the field rule Pendleton scored against the Wolverines, but the replay overturned the decision. Scott ran it in from the 1 to make it a one-possession game with 8:56 remaining in the fourth quarter.
"Our coaches do a great job of scheming up things and watching film," said Pendleton, who boasts a 40-yard dash time of 4.6-4.7 seconds. "Any time they call something you know they've found a wrinkle in their defense and something to exploit. Obviously, they felt comfortable to call if after only running it a few days, so you're pretty confident that it's going to work.
"Connor threw a great ball and I was able to have enough time to adjust my body to catch it, so I wasn't worried (about dropping the pass). I think I did (score) but obviously the ref felt different, so I guess I didn't. I guess I should have done more to not leave it in the ref's hands."
--
After facing Michigan's more conventional offense, the Spartans have to transition to Indiana's up-tempo spread attack led by senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld, who is completing 63 percent of his passes and leads the Big Ten with 290.2 passing yards per game.
"He's an experienced guy, shoot, just like an encyclopedia on the field," said MSU defensive line coach Ron Burton. "He might as well be the head coach of the offense because he understands it, he knows where he's going to go with the ball, he knows his second read and that's what it's all about.
"What we've got to be able to do is have some things that throw him off, some things that get in his face, be able to play coverage and be able to pressure. So that's the delicate balance. He's such an excellent quarterback and knows where he's going with the ball based on what he sees and that's the challenge for us, being able to execute and disrupt him."
