Trojans' Williams runs a good route
Damian Williams's faith in such scripture is why he wears cardinal and gold today. Two years ago he was a productive freshman receiver at Arkansas, playing for the university that sits five minutes away from where he went to high school and the city he grew up in.
He had visited Los Angeles once, for three days, but the big city, the celebrities, the traffic – it was all too much for him. One unfulfilling semester at Arkansas later, Williams changed his plans.
"USC's interested in me after I transfer?"
he said he asked himself before coming in January of 2007. "Obviously, they see some kind of potential in me. It was tough for me leaving my community and my family and my friends. That's all you know. But I felt like God wanted me to be out here."
"I wouldn't have been presented with this opportunity if He didn't."
"That opportunity began with him sitting out the 2007 season because of NCAA transfer rules. A year later, in his first two games as a Trojan, the redshirt sophomore is leading the team with 10 receptions, 140 yards and two touchdowns."
"He deserves every bit of this because he works harder than anybody,"
quarterback Mark Sanchez said. "He's in the film room late, he's asking questions, and it's paying off for him."
CLOSE RELATIONSHIP
On USC's final touchdown against Ohio State this past weekend, Sanchez found a wide-open Williams in the corner of the end zone after he side-stepped away from a near-broken pocket and threw 30 yards off his back foot.
Williams said he never saw Sanchez make the pass and thought he had been sacked. But he knew better than to ditch his route.
"He knows where to throw the ball and I knew where he was going to throw it,"
Williams said. "We know each other."
Their relationship blossomed last fall when Williams and Sanchez, then backing up John David Booty, made it a point to play catch on the side. Following spring practice they continued practicing together in Sanchez's hometown, Mission Viejo, and by summer, Williams was staying at Sanchez's house nearly every weekend.
"That's basically my second home,"
Williams said. "I'd hang out with the Sanchez family. A lot. Every time he went home, I went home."
These days the two gather about three times a week to study film. There are also weekly treks to Culver City for all-you-can-eat sushi at Midori and video-game battles at their apartments.
"I'm better than Mark Sanchez at Mario Kart on Nintendo Wii,"
Williams said. "I want everybody to know."
TRUSTED RECEIVER
At 6-1, 190 pounds, Williams is not the fastest, tallest nor strongest of USC's receivers. It is what he knows that arguably makes him its best. Coach Pete Carroll said only he and Patrick Turner can play all three receiver positions.
"He feels like Steve Smith out here, in a sense,"
Carroll said. "We feel like he's consistently a guy who can find the open spots, get himself in the right place. The quarterbacks trust him, and he's going to make good decisions for them."
Sanchez said Williams has gone so far as to familiarize himself with the quarterbacks' protection packages, while also learning where the offensive line and running backs should be. Williams said this dates back to high school, where he occasionally relayed the quarterback signals from the sideline.
"I figured if you know all the positions you'd have to play,"
Williams said.
Backup quarterback Mitch Mustain, who also transferred from Arkansas following the 2006 season, has seen this before. The two were teammates in high school and as far back as third grade.
"He's willing to put in the time, above and beyond,"
Mustain said. "He comes out and knows every position."
"I think that says a lot about his work ethic and the pride he has in his work. A lot of guys could be great but aren't because they're not willing to put in more than anyone asks of them."
Equally important to the 20-year-old Williams is what God asks of him. He tries to begin and end each day reading the Bible. Most Sundays he travels solo to Gardena for church.
On Tuesday afternoons, you can catch him on campus sharing his faith and inviting people to "Generate USC,"
a Bible study he co-founded with Mustain last year that meets every Tuesday evening on campus.
Williams said he started the group to ensure his closest friends remained in the Word and because he wanted to surround himself with a community of believers. He leaned on a similar fellowship at Arkansas and feared if he didn't form a new one at USC, God might get lost in the shuffle.
The one-hour sessions are open to anyone and draw just a few players on the team.
"We're with athletes all the time,"
Williams said. "But you don't get to see the bigger picture and the bigger issues that everybody has. When people come they bring their personal lives and leave it at the door and we let God handle it."
"Everybody comes together."
At first that included about six people. Williams said more than 60 people were attending by the end of the spring semester. About 30 people came to this week's service. Williams said he plans to take a more active role this year after tutoring allowed for him to lead only a handful of lessons a year ago.
One step at a time, Williams is finding his way.
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