Appreciation for D-Will

It's been nearly four years since Derrick Williams promised to take Penn State back to the top of college football's mountaintop.

It was Dec. 22, 2004. Penn State was coming off a disastrous and unprecedented two seasons, where it only managed to finish 7-16. In the previous five seasons, the Nittany Lions had four losing seasons.

Somehow, someway, Joe Paterno (and to a larger extent, defensive line coach Larry Johnson) persuaded the nation's top recruit in the country to join a fading dynasty, led by an over-the-hill coach.

D-Will wanted to come to Penn State because he wanted to win the Lions another National Championship. He wanted to be the explosive receiver that keeps college defensive coaches up at night. He wanted to be the guy that would restore the fallen legacy back to where it belonged. He wanted to show that he was the player to make Penn State matter again.

I still remember the jubilation in Happy Valley when we learned he was coming. He was athletic. He was talented. He was cocky.

He was exactly what Penn State needed.

I remember this because on Saturday, Penn State will play Michigan State in the 2008 regular season finale, and the final regular season game of D-Will's career. It'll be the last time he plays at Beaver Stadium, and the second-to-last game he'll ever play in a Lions uniform.

When I look at D-Will, I can't help but feel a little bad for him. Sure, his career stats are respectable, but he never became the superstar player that we all hoped and expected he would be.

And I don't blame that on him at all. He showed flashes of greatness his freshman season, scoring four touchdowns in just seven games, before a broken arm against Michigan robbed him of the rest of the season. During that first season, he had six plays of 20 yards or more, and flashed the speed, elusiveness and overall swagger that you would expect from a rising superstar.

That year he helped get Penn State to the Orange Bowl, and had Penn State not lost on a last-second touchdown against Michigan, the Lions may have played in the National Championship, just like he expected when he came.

Unfortunately, he never seemed to parlay that freshman season into stardom. One major reason why was that his quarterback, the now-infamous Anthony Morelli, couldn't get him the ball. It didn't help that the coaching staff seemed to never figure out how to correctly use him. And when the other team knows that there's only one big-play guy on the field, it's not too difficult to game plan for him and force the others to hurt you.

This season we got to see more of the D-Will we expected. He probably still won't be mentioned as one of the best receivers in college football, but he has shown that he can beat you receiving, rushing and on kick returns.

Most importantly, he's always been a class-act and a leader.

And that's what I think I'll remember about D-Will the most. Who knows how great he could've been if he went to Texas or Florida, where the coaching staff might have utilized his speed and athleticism the way it was intended? He could've easily went to those schools, but he wanted to come to Penn State and put the school back on top.

He never got us to a National Championship, but a win on Saturday puts us in the Rose Bowl. I think two BCS bowls in his four-year career will do just fine.

So D-Will, enjoy your final game in Happy Valley. And when you look back on your career, know that there's an entire nation of Nittany Lion fans that thank you for choosing our school.

You certainly didn't have to. But you did, and for that we'll forever be grateful.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images.

Below is my favorite D-Will highlight, his first career TD, that got us a come-from-behind victory over Northwestern. The play's at the 2:54 mark