North Carolina State University Athletics
Williams Hasn't Rested on Laurels
8/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 12, 2004
By Tony Haynes Raleigh, N.C. - Ranked by many recruiting analysts as the top prep defensive lineman in the country when he was wreaking havoc at Richlands High School two years ago, Mario Williams has been destined for stardom ever since he first set foot on the NC State campus for his freshman year 12 months ago. Not only was he physically developed beyond his years when he joined the Wolfpack, Williams has also displayed a level-headed maturity not often associated with many 18-year old kids fresh out of high school. That maturity has served the massive defensive end well as he prepares for his second season with the Pack. His position coach, Todd Stroud, says Williams has as good a work ethic as any player on the NC State team because he's never taken his natural ability for granted. "The thing that has separated Mario from a lot of good players that I've been around is his ability to take the coaching," Stroud said. "He's a kid who comes to work everyday; he's not lazy, he's extremely energetic and he's very coachable." Williams' work ethic extends far beyond the intensity he displays on the practice field. Taking full advantage of NC State's off-season conditioning program, the 2003 Freshman All-America has taken a Mercedes-level body and turned it into a Lamborghini. Already imposing at 6-6, 256 pounds last year, Williams now tips the scales at a muscular 290. A bench press that was 385 a year ago is now 465. Best of all, the added weight and muscle have hardly slowed him down. According to Stroud, Williams runs "a legitimate 4.7 seconds" in the 40. "He's unbelievable," said Stroud, who was the Wolfpack's strength and conditioning coach before taking over the defensive line this year. "Considering his measurables, he's as good as anybody in the country and as improved as anybody. The kid has only 6.8 percent body fat, which makes it even crazier." Pressed into duty as a starting defensive end his freshman year, Williams started every game last season and led all of the Pack's defensive linemen with 56 tackles. Often saying that his prized recruit was just "scratching the surface" last year, NC State head coach Chuck Amato isn't yet ready to call Williams the next Andre Wadsworth, but he is impressed with everything he's seen in preseason workouts thus far. "Mario is so much better than he was at the end of last season," Amato said. "His intensity and his technique are so much better than it was and he knows what the defenses are; he's not constantly thinking." Perhaps no practice vehicle has allowed Williams to display his physical dominance more than the board drills, the ultimate one-on-one physical confrontation in which two players line-up opposite each other, and try to knock each other back while straddling a narrow board. So far this preseason, Williams has routinely thrown 300-pound offensive linemen around like rag dolls during some of the board drills. "Anyone that has his attributes can be special," Stroud said. "What he has to do is keep improving on the little things, fundamentals like footwork, steps and his hands. His ability is going to take over. He's got a gift from God, there's no question. He's just got to stay grounded and keep working hard." So far, so good in that area.
