Intense WR Williams sparks No. 6 Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -Of all the life lessons Derrick Williams learned from his father, one in particular stands out.

Williams used to have trouble setting aside the intense emotions he developed during games once time expired. His dad, Dwight, taught him to control those emotions and leave them on the field.

While teammates at No. 6 Penn State now know Williams as a humble jokester off the field, his on-field demeanor hasn't changed a bit.

"Playing football, it's an aggressive sport. ... You got to know you're teammates have your back, and you have their back," the Nittany Lions senior captain said. "When I'm just sitting alone with my friends, or in class, I'm just a laid-back person. I go with the flow."

Unfortunately for Illinois, he was anything but laid back last weekend. Williams notched touchdowns rushing, receiving and on a 94-yard kickoff return to spark a big win in prime time that propelled the Nittany Lions into the Top 10 heading into their Big Ten road opener Saturday versus Purdue.

It marked the first time in coach Joe Paterno's 43 seasons as head coach that one of his players had accomplished such a feat - the kind of dazzling performance that Penn State fans had expected on a regular basis when Williams arrived in Happy Valley three seasons ago as one of the country's top recruits.

"Derrick has the same intensity each and every game. I heard Joe say he was due for a big game, and I felt that way, too," quarterback Daryll Clark said.

Williams' career got off to a promising start when he and fellow freshmen wideouts Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood injected speed and playmaking ability into what had been a stagnant Penn State offense. His 2005 season was cut short, though, after seven games because of a broken left arm.

The storyline the next two years didn't quite follow the Heisman hype that accompanied Williams out of high school.

Williams has had a nice career at Penn State, with 131 catches for 1,446 yards. He's a threat to score on every kickoff return.

Yet in 2006 and 2007, Williams didn't quite show consistent playmaking ability or the breakaway burst of speed that made him such a threat his first year. He and two-year starting quarterback Anthony Morelli never seemed to quite click on the field, and opposing defenses started keying on him.

Fast forward to 2008, and Penn State's so-called "Spread HD" offense, which is lighting up the scoreboard for nearly 50 points a game.

Williams had a kickoff return for touchdown in the first game against Coastal Carolina, but had been relatively quiet on offense until the Illinois game.