D.J. Williams makes ‘tremendous’ improvement

[aubiefifty 16,739]

al.com

 

D.J. Williams makes ‘tremendous’ improvement

By Giana Han

4-5 minutes

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After bouncing back from injury and making his way into Auburn’s running backs rotation as a true freshman, D.J. Williams decided to put in some extra work over the offseason so he could not only continue his success but also come back better than before.

Williams, a sophomore from Lake Placid, Florida, managed to exceed his own expectations with his offseason training.

“I trained with some guys that I never thought I’d train with,” Williams said. “Sammy Watkins. Robert Jackson. That’s pretty good.”

Williams didn’t make the connection that Watkins, a former Clemson receiver who now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, once played under Auburn’s new offensive coordinator Chad Morris, so he didn’t have the chance to question him about what that’s like. But he still got a lot out of the workouts. Working with Watkins and Jackson, Williams had a firsthand look at what competition’s like at a higher level.

“Seeing those guy’s speed makes you want to go harder every single time,” Williams said.

After sitting out the start of the season with a shoulder and a hip injury, Williams is finally back up to speed himself.

Last season, he rushed for the first time in Auburn’s game against Mississippi State in week five. In that first appearance, he totaled for 32 yards. Two games later, Williams rushed for 130 yards against LSU, the nation’s No. 1 team. By the end of the season, Williams totaled 400 yards, the 16th most by a true freshman running back in Auburn history.

Since his final game, where he rushed for 13 yards against Minnesota, Williams has “improved tremendously,” he said. His teammates agree.

Despite having to miss the first week of practice, Williams has had time to impress senior running back Shaun Shivers.

“D.J., that’s our guy,” Shivers said. “He’s going to always perform well. D.J., you know, he’ll be looking real good.”

It’s helped a lot that Williams was able to approach the season without injuries because he was able to put more time into working out. Experience has also helped Williams come into camp with a good foundation for more improvement. By knowing what to expect, Williams can practice and play with more comfort and confidence.

“I’m just looking forward to calming down,” Williams said. “My freshman year it was a lot of jitters and stuff like that, but just calming down and just running the ball.”

Morris' new offense has given Williams even more reason for excitement. From what he’s seen, the run game is going to be explosive. Morris has ways to get the ball to the running backs through different routes and even through the passing game, he said. That excites him.

“It really does; it really does,” Williams said.

So far, Williams has been taking reps with the ones. However, there’s a large group of guys fighting for that spot who have also looked good including Shivers, Mark Antony-Richards, Tank Bigsby and Harold Joiner.

Even if Williams isn’t listed among the starters once game day rolls around, he still has a chance to contribute in a big way. From what coach Gus Malzahn has seen, running backs coach Cadillac Williams has been distributing the ball well among the running backs. Last season, Boobee Whitlow shouldered most of the load, but three other running backs, including Williams and Shivers, played a significant role in the run game.

Williams is continuing to fight for that spot, but he’s keeping the competition friendly.

“I don’t really see it as a battle,” Williams said. “We’re all family here to make each other better, so it’s pretty good.”

[johnnyAU 3,630]

You gotta really like this group of RB's.  Dynamite DJ Williams was my man crush I think last season. If Chad really does use them like it sounds like he plans to, this offense will be fun to watch.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Hope that training helped. He was a bit slow and plodding last season. He had a couple long runs against LSU that should have been touchdowns but he got caught from behind. They turned into an interception and a field goal instead (that part was not his fault). Worm would've easily finished those runs. Good dude and good back, and I know he was playing a bit dinged up, so hopefully he's got a full tool kit now to compete with the rest of the group. We really couldn't hope for a better stable going into a season. 

[Zeek 16,642]

26 minutes ago, johnnyAU said:

You gotta really like this group of RB's.  Dynamite DJ Williams was my man crush I think last season. If Chad really does use them like it sounds like he plans to, this offense will be fun to watch.

I think DJ could easily be a 1,000 yard back (look at his LSU game as a freshman). Thing is, I still think MAR is better. Wild.

[johnnyAU 3,630]

Just now, Zeek said:

I think DJ could easily be a 1,000 yard back (look at his LSU game as a freshman). Thing is, I still think MAR is better. Wild.

I keep forgetting about MAR since I've not really seen him in action. It's good to have options.Would love to see multiple guys on the field and stress the D, by using one of the backs like we did Ronnie Brown in 2004 or how Bama used Kenyan Drake under Kiffin or more recently Josh Jacobs. These guys need touches.

[aubiefifty 16,739]

i think we are blessed this year with rb talent. i have been binge watching friday night lights the series and i am ready for some football.

[CodeRocket 410]

Probably the feature back or backs will be those who can get the most yards after contact. Speed is great, but for a running back it is seldom effective unless they can get thru traffic to use that speed. A lot of backs have played for Auburn that did not have sprinter speed but they could help the team move the chains.

[McLoofus 35,182]

20 minutes ago, CodeRocket said:

Probably the feature back or backs will be those who can get the most yards after contact. Speed is great, but for a running back it is seldom effective unless they can get thru traffic to use that speed. A lot of backs have played for Auburn that did not have sprinter speed but they could help the team move the chains.

Yeah. Still kinda weird that we didn't use the guy with all of the above more last season.

[Beaker 2,457]

E is not going to get one me I guess for this - 

 

But which position group is our weakest?    This is not 'most inexperienced' - which group is our achilles heal? 

 

[bigbird 60,458]

3 hours ago, johnnyAU said:

Would love to see multiple guys on the field

I'd love to see us run out of the diamond formation with Worm lined up deep and MAR and DJ lined up next to Nix

 

 

[copper4eva 106]

4 hours ago, Zeek said:

I think DJ could easily be a 1,000 yard back (look at his LSU game as a freshman). Thing is, I still think MAR is better. Wild.

DJ was up and down. He played well against LSU of course. But on the other hand, he had 8 carries for 16 yards against Bama. Which is... not great. Whitlow averaged like 7 yards a carry in comparison.

But that was just his freshmen year. Hopefully we see more consistency. It would also help a lot of our OL proves to be consistent.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

I'd love to see us run out of the diamond formation with Worm lined up deep and MAR and DJ lined up next to Nix

 

 

I saw some film of Baltimore running this, but that was predicated on LJax's mobility, and they were lining up primarily TE/FB/Hs next to him. There was also a lot of pre-snap motion to pull those guys in from the perimeter. 

What kind of plays would we run out of this? I also love the idea just to get several playmaking RBs on the field at once, but I'm not sure exactly what we'd do. 

Since we've heard that MAR is so adept at catching the ball (and saw evidence on his high school film), I could see him motioning back and forth to/from the slot. But would it ultimately be as simple as there being 3 handoff/pitch/screen options and Bo's usually just exercising one of those options? So basically a type of triple option offense, except maybe with more screens? And the QB isn't as much one of the running options?

[bigbird 60,458]

14 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

What kind of plays would we run out of this?

https://www.xandolabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=343:53diamond-formation-misdirection-and-option-concepts

 

https://www.xandolabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=344:54play-action-pass-game-out-of-diamond-formation

[McLoofus 35,182]

13 minutes ago, bigbird said:

https://www.xandolabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=343:53diamond-formation-misdirection-and-option-concepts

 

https://www.xandolabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=344:54play-action-pass-game-out-of-diamond-formation

Love the play action stuff. 3 running backs and it still gives the quarterback numerous reads. And it absolutely makes sense with our personnel, like you said. The first one would make great use of our available talent at TE. The 2nd one is six all day for Worm if we set it up and execute. If it's somehow not there, he's got 4 other reads. Lordy. 

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

Seems like Pegues could be perfect as an H in that concept, too. Jay Prosch, JayJay Wilson, take your pick.

[Sizzle 3,909]

2 hours ago, Beaker said:

E is not going to get one me I guess for this - 

 

But which position group is our weakest?    This is not 'most inexperienced' - which group is our achilles heal? 

 

Probably the OL

[Zeek 16,642]

2 hours ago, copper4eva said:

DJ was up and down. He played well against LSU of course. But on the other hand, he had 8 carries for 16 yards against Bama. Which is... not great. Whitlow averaged like 7 yards a carry in comparison.

But that was just his freshmen year. Hopefully we see more consistency. It would also help a lot of our OL proves to be consistent.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the last part. Our run blocking has been far from fantastic.

[Beaker 2,457]

20 hours ago, Sizzle said:

Probably the OL

There is a lot we just don't know about the OL and maybe the biggest factor: new OL coach. 

A new OC who actually gets to do his job will be a big factor.

I scan all the position groups and it is hard not to like any of them.  The way Carlson finished with the Iron Bowl was amazing (MVP type game).  

I think kickers/special teams may be our weak link.

[bigbird 60,458]

48 minutes ago, Beaker said:

There is a lot we just don't know about the OL and maybe the biggest factor: new OL coach. 

A new OC who actually gets to do his job will be a big factor.

I scan all the position groups and it is hard not to like any of them.  The way Carlson finished with the Iron Bowl was amazing (MVP type game).  

I think kickers/special teams may be our weak link.

Depth in the secondary is a concern both in numbers and experience

[Gowebb11 9,313]

27 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Depth in the secondary is a concern both in numbers and experience

We are also a sprained ankle away from only 2 experienced linebackers too. 

[Auskip 196]

On 9/17/2020 at 1:17 PM, bigbird said:

I'd love to see us run out of the diamond formation with Worm lined up deep and MAR and DJ lined up next to Nix

 

 

That would be sick!

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I'm looking forward to watching DJ this fall. I think this will be his breakout year.