Williams Gives Alabama Something No Other Playoff Team Has: A Defensive Weapon

It was one of those moments that caught everyone’s attention at the Georgia Dome, causing fans to immediately blurt out everything from “wow” to “sitting duck.”

On 3rd-and-20 after the University of Alabama recorded its first sack early in the second quarter of the SEC Championship Game, junior linebacker Tim Williams had one of his first opportunities and lined up to go after the quarterback.

Before CBS announcer Verne Lundquist could say “watch out,” Williams blew by Florida’s right tackle and hit quarterback Treon Harris for a 10-yard sack.

“He’s a bullet from the right side,” analyst Gary Danielson subsequently added. “Perfect timing, and no chance. That was going to be a screen, that’s how fast [he was].”

Although a lot of the Crimson Tide's other defensive players get more credit—and rightfully so, as Williams is considered specialist—one would be hard-pressed to find a better pure pass-rusher in college football.

That’s not a knock on Penn State’s Carl Nassib, who leads the nation with 15.5 sacks, Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, who tops the Southeastern Conference with 12, or even Michigan State’s Shilique Calhoun (10.5). They’re all considered every-down players, while Williams is not.

Opponent	Sacks-Yards
ULM	.5-2
Georgia	1-3
Arkansas	1-8
Texas A&M	1.-5
LSU	.5-2
Mississippi State	1.5-11
Auburn	2-23
Florida	2-14

He’s only made 18 tackles this season, which is tied for 15th on the Crimson Tide, but 11.5 of them have been for a loss, including 9.5 sacks. That’s second to only junior defensive end Jonathan Allen in both categories (12.5 and 10, respectively).

“He has a lot of explosion, a lot of quickness,” sophomore left tackle Cam Robinson said. “He’s a great pass-rusher.”

The rest of college football has been figuring that out. Although Williams got off to a bit of a sluggish start this season, with just a half-sack against Louisiana Monroe in the month of September, he’s been on a tear since.

Williams has at least a shared sack in eight of the last 10 games, with 1.5 sacks against Mississippi State, two at Auburn and then two against Florida, including the one he was moving before anyone else.

“Watching their cadence,” Williams said. “When he lifted up his leg I figured he was going to hike it. I jumped it.”

He got the second sack on Florida’s final snap. Overall, Alabama dropped Harris five times and was credited with 11 hurries while the quarterback completed just nine passes. Led by its attacking front seven, the Crimson Tide outgained the Gators 437-180 for a convincing 29-15 win to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.

“I call them savages, like a bunch of caged animals,” junior safety Eddie Jackson said about his teammates during one of Alabama’s press conferences in Dallas before Thursday’s Cotton Bowl against Michigan State (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). “You go out there and you just see them. They're jumping around. They're hyped. They're pumped. Let's go, y'all. Let's go.”

While junior defensive lineman Jonathan Allen leads Alabama in sacks with 10, Williams is a big reason why the team tops the nation with 46. Having so many attacking players like linebackers Ryan Anderson (5.0 sacks) and Rashaan Evans (2.0) makes it extremely difficult for offenses to key on anyone. 

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Overall, 16 different players have been in on a sack for Alabama, and 24 in a tackle for a loss, but all of them will admit that Williams has the quickest first step. That was never the problem. 

He had to grow up.

“He's always had good pass-rush ability,” head coach Nick Saban said. “It's always been a question of dependability in terms of is he going to do the right things on and off the field so that you could know that he's going to be responsible enough to make the kind of choices and decisions that you need him to make so that he can play winning football on the field."

“Tim's worked very hard, made a lot of sacrifices to try to get where he is right now, and we certainly appreciate it," Saban continued. "A lot of people in our organization have tried to help and he's been very, very productive. It has nothing to do with ability. He's not pass rushing any better than what he did before, he's just more dependable doing his job.”

Recruited out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Williams’ potential was always obvious, but he was suspended for a good part of training camp in 2014 and had a hard time landing a regular role. The other part of the equation was doing what he needed in the weight room.

When he arrived from University Lab School in 2013, the converted defensive end weighed 225 pounds on a good day. Williams said after the SEC Championship Game that he was up to 260 pounds on his 6’4” frame.

"I already had the speed and quickness," Williams said. "I just had to focus on being more powerful.”

Before this season Williams had just 1.5 sacks in 19 games, with eight total tackles. That could go up a lot in the future, as he told numerous reporters during Alabama’s Tuesday media day that he’s coming back for his senior year. Tuscaloosa radio show The Game shared some of Williams' words on Twitter: 

“I think the goal with Tim is that he plays every down,” Saban said. “I think that in Tim's case he's got to learn how to play outside 'backer and understand pass-coverage concepts. When he drops, I'd say that's the biggest thing that he has to develop.”

For now, though, Williams is zeroed in on Michigan State, and specifically getting to quarterback Connor Cook. The Spartans have allowed 17 sacks this season in 13 games, which is tied for 24th in the nation. Both of the sacks they yielded to Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game were after the quarterback hesitated.

He won’t be able to against Alabama.

"Everybody around here been knew what kind of player Tim is, what kind of player he can be and what kind of player he's going to be,” Anderson said. “He's a phenomenal pass-rusher, and I feel like now he's focused more and he knows what's at stake.”

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.